Welcome to CF!
Quote:
Originally Posted by oceancrossroads
exemple i saw discution about solaris 42 cats , some say they are totaly unstable and slow and some say they are so great and very nice to cross oceans !!!
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I know 0 about cats - I only like the fluffy kind with 4 paws
but I'm pretty sure everybody is right.
It's an opinion, not an absolute truth.
Some people wouldn't take anything under 40' off shore, others happily do so on less then 30'. Some people love cats (the kind with 2 hulls), others will always go
monohull.
Some people like a fast sailor, some are happy with simply being safe aboard.
Nobody is wrong or right - just different people wanting / preferring different things.
In the end we all
anchor at the same spots and watch the same sunsets, so figure out what sort of boats fits best with you and your
family, and go with that.
Pretty much any well built and maintained
boat will get you where you want to be.
Just remember: both you and your wife have to be able to sail the boat alone, and not just under perfect conditions. And: the bigger the boat, the more
money, time &
maintenance she'll need. Not just on
purchase, but every
single day.
As to refitting and upgrading: opinions, opinions ...
Some people want all the bells and whistles, others go with a handheld
GPS and not much else.
A good place to start is to crew with people, and/or (later) rent /
charter the kind of boat you'd like to buy at some point.
Edit:
As to the
budget: even if you know 0 about boats, you should probably be able to figure out how much
money you have and can afford on
purchase - and how much you can set aside for monthly costs.