[WHOOSH]

DNR:

First, someone should point out that you are the perfect candidate for co-ownership or partnership. As one example, a good friend with a nice late model sloop was finding he & his wife used their boat very little, yet hated to give up both it and sailing altogether. Instead, they formed a partnership (used the same basic format as we''d been using on a small airplane) and now co-own the boat with a couple from Ohio. IMO the Ohio owners have the best of all worlds: small costs, day-to-day details handled by the in-town owners, and contractual commitments for far more use time than they can take advantage of. They''ve been down to the Keys, over to the Bahamas, and all for a fraction of the full-up ownership cost. As I look around the marinas here in St. Pete, FL, it occurs to me that many more owners should have similar arrangements.

If you want to own 100% of the boat, you''ll have to adjust your goals...which may be one reason why the long search has produced disappointing results to date. E.g. sleeping 6 people - put 2-4 of them up in the nearby motel and everyone on the boat will be more comfortable. You might also want to reconsider the methodology of your search: get off the web, take a ''working vacation'' in the Lauderdale/Miami area, as one example, presecreen brokered boats offered by multiple brokers before arrival, and then relentlessly work the search. You''ll get well past the tire kicking phase very quickly as you put your hands on boats, and some brokers will see the advantage of winnowing down the ''usual suspects'' to the few which ''may'' meet your needs.

Good luck - who would have thought that shopping for a boat turns out to be so much work, right!?

jack