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I read their articles in print and must confess to feeling some pangs of envy. To be young, out there with a beautiful wife and what has to be a very nice pile of cash. Not a bad life if you can get it. Reading their logs now, I am also tempted to be critical.
There seem to be a lot of maxims being tossed around. That sailors support each other and come to each others aid. True, I think. Also true is that when buying a boat you get what you pay for. And that you don't simply buy a cruising boat of a certain price, you earn it.
So, there seem to be quite a few lessons we can learn from all this. Lessons that have been run through threads on boat buying advice here before. Quality first, foremost and last. Reputation. And ...you get what you pay for.
Buying a 'cheap' cat from a little known builder a world away has got to be a leap of faith. A risk. Seasoned sailors are generally more risk averse.
Which brings up another piece of advice that has been suggested to boat buyers....don't sink too much money into the hull. To me, no matter how much or how good your insurance is, how great your surveyor was or the builder.....whatever you paid for that hull is a liability when it comes to your financial state. None of us can tell what those boats will be worth when we want to sell them or what might happen in a disaster.
So...I submit that since the quality of life one gets from sailing and cruising cannot be quantified, that those among us who are out there on relatively modest but well built boats are the smart ones. The ones who have to most upside.
After reading the logs and seeing where this young couple started from and their attitide about it, it is not surprising that it was all downhill from there. And that is unfortunate.
My best to all
John
ps - I am sure he will let us know but got a note from JeffH, he is doing well. Better and better.
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