We started out looking casually at much less expensive boats than the one we
bought because we weren't very serious and I didn't realize how much I was
going to like sailing and cruising after not doing it for 15 years. We
found a 28 footer for $1,200 and negotiated the price down to zero. The
estimate to have her fixed up minimally was 15 grand and we decided that we
could afford it. Then, I started looking at used boat boat prices and
realized that she would be worth about 6 after we were done. That broke the
psychological price barrier though and we went out and bought twice as much
boat for the same 15 thousand. She's now about a 75 thousand dollar boat,
counting the value of my labor, and I probably could get 20 for her in
today's market.

--
Roger Long