I appreciate your response!
It seems like the only time I hear these boats referenced is in a list of "top ten boats I would love to have" - but they aren't even in the list. The list starts out, "well, aside from Hinckley, Alden, Morris, and Shannon, here are my top ten..." But aside from the fact that a brand new one of these babies is a bajillion dollars, nobody ever says *why* they would want a Hinckaldemorrishannon, other than that they are beautiful as they wipe the drool with their shirtsleeve. What if you COULD own one, would you? If the late '70's and early '80's boats are creeping down in the reach of mere mortals like myself, why buy a 1982 blistered Valiant that somebody has ragged to pieces when I can get an 1978 Alden owned by some East Coast Senator who sailed it two weekends a year and stored it on the hard in his personal boat shed the rest of the time, with an army of paid servants to lavish it with oil and varnish and upgrades? I digress...
I guess what I am looking for is an honest discussion about some of these older high-end boats and their handling characteristics, common problems, idiosyncracies, etc. Maybe ONE website of somebody who owns one (I even found a Cape George 36 owner's website).
Final question: I often read that the best used boats to look for are 5-10 years old. Is a 25-30 year old boat, no matter who makes it, not as good an idea..? And if you say, Well you can get such and such boat made in the 90's that will work just fine for the same price, I will say, yeah, but it's not an ALDEN.
Lavish me with knowledge...