Tremendously tempted to blow kitty on The (?) boat. Help.

[rebel heart]

Don't anthropomorphize the cat, and don't wait on bigger plans because of lesser self-created obstructions.

[Horror Hotel]

It's a nice boat, but it seems small. The bigger you go the less you need to worry about shore side services (marinas). The more you can carry the less you need to re supply. It's a real pain to cruise for 3 years and then go bigger. Go bigger now while you have no other boat. I like bigger boats that according to others don't sail well. Sailing is just one tiny part of cruising. Go high 30's center cockpit or bigger, be able to get away from your other half or guests. I bought mine because it was local and cheap, I wanted to go soon not wait for the perfect boat. Now I'm super glad I didn't buy a aft cockpit. Under 35' aft cockpit boats are smallish for full time cruising.

[mottseng]

Buy the boat you want and throw the cat overboard.

[fishead]

Originally Posted by minaret

They're asking way too much for that 310. You could get much more boat for the same money.

Agree with minaret,

For that kind of money you could find a nice 35 to 40 footer ready to go to the Bahamas. I'm talking about Florida or southeast area. I think you'll wish you had gotten a larger boat to start with. Also, what ever you do don't by a boat with teak decks. Too hot and way too much work.

[rebel heart]

Originally Posted by Horror Hotel

It's a nice boat, but it seems small. The bigger you go the less you need to worry about shore side services (marinas). The more you can carry the less you need to re supply.

I don't see people pulling into marinas for provisioning, they do it to make it easier to walk into town. And regardless of your boat size a 1/2 mile dinghy ride is a 1/2 mile dinghy ride. To that end, a smaller boat can anchor closer.

Bigger boat = more stuff inside (and outside) = more expensive to outfit and maintain, no matter how you slice it. Bigger battery banks, more solar, bigger chargers, bigger chain, bigger anchors, bigger rigging, bigger sails, more bottom paint, longer rigging, etc, etc.

Then you deal with larger boats in tighter marinas and then you need a bow thruster, and of course you need an electric windlass because the ground tackle is too big to haul with a manual or your hands.

If I was chartering a boat I'd pick a 70' gunboat. If I was by myself, I'd go with a NorSea.

[minaret]

Originally Posted by fishead

Agree with minaret,

For that kind of money you could find a nice 35 to 40 footer ready to go to the Bahamas. I'm talking about Florida or southeast area. I think you'll wish you had gotten a larger boat to start with. Also, what ever you do don't by a boat with teak decks. Too hot and way too much work.

+1 on teak decks. Those look pretty hashed too.

[HappyMdRSailor]

Originally Posted by minaret

They're asking way too much for that 310. You could get much more boat for the same money.

+1.5

It may take a village to raise an idiot... but hopefully only the CF forum to convince you to look for another love.... "Smitten" makes us do silly things sometimes...

Tons of better boats for your purpose are and always will be in your geographical region....

[Horror Hotel]

Rebel, I was just pointing out that a 37' will hold more stuff than a 31'. Is that really up for debate? That extra 6' is comfort and supplies. Once you have a boat, switching up is no quick task. I've been trying to do it, but just put a new
3ym30 in 10 days ago. The longer you own the more financially trapped you get. Buy bigger to begin with, not huge just bigger.

[gonesail]

especially since you are in BC i might wait until early spring to get serious. do a lot of shopping and tire kicking before you pull the trigger. make sure hubby is totally in agreement. i know the older full keeled IP 31 holds a lot of stuff and would be great for 2 people in the bahamas or beyond. the one you find may not be in BC though .. there are a few in Florida

[onestepcsy37]

i'm with the crowd that says that boat is WAY overpriced. come on down to florida. bring your money and your cat. you'll find boats better prepared to do the islands for a lot less money. you'll be on your way in time for the out island regatta in georgetown....

we take our two old cats to the bahamas and they could care less. they have their food bowl, water bowl, and litter box, just like at home. we don't allow them onshore.

my friend just sold his morgan out island 41 to another friend for 30k. it needed about 5k worth of work, which the new owner has done. he'll be off to the keys in march.

a really nice morgan west indies 36 went for 19k last spring. previous owner was a diesel mechanic and had rebuilt the engine just before selling it. i know both the po and the new owner. all it needed to go was some fixing up in the galley area - probably less than 2k.

do you really want to go? come on down.

[onestepcsy37]

by the way, there's a down east 32 for sale at my dock. probably get it in the low 20's. not in bad shape. i think a few weeks of cleaning up and you can take her anywhere....

[astonished]

Poor ole kitty! Believe you me, when it comes to love a boat is nothing to sacrifice or make anyone's life miserable for.

BC, huh? Hmmmm, not exactly the sunshine capital of the cruising world and that sounds like a pretty small boat. Suggestion; before you even think of living aboard, borrow someone's VW camper/bus, park it in a wrecking yard or truck stop along a busy interstate, let the air out of the tires, cuz you aren't going anywhere in a boat you precariously pile all your worldly possessions in, and lock yourself in it for about a week during winter - you might want to watch Das Boot on a continuous loop as well. If you like the experience then consider living aboard.

Cats, dogs, horses, even lizards are smarter than we give them credit for. Don't make kitty's last years/days miserable. Remember boats are made for sailing, homes are made for living.

Buy a boat when you are ready to sail it. They aren't getting any more expensive and the longer you wait the better boat you'll likely get!

Good luck and a scratch behind the ears for kitty.

[terminalcitygrl]

Awesome feedback all, thanks for the reality check!

No plans to move kitty onto a boat. She is really old and fragile and dear to us and we want to keep her feeling comfy and secure in her last days. The vet said last month she thinks 4-6 months but she has surprised us for the last 2 years.

Interested that a few of you much smarter than me said you think the boat is overpriced and perhaps not great quality? I couldn't find much on CR except comparisons to HR and Najad and I know how expensive and fine those boats are so I thought for a 2002 the price wasn't too outta line. Wasn't crazy about the teak decks or 5'5 draft but otherwise we thought she ticked most of our boxes.

We did quite a bit of shopping last year but found nothing in our price range that excited us. Many were old and smelly or cheap looking plasticky - we need something with a little style and/or character! This is when we decided to stop looking close to home, do the boat-share and then buy somewhere warm when we're able. And of course the dream really is tropical sailing, at least while we become better sailors, then we might consider venturing further afield or coming home to do more PNW exploring.

But I'm addicted to yachtworld and identifying possibilities and impatient! And I'm also old enough to know keeping plans flexible is a good idea...

[terminalcitygrl]

I just wanted to add that I know sometimes people get frustrated with new sailors buying their first boat queries but it really is such a big decision and were trying to be smart about it and not f*#% it up! Our situation is a little complicated, our income is limited, so things are taking some time to play out. We do appreciate everyone sharing their thoughts and advice, lessons learned, and such. Thanks

[Kenomac]

Save up a little more and go for the Island Packet. Maybe even an Island packet in the 34-36ft range. Or, how about a Catalina 36? They can be had for 50k. You're going to be spending a lot of time on the boat, make sure you get one with enough room.