You only have 3 choices

[Dennis Clarke]

As the heading states there are only 3 options here. The choice will between a Rustler 36, year 2000, a Hallberg Rassy also a 36 but will be around ,1996 or a Moody 36cc 1999, which comes in at £20,000 less than the others. Plan to live and cruise on.. mostly single handling... while picking up crew for extended periods. Each of these sailboats are capable of taking me wherever I want to go but would like your input if you were in a similar situation.

[DDabs]

Tough to turn down a Hallberg... but I have not really looked at Rustler's before. What a beautiful boat. For singlehanding, rigging a windvane seems like it would be much easier with the Rustler. Which do you like the most?

[Dennis Clarke]

Leaning towards the Rustler, but watching market as things will change in next 6 months... Rustler has less comfort features than HR or Moody...but is top rated for offshore sailing.

[AndyEss]

Have you considered a Hobie16? They are a lot of fun.

[Pete7]

Since this is going to be your home for long periods of time whilst stationary, I would choose one that will be comfortable to live on. You should consider what they will be like in a hot climate if you plan on staying in Mex. Is there sufficient room for you to sleep and entertain guests with their sleeping needs in a separate cabin? Finally, is there a good sized shower on board? small heads are fine for weekend sailing, but a decent sized shower is a great feature for your home.

Not a great fan of the HR range if the wood is the dark colour so many of them have been fitted out with.

Pete

[gonesail]

keep looking or roll the dice

[Tupaia]

Some Rustlers and Moodys come "without" teak decks. You will regret living in the tropics under a teak deck. It will be too hot to walk on and is a maintenance nightmare waiting to happen.

[Dennis Clarke]

Not sure if I will spending all of my time in the tropics.... good point though. 1st year would be divided between UK and close EU countries....so that I can learn and understand the boat...after that we'll see

[macrae]

Originally Posted by Dennis Clarke

Not sure if I will spending all of my time in the tropics.... good point though. 1st year would be divided between UK and close EU countries....so that I can learn and understand the boat...after that we'll see

Two things I would consider.
1) Length of bunks. ( I always found the European boats to have short bunks)
2)Size of the cockpit. When living aboard, the cockpit becomes your living room.

[waterman46]

In a 33 ft length, center cockpit (HR and Moody) is not too practical since the aft cabin would be just tiny. And the Moody appears to have a deck stepped mast and fin keel, two strikes. Avoid bolt-on keels. Bolts can corrode and you have a real problem.

So that leaves the Rustler, which also has a deck-stepped mast. In it's favor are longer traditional keel and aft cockpit. Well all boats are a compromise, but you didn't mention the prices or the age of each boat, so very hard to judge. All else being equal, I would definitely go with the Rustler.

[DDabs]

Nothing wrong with a deck-stepped mast, especially on a 36' boat. Look at Hans Christians, Tayanas, etc... never heard of an issue with the mast being deck-stepped. As long as there is a proper compression post, one could argue that a deck-stepped mast is just as stable as keel-stepped, without the worry of water intrusion if you get knocked down at sea.

[Dennis Clarke]

I believe I did mention in my opening statement about price..but the list will not go above £95K asking, 36 ft in length and year 2000 will be tops for year since everything else newer goes way up in price.

[Shrew]

I would wait 6 months and see where the market actually settles. It might be your home, but the large majority of boats are recreational. These are the first thing to go when money gets tight. When money is tight, nobody is buying and a buyers market follows.

The toys go first.

[KP44]

Draft is a consideration, if everything else is equal. Just a few cm can be the difference in a marina, anchorage, bar crossing, or canal passage. A 1.4 meter draft or a 2 meter? That is a huge difference.

[Cheechako]

Moody not in the same class as the other two. Now you're down to two!