"Don White" wrote in message
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"nom=de=plume" wrote in message
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My friend is trying to convince me to go halfs with him on a boat... he's
talking about either an Island Packet, which I've seen before, or
possibly a Valiant, which I haven't seen. The "plan" that we've been
talking about is getting something in the mid- to low-40 foot range,
berthing it on the bay (probably Sausalito, assuming we could find a
suitable place), and then taking it down to Mexico a year from next
October (which is the supposed "weather window" for travelling south).
The approximate cost for each of us would be in the $150K to $200K range,
perhaps some wiggle room, depending upon how new the boat would be and
what needs to get retrofitted.

My friend wants to get something made in the US... I guess it's easier to
have it Federally registered. And, we both like the idea of buying
American if possible.

Right now, there's another couple that would be putting in sweat and time
equity (but limited cash), so that would give us a crew of four for
Mexico. I'm probably the most junior as far as sailing experience goes...
just the Hobie 18 in my distant past. I'd probably take some classes with
Sal, because we could probably both use a refresher.

We're thinking if we get the boat in the next couple of months, so we'd
have a good long time to get really familiar with how it sails and how we
sail together (we've sailed locally a few times with no conflicts). The
guys are best buddies, so that's not an issue.

So, we're going to meet up at the sail show and see what looks
interesting. I mentioned Catalina, since I've heard the name, but
apparently they're not quite up to the same quality standards. Is there
another US-built make in the same class as the IP or Val? Anything else a
relative novice should consider beyond the interpersonal/relationship
stuff (we're all pretty compatible... travelled with each other lots...
and we're all pretty independent). My main concern is can I pull my own
weight on the boat, but I guess most of that can be figured out in
sailing classes and sailing on whatever we get).

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Nom=de=Plume

Being a part owner of a boat...... not so sure!
I've had opportunities in the past, but would much rather own a modest
boat than half or a quarter of a nicer boat.
Less chance of differences of opinion, etc in the long run.



I hear that... we've had lots of talks about what would happen if..... it
would all have to be in writing of course. We're pretty easy-going people (I
know, hard to tell from some of my posts), and we both have legal
backgrounds, although from a different area. Also, I don't want to own the
boat all myself... And, I don't want to be a "guest" either.

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Nom=de=Plume