* Vic Smith wrote, On 6/13/2007 9:18 AM:
Let's just say that if I had a quarter million boat budget a Mac 26
"would not be considered" - for any purpose.

When I was younger I used to think, "If I had the money, I'd do ..."
whatever seemed neat at the time. As the money became less of an
issue, I realized it was harder to know what I really wanted. As I've
said, the concept of driving around the country with a Mac doesn't
sound that bad. (But I'd probably do it with an RV and a kayak.)

I would simply buy one sailboat that sailed well for sailing and a
boat like the Parker for gunkholing, and have plenty of cash to spare.
Or maybe a low draft cat, which could actually suit both goals.
My impression is that a knee-deep (=24") draft cat with suitable 3
week livability for 2 either doesn't exist or cost too much for my
budget, but I may be wrong about that, as I haven't looked hard.

There are no cats that I would consider that can be had for under
$50K. Around $80K is entry level for a used Gemini or vintage Prout.
Of course, these are more than short vacation boats. The problem is
that the concept of cruising cats doesn't scale down very well, and
the 30 footers are the equivalent of a 40 foot monohull.

The one possibility might be a used Corsair F24 tri - rather spartan
on the accommodations, but shoal draft, wicked fast, and used they can
be under 30K.

I do think cats make the best cruisers and generally sail very well,
so I'm in no way a traditional sailing purist.
BTW, using that Mac which turtled as an argument against the Mac is
akin to claiming F/P Tobago 35 cruising cats flip easily because of
that recent Gulf incident. Apparently that cat also flipped in '01.
http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...rs-3534-3.html
These rare owner-induced incidents put me off a boat no more than
knowing that a 42' mast shouldn't be sailed under high voltage lines
hanging 40' above the water.

Owner-induced would is a good term for it. BTW, I'm not the one who
brought up the case of the Mac July 4 tragedy - I didn't even raise
safety as an issue until Ed tried to claim that the Mac was not to blame.

The difference is that everyone knows that a cat has the potential to
flip if the conditions get bad enough and you don't reduce sail.
Generally they are designed to handle 40 knots with full sail, but the
Tobago is aggressive with the sail area (about 30% more than mine with
less weight) so extra care would be needed. I don't know the full
story of this episode, but I gather they carried full sail in a squall
a ways offshore.

The Mac episode was rather different. Someone had borrowed the boat
on July 4th and took out some friends (with a few kids) to watch the
fireworks. Yes, there were a few people above the recommended limit,
and yes there was alcohol, but this was probably the case for half the
boats that left the dock that night across the country. The weather
was perfect: no wind, no waves. They pulled the anchor and apparently
the driver goosed the throttle by mistake. The boat tipped, someone
probably grabbed a stay, and it rolled over. I might expect this
behavior from a racing dinghy, or even a centerboard daysailer, but
not a 26 foot "cruising" boat. It is the totally unexpected nature of
this accident that sets it apart.


....
Is there some reason why you need a new boat?

No, but I don't buy fixer-uppers. I like turnkey shipshape.
I can handle buying old cars because I concentrate on certain models I
know well. I *never* encounter unanticipated expenses.

Don't fool yourself that new boats are "trouble free." I thought that
buying new from a quality builder would give me a "grace period" but
that was not the case. The engine gave me a lot of trouble for the
first year, including a 3 weeks unscheduled delay, fortunately in
Charleston SC, and paid for by Yanmar. The fuel lines almost had us
stranded 30 miles from shore on our first voyage. Much of the
plumbing was done by an apprentice and had to be gone over,inch by
inch. In fact, while most of the standard features worked fine, the
custom items, like the Lavac head and the big fridge were a mess and
have taken years to sort out. As a whole, the boat got "better" for a
few years, and then age started catching up. So my experience is that
"turnkey" is really achieved on a 2-3 year old boat, whereas a new
boat may have as many problems as a 5 year old. Of course, with a
trailer boat you have the possibility of sending it back to the dealer
for re-grooving.

(BTW, PDQ understands these new-boat issues. They have a couple of
crews that drive around to the new boat owners during the Spring
delivery season fixing as many of the new boat problems as possible.)


I know diddly about boat construction and hidden problems, except that
many owners find out about them too late. If I buy used, I'll go in
with my eyes open.

Survey! Don't buy without a survey! And never ever use a surveyor
recommended by the broker. (The best thing you can hear from your
broker when you're selling is "they're using a surveyor we recommended.")