Boat Buying

[briancromwell11]

Interesting topic.In between, I have a Pearson 38 1990 for sale.In great condition and ocean worthy.If you're interested, i'll give you more details on request.

[Capt Phil]

Although rather new to the forum, I couldn't help but echo Capt Jason's suggestion to start in the Pacific Northwest, gunkhole around for a summer north into Desolation and finish the season with a run down the west coast of Vancouver Island for a little taste of the offshore cruising life. I started work as a deckhand over 50 years ago in that part of the world towing logs and barges, commercial fishing for salmon, herring, halibut, crab, etc. I spent many years offshore as a delivery skipper on the west coast both in sail and power and have a pretty good feel for what is needed from a safety and comfort standpoint. My last sailboat was a Transpac 49, ketch rig for short handed sailing, solid engine, refer (engine driven power take off), robust tankage, 2 heads, showers and 3 staterooms. It may seem like a lot of space for 2 people but when it is your home, you need to have space to your self occasionally. We found the boat in San Diego about 15 years ago and spent 6 months in Ensenada preparing her for cruising. After 4 years of living aboard and traveling from Humbolt Bay to southern Mexico, Sea of Cortez and points in between we found that it was just a bit to much for 2 people to handle safely in a blow and reluctantly sold her. Three weeks later we purchased a DeFever 54 in Bainbridge Island, WA, took her to Desolation Sound and Johnson Straits for the summer then down to San Diego where we lived aboard for another 4 years. Spent many weeks between deliveries in Catalina and found that a power boat was a great transition and much easier for two to handle in any weather, as well as being much roomier. Safety, comfort, vessel soundness and ease of handling in most weather and sea conditions are of paramount importance along with redundant instrumentation for when something quits working which it will at the most awkward of times. I hope this helps a bit in your decision making. Remember that the cruising community is thousands of miles long but only a mile wide and you will run into a marvelous group of people who share your love of the sea and the lifestyle. Cheers!

[Dan0]

Does comfort not include accommodations, I would think accommodations would make or break the comfort factor.

[FutureStories]

Originally Posted by Dan0

Does comfort not include accommodations, I would think accommodations would make or break the comfort factor.

Accommodations might not have been as influential in boat buying decisions 13 years ago. The market has drastically changed