Hi UFO, I am based in Port Bouvard and been where you are in the
purchase cycle several times .
My requirements only needed up to 40 ' .
I spent a whole year flying all over to reject most of what was on offer .
You dont say if you realise the differance between the heavy
displacement apartment type Cats whose performance and ride quality is compromised by weight and
hull aspect ratio figures .
With your apparent healthy
budget might I suggest you focus on the
Queensland area where I eventually have made all my four purchases.
As above my focus is always on performance and ease in sea way handling ability.
Might I suggest you look for Grainger 50's (Chincogan's) and or other excellant Australian designers .
Epoxy over polyester and believe it or not the big name manufacturers took years or never worked out that polyester resin absorbs water so be very careful of
blisters .
My point on performance is not only in relation to speed but the motion of the boat when underway , and to keep everyone on board comfortable happy and confident the last thing you want is a low bridge
deck slamming along trying to hold a course to windward.
Another option to investigate is the differance in
dagger boards v's fixed keels , there are pro's and con's for both ,I prefer daggers for their superior pointing efficiency however having had both my fixed keels on a Fusion 40 worked fine .