I've just gotten off the road where I was able to get aboard over 40 boats
(I'd have to review my notes to be sure of just how many, but the list of
candidates was over 70), none of which types we'd been able to see before.

I'm delighted to say that we now have more than one candidate for our
purchase. Up until now, we were despairing of finding a boat which
accommodated my frame (6-4) and Lydia's preferences ("proper boat" and some
layout distinctions below).

This portion of our search was begun in Annapolis and ended in Charleston,
SC, with additional driving starting and ending near Atlanta. It was made
more exciting by automotive challenges which had my car dying at
inexplicable times; suffice it to say I managed to deal with that and still
got to see all but two locations with one boat each, and that wasn't really
a matter of auto challenges so much as it was the embarrassment of riches
which caused the trip to be longer than originally planned. I'm happy to
say that it was longer due to some very apt suggestions from a couple of
brokers, at least two of which suggestions are now on our active list.

This search section is nearly 200 boats big, culled from over 1200 listings
from Annapolis to Corpus Christi. The experience on the first leg has
allowed us to winnow that list down by some notable number, but not a
significant portion. Of the ones which didn't work in the first round,
there were only a few duplicates throughout the rest of the geography; the
deletions were of the bigger boats which, in desperation, we'd included.
Fortunately, there are at least a couple, so far, under 40 feet, and we're
hopeful that in the additional legs (not yet scheduled, but sometime in the
next few weeks) from Savannah around to Texas, we'll find additional smaller
boats which will work for us. With only a very few exceptions, all of this
list is boats we've not been aboard as a type, so we're hopeful that this
first portion's successes continue and allow us to expand our potential pool
to even more under 40 feet.

Those of you who have been following our adventures know that we'd strongly
considered, and then eventually discarded, due to inadequate interior and
exterior storage, the Endeavour 42, and made an offer on a Gulfstar 44. The
GS44 is still interesting to us, but we'd far rather be under 40 feet if we
possibly can. We've also modified our parameters to be far more inclusive
of items previously not acceptable, the most significant of which is a
Pullman berth, with its slight taper to the feet, and a full, rather than
queen, size.

The two (under 40) we've got which work for us at this point are the Hans
Christian 33 and the Island Packet 38. A strong contender was the Fantasia
35, but in the end, it just didn't quite make it in the stern cabin.
However, those are very interesting boats, for sure!

Ironically, the boat we'd always cited as one which we thought to be very
close to our ideal in layout, but (we thought), too small in size, is the
HC33. Surprise - I don't touch anywhere except in the shower.

In addition, Morgan 452, Stamas 44, Young Sun 43, Gulfstar 43, Endeavour 43,
Mason 43, Catalina 42 also work, though we'd rather stay under 40 feet. It
appears, perhaps, that we'll be able to do that.

While this is exhausting and tedious, I'm looking forward to the next round
of boats, as there's several under 40 candidates among them. With the
successes of this trip, we've knocked out the bigger boats we'd added in
desperation. As it's turned out, at least for the ones we'd had on the list
in this leg, none of the bigger boats fit me any better, anyway, and some
were what I call 'severe bonk boats' - ones in which I can hit the *back* of
my head against the ceiling :{/)

Back to the HC33 (4 to choose from in this trip alone! - with another 3 or 4
in the rest of the legs of this search), we're leaning away from it due to
all the exterior wood it has (and the attendant upkeep). However, until
we've got more from which to choose, we'll keep them, and also want to look
at their bigger sister, the HC 38. In addition, while it's clearly bigger
than we want in total, the Stamas 44 is absolutely stunning (for our
purpose). The particular boat is equipped just as though we'd written the
specs, with the niggling 44' and the couple of (small) areas which seem to
be designed for carpeting in the interior (no wood on the floor, all
basically non-skid-ish texture, but not diamondstep, fiberglass) as the only
exceptions. The two-edged sword for this boat is that there aren't very
many of them; it probably means that it could be bought less expensively
than a comparable other boat, but it also will spell trouble later on when
we try to sell it.

So, while I try to catch up from being gone, I'm also planning out the next
phase, and adding in the boats which have been contributed by the (very
professional!) broker we worked with in Annapolis, Frank Gary, of Bristol
Yachts. The removals will be about balanced by the additions, I think, so
there's still well over a hundred left to see!

However, we're definitely moving closer. Lydia's house will go on the
market soon, and I'm still emptying mine, though have a few interested
potential buyers in hand, along with the same for most of my other boating
stock (two power boats, two rowing shells, three windsurfers and 2 dinghy
sailboats - and a partridge in a pear tree).

Woo hoo :{))

L8R

Skip and Lydia