Food for thought.
After spending 7 years on a Cal-40 actually cruising [Europe,
Med,S. America, et al] I came back to the US, salted away a few greenbacks for my next
boating illusion and I bought an 85' ex-shrimper.
Ok, I got it on the
cheap because it had a fire in it but I would have gutted any
boat I bought so Ma-nature saved me some
work. Note...very hard to find a burned
fiberglass boat without a mask and snorkel.
Now, if you are a purist [I've been there] none of this is worth your initial gasp...but if you are somewhat handy with your hands and haven't subscribed to either side of the 'rag-bagger vs the stinkpotter' debate there is another avenue to consider.
Fuel is still 40 cents a gallon in
Venezuela so with a 30,000 gallon fill I've got plenty of stinky, hammering miles to go on all points of sail. I can buy all my
interior furnishings at Home Depot...I priced a West
Marine Stove and 4x the cost for equal performance would be a generous error in their favor. Instead of a SS 12' cleat for $580 I went to the scrap pile and welded one...If I can weld anyone can. There are 60'-90' 'tunnel'
boats that draw 5'. You never have to worry about a ponga ramming you in the middle of the night. No more debates over
cutter vs
sloop. You
work to find ways to put more weight on, the boat that is. I have silly debates with myself...should I get an ice maker or another
refrigerator, do I really want a hot tub on the aft
deck, is two dinghy's and a jet ski overkill?
Anyway, it's just another approach to the same illusion....
....let the purists pounce. On the other hand I'd be happy to share information with those interested.