A Sweden 36 or a Wauquiez Pretorian or a J35 or J34C for anywhere near
what
you paid for your Bendy would have to be beat-up junk or showing their
age
with minimal or outdated equipment.

You know nothing about boat brokerage. I looked at and sailed the J
34C. It was in very nice shape, probably about as nice as the 35s5. The
Pretorian was older and the only thing wrong with it was the sails.
These boats often sell for many thousands of dollars less than asking.
Half of the 35s5's on Yachtworld are priced just below 70K. 3 recent
buyers I spoke to paid in the low to mid 60's for thiers. One person
paid 71K for a near perfect example like mine, but he had enough sail
inventory to make it worth it. 5 years ago 35s5's were selling in the
mid 50's typically. Now they're higher. Do you know why? Do you know
why the C&C 34+ shot up to near 100K after selling in the low 60s for
years? The market responds to NEW boat costs as well as design trends.
A C&C 34+ or 35s5 are examples of used designs that come close to
matching new boat qualities and performance. That drives their prices
up. As several people noted on the Beneteau lists, the latest First
series boats even drove up the price of the older First 345.
Don't even bother answering, Maxipad. You look at Yachtworld, while I
actually sell boats....just closed a deal on a Freedom 35 a few weeks
ago in fact and just took this beast in:
http://hometown.aol.com/bobsprit/page4.html
But a deal to sell a Carver 450 fell through...perfect for you!

RB
35s5
NY