How much trouble could I get into?

[David_Old_Jersey]

Originally Posted by brownoarsman

I understand there's two camps on the self-survey piece, thanks everyone for sharing your thoughts. And thanks to those who have done just what I'm talking about and had a great time, thanks for sharing those stories! Reaffirms my belief that it's pretty do-able

One of the things about boats that catches folks out (newbies, oldies and inbetweenies ) is that pretty much everything is doable. the real question to answer is "is it wise?" (for "you")....and the puzzle through that is either part of the fun, or part of the route to..........taking up golf . The other thing is that you get to live with results of own decisions in a more direct way than in many other scenarios in "normal" life......for some that is part of the attraction, for others not.

On CF I tend towards less about advice and more about what can be done - whether the "you" concerned can do it is one for them to decide for self. I call it a "I'm not yet mum" approach . Having said that, if I see at least half a brain cell (as in this thread ) I will throw in some encouragement, albeit somewhat short of the "Yeehah!, go for it!" end of things. AFAIK I haven't killed anyone yet from online "advice".

In your shoes, I would self survey to screen out boats - but when you find a serious candidate come back to CF with some questions (and photos!) to help fill in some gaps on your knowledge / the figures concerned (money and time).......and at that point then decide whether to get a survey. No shame in getting one, just that at the price you are talking a fair bit of that the money could be used for the inevitable fixes and tweeks needed instead. The decision would be a slam dunk if every surveyor was any good.....but they are not all equal.

I'll be sure to let everyone know how it turns out (assuming I'm not floating around the Atlantic in a mastless, engineless, keelless hulk)

Yeah, there is always that .