jim, you are trying to make a perfect decision. That is a recipe for failure.

go buy a boat for 1/10th what you expect to pay now, sail it for two years than
buy the boat you want *then*, figuring you got two years sailing for little
jing.

otherwise, five years from now you will still be trying to make the perfect
decision.

As discussed in other subject strings, I'm looking at 30 to 35-foot used
boats such as Cals, O'Days, Catalinas, etc. My intended use would be for
day sailing and sailing offshore near the coast in the Texas Gulf. As
mentioned, offshore sailing would probably require four or five days in
our area because of the distances involved.

Although I know it all depends on the person, the crew, the
circumstances, the boat, etc., have there been any studies or surveys
that might provide some idea of how many days of sailing per year an
owner of such a boat typically gets, particularly after the first year?
Again, it's obvious that it all depends, on the person, the individual
circumstances, his work load, etc., and that there can be no
generalizations. (No need to tell me this. - It's pretty self-evident.)
Still, there may have been some polls or surveys, or at least, some
general experience and consensus regarding the question. The reason for
asking is that, though I'm anxious to get out to the blue water, I'm
wondering whether I would be the exception to what seems to be the
general rule in this area, in which the boats seem to sit in their slips
for 99.9 percent of the time. For example, one of the brokers I spoke
with last week bragged that the owner of that boat had only taken the
boat out some 10-12 times in the past ten years. - Any estimates, guesses?

Jim