Best way to buy a used cat

[calcrg]

I'm 63, retired engineer, married, live near Ventura California and have some sailing experience. I've done half a dozen bareboat charters and owned a Beneteau 440 for 8 years back in the late 1990's early 2000's. I've done only coastal sailing, never blue water.

I'm looking to get back in. Nice coastal cruising here, including the Channel Islands and even stretches down to Mexico and the Sea of Cortez. Not sure if I'd want to do more than that. But with time...perhaps. I also want something I can use as a second home...near the ocean. Nothing better than waking up to the ocean air and a cup of coffee.

We are thinking about a ~40ft cat, ...maybe 5-10 years old. We like to roominess of a cat, and the performance is a nice upside. Just started the search. One challenge I'm seeing is the availability of options on the West Coast of the Americas. It's slim pickings compared to Florida or the Caribbean, and the prices seem to be ~30-50K higher in the $300-$400K range that we're considering. While east coast is cheaper, in that option I need to transport the boat So Cal. Both time and money.

So... any advice on how to "get back in"?
Buyer's broker?
Comments on transport ...time and cost? Ways to minimize taxes and fees.
Thoughts on ~40ft cats? Looking for balance of performance(me) and comfort/space(wife)
Charted vs private owner?

Thanks in advance.

[bccoast]

I would try and stay in 5 year old range, getting closer to 10 and you will have a ton of upcoming maintenance costs and the price is not that different from 5-10 years old on a 40' cat compared to potential refit costs.

A Caribbean boat ages dramatically compared to a US west coast boat. was on a friends 2 year old 52 lagoon last June and looked more weathered that my 10 year old jeanneau up in the PNW. the exterior was beaten hard by the elements. If you do get an boat from there or Florida, wouldn't want one older than 4-5 years.

[calcrg]

Hadn't consider the weathering issue. Good thought. That may make the PNW more attractive than a Mexico or Panama boat for the same reason. I've read the sail down the coast is challenging, but very do-able.
Thanks

[donradcliffe]

Originally Posted by calcrg

We like to roominess of a cat, and the performance is a nice upside.

Room, Performance, and Low Cost. You are never going to find all three.

[bccoast]

Going south is much better than going north on the west coast. Even from Cabo to Cali is uphill. Got beat up last month helping a friend get his boat back from Cabo.

[donradcliffe]

I am a delivery skipper, and one of the projects I am working on now is a 70 ft raceboat that is in Rhode Island and needs to be in California for next summer's Pacific Cup. They are penciling the options out, and to them the cheapest option is to sail down to Panama and pay me to bring the boat up the West Coast. The other option is to take the mast and keel off and truck it. Sailing it around would be $25-30k and trucking would be $50-60k, but trucking is faster and there is the cost of wear and tear. The third option would be by ship, which is comparable in cost to trucking. Forty foot cats don't fit on a long haul truck.

[calcrg]

Originally Posted by donradcliffe

I am a delivery skipper, and one of the projects I am working on now is a 70 ft raceboat that is in Rhode Island and needs to be in California for next summer's Pacific Cup. They are penciling the options out, and to them the cheapest option is to sail down to Panama and pay me to bring the boat up the West Coast. The other option is to take the mast and keel off and truck it. Sailing it around would be $25-30k and trucking would be $50-60k, but trucking is faster and there is the cost of wear and tear. The third option would be by ship, which is comparable in cost to trucking. Forty foot cats don't fit on a long haul truck.

I understand trucking is not an option for a 40ft cat. Based on a few things I've read, It looks like ship may be in the $40-50K range. I have considered exactly the plan you suggest...sail from the Carib to Panama and then have is skippered up to San Diego. Have you estimated the time....from Florida to Panama and then from Panama to So Cal?