Thanks everyone for your responses.

Someone asked "What winds my clock?". Thats a very good question.

Our previous boat was a 36' Fuji. It had great liveaboard
accomodations but didn't sail very well, had a poorly designed
cockpit, and had a bit too much exterior wood. While our 2 daughters
were growing up, it was a great boat and we have may great memories
while cruising SE Alaska in that boat.

Now, our daughters are leaving the house and we're nearing retirement
age. The plan or should I say "what winds our clock": My wife and I
are planning to sell the house this year, move a few keepsakes to
storage, rent a small appartment & start searching for a new boat.
Its been a difficult question as to the size of boat to get. We will
be spending 3 more years here in Alaska and then heading for warmer
waters - Mixico, Central America and maybe even beyond! We really
like the Pacific NW and will most likely return to this area. We
would like to have a boat that is comfortable for 2 to live on, sails
fairly well, is not plagued with blisters or high maintenance (wood
work), is fairly easy to handle for 2 people - one in a pinch, and one
that is capable of safely going offshore if we ever decide to make the
big loop!

I have to admit we're kind of leaning toward the Morgan 38 but I'm not
sure its a good choice for offshore. We did look at a Tayana 37, but
we didn't like the long bowsprit. They were once referred to as
"widow makers". Maybe I'm being too picky and a long bowsprit is
perfectly safe - I'm not really too sure about this. Comments from
folks who have them?

Size. We're looking at boats that range between 36 and 44 feet. We
know that's a real swing, but we're unsure of how much more work and
money it will take to operate and maintain a Tayana 42 vs a Morgan 38.


At this point my wife and I are just gathering as much information as
we can. We plan on heading south this fall to look through as many
boats as we can, but we want to work on a small database of acceptable
boats and the pros and cons of each before we head south. Some may
think we're analyzing things to death, but thats just the way we do
things.

We've checked out a lot of the recommendations folks have made by
looking the boats up on YachtWorld. Great site to look at the
interior as well as exterior of many different models of boats. We
sure appreciate all the input everyone has contributed. Please keep
sending it in!


On Fri, 18 Jul 2003 18:07:11 GMT, (Norm) wrote:

My wife and I are starting to look for another boat. We'd like to
find something between 36 and 40 feet that is capable of being safely
taken offshore. We'd really like to keep the price around $80K but if
spending a few more $$ gets a much better boat, then we're willing to
investigate.

We've looked at the Tartan 37 & the Morgan 38 - not sure if either is
good for going offshore.

Looked at the Pacific Seacraft 34-37 - just a bit out of my price
range.

The Gulfstar 44 - not the motorsailor but the center cockpit sloop -
not sure if its very good for offshore. Has a great aft cabin though.

Valiant 40 - older models have serious blister problems and I'm not
sure if the repair work done to the hulls is permanent.

I've also look at a few others.

I'd really like to hear from folks on this list as to what boat you'd
recommend and why.