* Vic Smith wrote, On 4/10/2007 6:48 PM:
On Tue, 10 Apr 2007 16:21:35 -0400, Jeff wrote:

* Vic Smith wrote, On 4/9/2007 10:00 PM:
So scuttling the Mac idea, what do you recommend?
I need = 2' draft, decent live aboard accommodation for 2,
no more than 30k ready-to-go.
No blue water or heavy weather sailing.
Used mostly for gunkholing West Florida and the Keys.
You sure seem to know your boats, so any advice appreciated.

My first choice for this type of cruising was (and is) a catamaran.
However, it will be difficult find one at $30K; the cheapest I've seen
is about $60K for an old, but serviceable cat. This, however, would
be huge compared to a Mac.

My second choice would be something like this:
http://www.marshallcat.com/
The problem with these is that the larger one at 22 feet is too wide
to take long distance on a trailer. (You can still use a trailer, but
it's a wide load and the mast is not easy to step alone.) But you
would be pretty much guarantee that you'd the prettiest boat where
ever you went.

Third choice would be one of the many "clorox bottle" trailer boats,
of which the Mac is the epitome. However, I would also consider a
small powerboat; personally, I probably get more use out of this:
http://www.parkerboats.net/pages/boa....jsp?boatid=18

There a few bits of info you haven't offered us: First, does this
need to be a trailer boat? Second, are you looking for new, gently
used, or a fixer upper? And if your perfect boat stretched your
budget, would you go for it?

Thanks for those suggestions. To answer your questions, I won't tow
a boat, that doesn't mean a trailerable won't have advantages for
haul out and storage. I'm ignorant on that score, and don't know if
the cost advantage (if there is one) of having a trailerable is worth
what is given up in other areas.

The ability to haul a boat at a ramp and to stash it anywhere (such as
in your driveway) is pretty big. A downside is that true trailer
boats have a beam under 8'6". On the other hand, you can haul wide
load locally with a simple permit (if you think you need to) so If I
had a boat that would fit on a trailer, I'd probably get one, if only
to have more options if a hurricane is coming.


It would be new or gently used. I really don't want to have any
serious fix-ups to do. Excellent hull and mechanicals condition are
important to me. Frankly, that is what most attracts me to the Mac,
because at a decent price you get a new, no-surprises boat.

Buying new is no guarantee of no-surprises. Trust me, Ive been there.
95% of my new boat worked just fine. The other 5% was a total
disaster. For example, one engine had three emergency service calls
in the first year and a half. All under warranty, all coming during
vacations. One caused a 3 week layover, fortunately in Charleston.
Actually, the first disaster came quick - a clogged fuel 6 hours
after leaving the factory. Normally this wouldn't be a problem, but
the mast was down, the wind was blowing, we were 50 miles from shore,
and I had never seen there engines before. Actually, it took about 3
years to get all the bugs out; its been fine for the last 5 years, and
now things are beginning to wear out. Buying new is not to have all
new stuff, its to have the boat built exactly how you want it.

I'm not sold on that, and until I get to Florida and hire/charter some
boats I won't know what's best for me.

Good thinking.

The advice I get here will tell me what to look at, and I really
appreciate that advice.
I would stretch my budget if I could justify it.