It seems like every few days I find myself falling in love with a new boat. First it was the Krogen 38. We made an offer and thankfully it wasn’t accepted.
Krogen 38: Sweet layout, but not nice topsides
After we moved down to San Diego I was convinced that the Catalina 36 was the boat for us. The layout inside is sweet and people have cruised all around up and down the coast on that boat. The one we looked at was sailed extensively in the British Virgin Islands before she ended up here. The layout inside is pretty sweet with a large V berth and aft cabin. That feeling of elation quickly faded after I went to a Catalina owners group and talked to some folks about extended cruising aboard a Catalina 36. She seems good for a trip around the coast and out to the Catalina Island in California or a short trip down to Mexico and back, but not for the long term coastal cruising Natalie and I want to do.
Catalina 36: Not quite sturdy enough
My next dream boat was the Cabo Rico 38. I never really looked at the specs on the boat, but saw that it’s on many bluewater boat lists.
Cabo Rico 38: Not even sure why I fell for this one
Tayana 37 has been in the back of my mind for a while as a good cruising boat because Darren Davis has on up in Everett. She has beautiful, classic lines. The only problem is that most just have a quarterberth and we want an extra stateroom. I found one up in Alameda, CA that fits the bill. The problem with that listing is that there’s no cruising gear included and the head has been removed and replaced with a porta-potty. That would be a big job, putting everything I want on a cruising boat and getting that ready and wouldn’t be able to happen within my budget.
Tayana 37: Too many projects to make it cruise ready
Now we’re back to Morgan 41. We looked at a center cockpit Morgan 41 in Portland and liked the layout, but not the boat we looked at. It was full of personal junk and smelled funky like cats and incense. The layout is pretty sweet with a large cabin in the V-Berth and master stateroom aft. The boat is definitely worth another look. The only problem with the boat we’re looking at tomorrow is that it has a lot of cruising gear. In fact it’s loaded. Single Sideband Radio, 2 Watermakers, solar, wind, autopilot, wind self steering. Pretty much all we need to do is add ourselves and head south. My big concern is that in 3 years a lot of stuff can break on a boat.
Morgan 41: Cruise ready
Natalie and I are keeping our fingers crossed we find the right boat!