Please talk me out of it..

[Liam Wald]

sailing on boats is more fun than working on boats. spend the money to get a boat that is ready to go rather than spending what will add up to the same dollars and working on a boat for a year or two.

[Zven]

Unless, of course, you have the skills and the patience and really love the idea of working on a project boat for a few years...
And marriage is overrated anyway.

[Sailorbob8599]

Originally Posted by double u

has the possibly biggest cost-factor been overlooked so far?
can you foot the bill for a divorce settlement & support on top of the boatrelated costs???
"Me or the boat!!" is not unheard of...

Hahahahahahahaha ... me too.
I once bought a boat from a fellow who had recently purchased it himself while his wife was in Greece visiting "relatives?".
On arriving back home & seeing the boat in the back yard, she gave him that very ultimatum; "It's either me or the boat"
So he sold the boat at a loss to yours truly. Three months later, she left him & returned to Greece where she had met another fellow when recently there on vacation . . . which basically proves her leaving had nothing to do with the boat, but everything to do with the wiles of women. . . .

[Phantastic]

You are in the same place that I was in for many years: desire to own the boat of your dreams with limited time to use it.

Here is what I did- Buy a "virtual boat".
The initial cost of the boat is but part of the equation. Factor in how much the dock fees EVERY month, insurance, upkeep (even if you are not using it, the varnish needs attention- the bottom paint and zink need to be replaced--the list is long). If you put just the dock fee and insurance in a kitty- it will pay for 1 to 2 weeks of chartering a boat- ready to go anywhere in the world that you want it to be.

Join a club or hang out at the local docks and make some friends who have a boat. The greatest boat ever is one someone else is paying for! Go sailing with them.

[Don C L]

I have an acquaintance with a huge shop, fully equipped, with a Tayana 37 inside he is working on, and a CT 41 outside he was also working on. He also had one of the original Chevy Corvettes in their he was restoring. I had this fantasy of having one boat in the water ready to go and one in a shop like his I could "restore." (AKA, putter around on) IN some way that seems like heaven to me. To my wife that would be hell.
Get the boat that is in good shape and can actually sail right now. Keep it small and simple. It's worked for me so far.

[Jim Cate]

I'm reminded of a classified ad I saw in the LA times years and years ago:

Jaguar XKE, 19xx... wife says car goes or she goes... take your pick for 5000 dollars!

Jim

[FlyingScot]

Reminds me of one of my favorite sayings "sometimes the most expensive things in life are free". Even though this boat isn't being given away, it should be and you still shouldn't 'buy' it. Young families need lots of time and attention. Boats seem like they take a lot of money. Only so many hours in the day/week/month/year.

[markpierce]

There are a "free"/abandoned boat and house trailer on the side of Cummings Skyway south of Crockett, CA. You'd also be doing a public service to the local taxpayers if you would accept ownership.

[ArmyDaveNY]

Originally Posted by libspero

I have/had no intention of buying anything like this for at least a few years, mainly because of the cost and the fact we have two very small babies so not a lot of spare time.

It doesn't cost much to look at it. You state you don't have much time so the boat will likely sit with nothing getting done. Do you have a place to keep her or can you afford a slip/mooring for a boat you may not be able to use?

Have you ever owned a boat? If not, you may, as others have pointed out, be better off getting something ready to go and smaller. Learn about maintenance and restoration.

Having said this, if it isn't a big deal to get to this boat, go and look. This is especially true if you've never owned a boat. It is worth while to look at a dozen boats. See what you like and don't like. Get a feel for what you can afford and what is available. Get a feel for how much, or how little, the description matches the actual boat.

The bigger the boat the bigger the expenses. You may be better off starting with something like an Ensign 23 or a J24 or a Catalina 25. Learn about what it takes to own a boat, what it takes to single hand a boat, and then think about a bigger boat.