Looking for some opinions

[Solmates]

I would like to hear some opinions on which boats would be on the top of your list if you were buying a boat under the following conditions

Would like to sail along east coast, the gulf and maybe a little island hopping in the BVIs
Would like to eventually be living aboard
Must be able to be sailed by a couple
Have average sailing experience and some repair capabilites.
Budget is below $200,000
Boat should be well built and stable with a comfortable sea motion.
Sailing schedule will be pretty open with no particular schedules, (can wait for weather windows)
Would like to have good storage and

[Jeff_H]

There a lot of boats that could fit that description. When we were looking for a boat for my Dad with almost that description, we ended up with a Brewer 12.8 cutter but there are a wide range of boats out there that could work equally as well.

Jeff

[henryvand]

You should consider a catamaran. Suggest you charter one for a week and you will appreciate the benefits they offer. A PDQ36 would fit the bill nicely for you.

[tm3]

Solmates,
Three years ago we had the same situation.
We had some idea on what we should look for using our past sailboat charting experience.
Without getting to wordy???
Main issues were new or used, size (what were we comfortable in handling) and price which we set at the outset. We explored this issue on the NET, in magazines and in visiting several boat brokers.
Once we decided on the above issues we made a list of what basic things the boat should have.
We then began our search on the various boats for sale sites on the NET and visiting brokers. We did set a search radius since we didn''t want to travel long distances, like to FL, CA, etc.
We finally bought a used 38" Irwin Center Cockpit. Very happy with it despite some drawbacks.
Hope this helps. Any further questions kindly post and we will try to respond.

tm3