Thanks for the input Tim.
I don't mind flying to the States to pickup and repair the boat. I plan to
cruise the Bahamas for a year to give it a good test before crossing the
Pacific anyway. The problem is selecting the right boat. As you say
contracting a surveyer may be the answer, although that may prove expensive.
Or maybe not.
Do people abandon boats in marinas? I havn't heard of that here.

Cheers
JohnM
wrote in message
ups.com...
Your distance from these boats is a big difficulty, as you can see.
You can arrange with local surveyors to look at boats for you,
determine the extent of damage and give you an ideal of work required
to fix it, but that'll cost several hundred per boat. The surveyors
would also be able give advice on yards to work in, sources of
materials, good contractors, etc.

If you want a project, I'll suggest looking for boats abandoned in
marinas in your neck of the woods. Initial cost may be higher than a
hurricane boat on eBay, but your costs to get it into the water could
be a lot less.

Good luck with that,

Tim