On Nov 30, 5:42 pm, Gogarty wrote:
Congratulations on your gift. It is the gift that will keep on taking.

This probably is not very helpful. But your budget of $15,000 will get you
nowhere.

Get a survey. Ignore Wilbur. If you want to insure the boat you will have to
get one anyway.

Then resign yourself to the fact that you will have $30,000 in that boat
within the year. Heed the voice of experience with a surveyed 1976 Dawson 26.
And that was twenty-five years ago. You could read all about it in an article
entitled "We'll never fall in love again" in a magazine called "Messing About
in Boats," long defunct.

$30,000, what nonsense, what are you doing, gold plating everything?
If your budget goes over $12,000 you are wasting money on BS. Its a
1976 boat probably worth maybe $10,000 guys, get a realistic grip.