Truthfully, part of the decision was brought about by having looked at a number of Cats that were for sale.....prices in the mid 40''s up to much higher....the prices were very unrealistic and the boats were in "very bad condition". In order to have bought a boat that we would have found "liveable" we would have had to spend upwards $100,000.00 or more. I did not want to do that. I wanted to buy a boat cash and go from there. The ones I saw from $60K down were "project boats" and I do mean "projects", as in long term. There is also the issue of finding a slip that can accomadate the beam of some cats. It was primarily my wife that wanted the cat because of a bad experience on a monohull some years ago. Turns out it was an issue of "heeling" and the fellow that owned the boat was a bit of a showoff who liked to heel the boat as much as possible and put the rails in the water. She did not want any part of this kind of sailing.
SO, we altered our goals...started looking at power boats again...and the fuel went up and at about that time we saw a friend of mine who has years of sailing experience and he explained to here that it is not necessary to heel a boat on its side to sail. Well, after Lars explained that she would actually be more comfortable on a monohull sailed properly....we began looking at monohulls.
I almost bought a Morgan 41 Out Islander back in 1973...and I have always liked the Morgans- just something about them. They are not the fastest accelerating sail around, and they are heavier than most...and they are beamy and roomy inside. A note to the elitists who may be reading this...all boats with a displacement hull have a hull speed governed by the boats length of waterline.
We decided though to purchase a Morgan 33'' Out Islander instead of a 41''. My wife did not think she could handle a boat that size if anything happened to me. I disagreed, but bowed to her wishes.
So we bought a 33'' Out Islander, and are very happy with her. She is named the "Meri-Mac" which is the nickname of the original owners wife. We opted not to change her name. Its kind of unique.
She weighs in at 14,500 lbs dry, 33'' long with a 12'' beam. There is no wasted space in the interior and the head room throughout the entire cabin is well over 6''. Out Islanders have a different cabin top than classic designs. So, in my opinion they are more roomy inside than most boats. Additionally they are "shoal draft", and mine has a full keel that only draws 3''11" of water which allows me to go where others only dream of going. In heavy seas she is vey stable, due to the full keel and her weight. She is, like all Morgans, built heavily and solid.
Mine was built in 1975 and many others that are in use are older than mine.
You can purchase one of these boats in pristine condition or in project condition.
It all depends on what you want in a boat.
Hope that answers your questions.
