[C320-list] 320 vs. something just a little bigger

[Troy Dunn]

Jack et. al.-

I'm not sure I can get fully on board with what Jack is saying here, mostly
because it simply wasn't true for me.  My final decision came down to two
somewhat similar vintage boats when shopping for my 320.  Shemara and the
boat we now know as Wonky Dog.   Shemara had a lot of things going for her,
newer canvas, newer sails, newer electronics, recent bottom job, and in
general it was clear that some other maintenance was recently performed
that i would not have had to do on Wonky Dog (new batteries, etc.).
 But.... the price tag reflected these items and it also reflected that the
owner clearly intended to recoup his "investment".  Here was my issue...did
i want to pay a $30,000 premium for someone else's customization choices
or...go with a boat that ultimately would have my sails, my canvas, my
electronics, my bottom job, my batteries, etc. etc.     At the time I'll
readily admit this was a really hard choice.   I was diving into the deep
end of the pool without full confidence that my choices would ultimately
reflect a better boat at a lower price point.   In hind sight....i am so
happy I made the choices I did.   I love my new Genoa that isn't yankee
cut, but isn't quite a deck sweeper either, i love the loose footed main
and stack pack, I love my Raymarine electronics, especially that 12" Axiom
Pro MFD and autopilot, i love my bottom job and the piece of mind of
knowing exactly what's underneath all that Micron CSC, My canvas has a lot
of features (like a window above the helm) that I now take for granted.
 The list is actually quite long.   But....to arrive at a decision like
this...i had to do one very important thing.

Make a spreadsheet.   Put down all the things you are going to want.   Put
a real no kidding cost against those items. (get honest to goodness quotes
from someone in your area not a guess or something you read on a
board/forum/list).  Then as you compare boats add and subtract those costs
from the asking price.   Come up with some sort of way to account for the
age of an item as well (I applied a "usable life" age and then scaled the
cost vs. the life of that item, but there are probably other ways to do
this.  I copied this approach from an article I read about buying used vs.
new I wish I could find that article....maybe it was a blog.   Also, be as
realistic as you can about the work you will do vs. pay the yard.

I still haven't broken even with the price I would have paid for Shemara
and I have so many things I never knew I wanted.... (e.g. completely new DC
Power system, electric flush toilet, tank monitors, etc. etc.)

Getting back to the question of frugality...IF you do all this work AND you
still think the price is too good to be true....it probably is...and
perhaps that's all folks are really getting at...assuming you actually want
to cruise and not just take on a boat project....I'd set a bottom floor for
asking price around $50K in the current market.   If you see a boat for
less than that...there's much work in your future...not necessarily a bad
thing...but....what is your time worth?   That's a question only you can
answer.

Brian's note about his experience with Bear is solid.   I'm about where
Brian was when he got Bear.   Is Wonky Dog my forever boat?   Dunno yet.  I
think for a couple cruising the Chesapeake who takes the occasional
additional couple along for a weekend,,,, it's probably perfect.   On the
other hand I wouldn't refuse to take an FP Lucia 40 off someone's hands if
they wanted to downsize to the 320.

FWIW-

Troy Dunn
Hull #514