Hi all,
I posted on here around a year ago looking at getting a late 80s
Catalina 30, but I never ended up getting it or another sailboat. I sold my powerboat, and got another one. However, I am now looking at getting a sailboat, mostly because I have enough
money to get something that will provide nearly as much room as my
current power boat (1985 Silverton 34C).
I'd say the
price range I'm looking at is around $50k, and I'd like something around 32 feet, definitely not much smaller as we stay on the
boat on a regular basis.
The boats I'm currently considering vary quite a bit, and are somewhat based on what I can find locally within 250 or so miles of NE
Ohio.
I've found a 2001
Beneteau 311 for around 50k, and some late 80s Tartan 34s for around the same
price. I have yet to actually go out on a sailboat, other than my 13 footer, but I'm going to
work on finding some people locally to go out with and learn some.
I plan on travelling as much of the
great lakes as I can, and would also be
fishing from this
boat, so I'd like it to have a reasonably sized
cockpit area. I do perch
fishing at
anchor a lot, as well as some trolling for walleye. I know it's not typical to see fishing sailboats (at least around here), but I don't see how it would be too difficult. I'm getting out of my
current boat because it sucks gas, but even more so because it is pretty
tender being a 34ft flybridge boat. Plus, a nice quiet ride is all we want more often than not.
Any comments or suggestions are appreciated!
Mike