Hi, Jere, Frank, Bruce, and any others who may be looking in, curious,

"Jere Lull" wrote in message
, stimulated by a question
I'd posted about restoring fiberglass finishes (on small powerboats!!)...

??? I missed the *REPORT*! What was the result of The Search?!

We're in recovery mode at the moment, having done a huge amount of time and
research/travel, etc., which those following it know about. For those new
to the party, so to speak, my wife and I (recently married but not spring
chickens!) have been in intensive search mode since the beginning of this
year. So far we've actually been aboard perhaps 80 boats, and had over 150
in consideration, in the Virgins and Coastal FL. The remainder were either
not available or duplicates of unsuited types we didn't bother with. As a
result of those trips, we have a great number of boats we know won't work
for us but which initially appeared promising.

We've got some difficult parameters to meet, which is why we're still
looking, rather than having so much as offered on any boats so far. I'll
get into a bit more detail below. Suffice it to say, we've had other things
to deal with (life is what intrudes while you're making other plans!) so
have put live/realtime boat searches on hold for a bit. If we don't succeed
with what I'll discuss below, we'll pick it up again, and expand the area to
the east coast up to Annapolis or so.

The closest we've gotten to buying a boat is to inch toward an offer on a
Gulfstar44 in the Tampa area (thus the posting about weather and sea
trials). There are some very nervous-making inconsistencies about this
boat, in addition to its being bigger than we really would prefer, and,
unless subject to a real lowball, out of our price range. Specifically, as
to the nervous-makings, it was one of the 5 GS44s that a couple contracted,
surveyed and walked from, and we've not gotten an answer about why they
walked, and there are other waffles or fancy-footwork non-answers from the
listing broker as well. Secondly, it's for sale by a heart attack victim
who had done some major refit and was provisioning for extended cruising in
the Bahamas when he had his incident. Scratch the plan, recover from the
attack, and with a 20% heart function, singlehandedly motor from
Jacksonville to Tampa to sell the boat. That's pretty fishy on the heart
attack (singlehand just after recovery?) and distance (long time) and, most,
marketability (why not FTL?? Jacksonville, where it had been based for the
last 10 years?). He's selling to buy a trawler, and presumably needs the
money for that, so we're inferring the need to get the highest possible, not
take a lowball due to some sort of distress. That said, we're talking with
our selling broker trying to see if we can come to some sort of offer which
will meet our needs and allow the seller to accomplish his.

Given all that, so far, the only boat I've been on which I can stand in (I
brush the soft liner in some areas, but can't find anything hard under it
with my head despite all attempts at standing tall) which also has a closed
galley and a queen berth-able size, along with suitable topsides and
interior storage, is a GS44, seen in the second FL trip which was done to go
back to a couple of short-listers (which both failed on review). Another
seen in that second trip, on the shortlist, also abandoned on review, was an
Endeavour 42, marvelous in all regards other than tiny exterior storage (two
cooler-sized lazarettes, one of which was the propane locker) and lesser
interior storage. We'd seen that boat on the hard in FTL when we were there
the first time...

Pleas for suggestions on others meeting our newly (well, in June, following
our dash through FL's perimeter for over 80 candidates) formulated
parameters were met with deafening silence, so we presume that unless we
move well into the 6-digit range and perhaps over 45', there aren't any of
that ilk in production boats. I've got a sketched design for what I'd
consider to be an ideal layout for a cruising boat, but it would have such a
limited market I doubt it's been produced, and, certainly, I'm/we're in no
position to have one built on a hull/deck frame.

So, again, for those who are looking on, these are our basic parameters
(chopped to the essentials from a much more detailed list); we'll be alone
with occasional to frequent guests:

Minimum 6-3 headroom in all standing areas such as galley, walkthrough,
head, salon, berth.

Closed galley, with athwart preferred

True queen (60x80 rectangle) sleeping available. "Playpen" (as in the GS44)
ok so long as either athwart or inline queen space exists; GS44 could be
used athwart, and then, under way, use the sides as steaming berths.

Good exterior (lazarettes) and interior (cave, bin, closet, under-floor)
storage - we'll be living and cruising aboard, full time.

Purchase in the 60-70 range, with a 50% reserve for immediate or anticipated
upgrades or repairs and emergency fund. A *PERFECT* boat fully equipped
with all the bells and whistles we consider important (provision and cast
off with no expectation of upgrade or repair for a few years) could be
bought at 100.

We'd have preferred to stay under 40' but there's nothing we've seen which
comes close in that size. My sketched boat would easily meet the
requirements, but I've not seen the design in any of the hundreds I've
looked at in all the various almanacs like Sherwood, Mauch, and the umpteen
others we scoured before setting foot on any, so I'm not holding my breath
:{))

There's lots of other enhancements on which we'd place value, but those
above are inflexible, other than we've become a bit waffly on the queen
berth, if there's some pullman or other design which *almost* gets it such
as a taper down one side from otherwise ok dimensions.

We're ok on bottom design (beggars can't be choosers) but we'd prefer a
medium draft fin/skeg/spade arrangement, and on rig, being neutral to
ketch/sloop and inclined to cutter/dual headsail with removable inner in
either.

Anyone got suggestions?? (Yeah, I know, go take a flying leap! :{)) I mean
about a sailboat make/model which will do that!) :{))

L8R

Skip and Lydia

--

"And then again, when you sit at the helm of your little ship on a clear
night, and gaze at the countless stars overhead, and realize that you are
quite alone on a great, wide sea, it is apt to occur to you that in the
general scheme of things you are merely an insignificant speck on the
surface of the ocean; and are not nearly so important or as self-sufficient
as you thought you were. Which is an exceedingly wholesome thought, and one
that may effect a permanent change in your deportment that will be greatly
appreciated by your friends."- James S. Pitkin

"Skip Gundlach" wrote:
Hi, Jere, Frank, Bruce, and any others who may be looking in, curious,

"Jere Lull" wrote:

??? I missed the *REPORT*! What was the result of The Search?!

....snip...
The closest we've gotten to buying a boat is to inch toward an offer on a
Gulfstar44 in the Tampa area (thus the posting about weather and sea
trials).
....snip...

So it is a Gulfstar 44! (I asked you about this in your sea trials
thread before I saw this post; so there's no need to reply to that now
that I know!)Is it listed on yachtworld?

I agree that the story sounds fishy; but so what? It's a sales tool,
just like claiming "15 bags of sails included." The story is
unimportant; the condition of the boat is what's important. If those
other folks got a survey, *that* would be significant to look at. And,
of course, as you're planning, a rigorous survey of your own with your
offer contingent on very specific parameters from the survey results.

Good luck!

Frank

P.S. I'm jealous (as usual) 'cause Ronnie and the girls are still
strongly leaning toward RVing right now and cruising a couple of years
from now; but the Seattle Freedom 38 owner is asking only $65K and
he's desperate to sell and the boat is in excellent shape. Sigh! My
life is soooo hard! Whine, whine, whine. I hope this one works out for
y'all!