Gary wrote:
It's a great looking boat but Yachtworld has several with an average
price of about 269k. If the one you are looking at is Joie de Vivre,
it is the most expensive! I think that I'd look at the others before
committing. Although it is a 2005, it's not new. Let someone else take
the hit. Of course if money doesn't matter.......it's a fine boat for
your cats.

You can actually see the name Joie de Vivre in some of the pictures
on my web site :-) I first saw this boat at yachtworld.com. At that time
somebody else had an offer pending but it just fell through last week.

The other Beneteau 473's in the U.S. that are listed for less are all
older (and mostly on the East Coast) and I wouldn't mind paying
10-11% more to get a 2005 model instead of 2002.

2005 $320,000 Warwick, RI

2004 $294,000 Palm Beach, FL
2004 $249,900 Mt. Clemens, MI

2003 $285,000 Newport, RI
2003 $255,000 Cape Cod, MA
2003 $254,500 Cataumet, MA

2002 $289,000 Pt Richmond, CA
2002 $269,000 Racine, WI (sale pending)
2002 $269,000 Huntington, NY
2002 $265,000 Punta Gorda, FL
2002 $265,000 San Diego, CA (2-cabin version)
2002 $249,900 Deltaville, VA

2000 $269,000 Milwaukee, WI

But now the Tayana dealer is working on a deal for me for
a new Tayana Vancouver 460 Pilot which will also include
a live-aboard slip. I may even go for this one even if it costs
$100,000 more and comes with less equipments because you
normally have to wait a couple of years to get a live-aboard
slip here in San Diego.

As mentioned earlier I also have pictures of this Tayana
on the web at http://tayana46.tripod.com

The Beneteau dealer says that this Tayana is heavy and slow
(and top heavy) but I think the consensus here is that Tayana
is a better bluewater boat than Beneteau.

Thanks again for all the suggestions. I'll let you know if
I actually decide to buy something next week.