Where to go boat shopping in Southern California?

[junek]

Yachties,

I'll be in California in Late May/early June for work and pleasure.

Wouldn't mind spending a day at a marina to check out some boats to get a real understanding of what my AUD will buy me in the US.

Ultimate goal is to buy in USA and sail back to Australia one day in the (hopefully) not too distant future. Not planning to try to make a buck, just cover costs and have a (downwind) pacific adventure.

Just wondering what marina or area would be best to see a large about of boats in a day? Ideally Cats, but mono's too.

Thanks
Jamie

[JunkSkunk]

Pretty much any marina in San Diego.. But you would want to check the classifieds and maybe do a quick online boat search- you can find good, quality boats that way.

You can also contact Charity Boats. They accept boat donations and sell them to help out the community. They take in a lot of donations in the Southern California area, and I know that they have quite a few in stock right now. Wouldn't hurt to give that a try.

I just don't recommend going in blind and expecting to buy a boat by hanging out in a couple of marinas... just doesn't sound like it's thought through enough.

Good luck!

[svHyLyte]

Originally Posted by junek

Yachties,

I'll be in California in Late May/early June for work and pleasure.

Wouldn't mind spending a day at a marina to check out some boats to get a real understanding of what my AUD will buy me in the US.

Ultimate goal is to buy in USA and sail back to Australia one day in the (hopefully) not too distant future. Not planning to try to make a buck, just cover costs and have a (downwind) pacific adventure.

Just wondering what marina or area would be best to see a large about of boats in a day? Ideally Cats, but mono's too.

Thanks
Jamie

Jamie--

You are not likely to find too many Cats in SoCal as the water is deep and the type isn't very common or needed as it is in other locales. That said, San Diego, as mentioned above, is a good place to look, generally on Shelter Island on the northwest side of the Bay. (Often referred to as the "Port of Broken Dreams", a lot of would-be world cruisers discover that after coasting south and finally heading into the deep that real ocean cruising isn't their cuppa. They make it back to shore, and tell the brokers to "Sell it. Get what you can.") Further north, Dana Point Harbor has a couple of brokerages and Newport Beach, further north, also has a number of boat brokers, particularly along Highway 1 on the mainland side of the bay. Long Beach has one or two as does San Pedro, again somewhat further north. The greatest concentration of brokers is located in Marina Del Rey and it will take one quite awhile to go through their offerings.

N'any case, good hunting...

[Terra Nova]

Marina del Rey harbors about 4500 boats in 1 square mile. But few cats.