Arthur said: "Honestly, most of the “comfort” and
safety things such as a strong
hull, skeg
rudder,
head w/ separate shower , large
galley and aft cabin are basically to make my GF happy and willing to go haha."
Faust said: "Das war also des Pudel's Kern" when the doggie that followed him home revealed himself to be Mephistopheles - Satan, to whom Faust had
sold his soul!
There is NO wisdom IMO in making a boat-buying decision driven by the desires of a companion that is not of SUPERIOR knowledge to yourself in regard to seafaring. The possible consequences of doing so are few, to wit:
A) You, against your better judgement and your own desires, back down and act on your companion's stated desires and
wind up with a boat that NOT suitable for what you (or indeed your companion) wish to do with the boat. The potential for conflict and loss of companionship is great, particularly in light of the quantity of common resources that are going to be irretrievably consumed to your very probable chagrin.
B) Your companion against his/her better judgement and his/her own desires, backs down and acts on your stated desires and
wind up with a boat that NOT suitable for what s/he (or indeed you) wish to do with the boat. The potential for conflict and loss of companionship is great, particularly in light of the quantity of common resources that are going to be irretrievably consumed to his/her very probable chagrin.
C) You both recognize how fraught with conflict is the situation, give up the "plan" to buy a boat, and go do something other that cruising.
The prophylactic against making an unwise boat-buying decision is, IMO, this:
You both recognize that knowledge of seafaring, of boat handling, of yacht design, of meteorology and of many other much more subtle things such a situational awareness in dangerous circumstances and personal reaction to fear must be brought in rough equivalence, so that you and your companion may be an effective and efficient team when seafaring. It is also useful to have such confidence in the competence of the other that taking an order from the other and executing it promptly and proficiently, even if it means doing something that you, yourself, would not have ordered the other to do, will not cause strife while underway.
If you would like to cogitate on the interplay between competent seafaring, authority relationships aboard ship and interpersonal relationships ashore, read Herman Wauk's
The Caine Mutiny. It is a
classic and should be required reading for anyone even remotely concerned with seafaring!
All the best :-)!
TrentePieds