>42 foot bluewater sailboat purchase choices

[stnick]

The Gulfstar is a strong boat She will serve you well . Was made in Largo fla

[ikebartlett]

I was in your position 18 months ago, I’m 6’1” two years younger, same sailing needs. I really listened hard to these pieces of advise:
1. Costs go way up per foot of boat when buying, refit costs, sail replacement, haul outs, fuel, engine repairs, dock fees....
2. Buy the smallest boat you are comfortable on, see reasons above
3. Buy the boat that will meet your needs at least 90% of the time, charter the other 10%
4. Most older boats will need upgrades, budget for that
5. All lines led back to the cockpit, ease and safety reasons

In the end I purchased an older C&C 40 Aft Cabin for less than 25% of my budget, it met the headroom requirement, sails well, a go anywhere, turn on a dime when docking,,,,,,met my needs boat,,,
Knowing that it would need upgrades, I’ve read all the advice on this cf chain, you can replace/upgrade everything mentioned here, end up Truely knowing what you really have, watch and learn as it all is being done(some you can/should do yourself) and still have 25% of your initial budget. Do all the NEEDS right away, then the WANTS will soon become evident.
I’ve been from Philly to Nova Scotia Newfoundland back to NC (2017) This year North Carolina to Newfoundland then up the St. Lawrence to Toronto/ St Catharines back down to Prince Edward Island and presently awaiting a weather window in Yarmouth Nova Scotia to cross the Gulf of Maine on my way south to the Caribbean for the winter. I’ve used some of my savings for adding redundancy in my solar and navigation systems. This method worked for me, I know what I’ve got because I replaced,rebuilt or upgraded the unknowns and created a baseline to work from going forward. Good luck and hope this helps.
Ike
Sailing Florence Clara