Racer turning cruiser/liveaboard advise !

[GOTSAIL]

Well, I am FINALLY going to pull the trigger and ditch my ultalight race boat for a cruiser and live part time on it! Sail coastal.

So, I'm not too familiar with cruiser type boats, so looking to you all for some real life advise to purchase!

Since located in N. CA where the wind blows 30kts with huge swells and gusts, need a seaworthy, blue water type boat BOAT still very, very comfortable or the wife won't go....not like that's a bad thing..HAHAHA

Let me know what you think and why.

- Size
- Brand
- Through bolted hull and glassed, not just glassed A MUST
- What NOT to buy and why
- Price range needs to be reasonable, between $50-80kish
- What to look for
- Gear list, sail inventory
-??????????????

Thanks and live long, sail fast! ( or slower in my case )