Dougcole
Guru
So, we are in the market for a new (to us) boat, or will be as soon as we get our old one sold.
Problem is, I don't know exactly what I want to buy, a unique situation for me as I've always had my eye on my next boat before I sold my old one. Heck, most of the time wanting my next boat was WHY I sold my old one.
Now though, I'm confused. We have loved our old Gulfstar, but we want something a little faster, a little bigger and newer. Has to have 2 cabins, has to have twins, has to have a flybridge, has to have a liveable galley, has to be salon style with a cockpit. We can spend around $200,000.
The boat that fits this bill is the Mainship 400. We like the layout, etc. But I have heard so many bad things about Mainship's quality that I have always turned my nose up at them. No offense to any Mainship owners out there....heck we may buy one. I guess I just don't like what people SAY about them.
That got me to thinking, why does that matter?
I think boats put us into tribes. Most of us here are members of the "older classic trawler tribe" a bleach jug like a rivera or a Bayliner might do really well what we use our boats for, but most of us wouldn't be caught dead in one.
There is also the sailboat tribe, the sportfish tribe (my brother is one of those, and even thoguh I fished professionally for 15 years I don't see myself there). The cat tribe, etc. etc.
We have always taken pride in our boat and what it says about us, or at least what we THINK it says about us. Boats speak to our hearts, there is no logical reason to own one.
The problem is, how do we meet our expectations of who we are, and meet our needs in a boat.
For me, a 42' Sabre flybridge is the perfect boat, I just can't afford one.
Then again, maybe I am just a shallow person.
Problem is, I don't know exactly what I want to buy, a unique situation for me as I've always had my eye on my next boat before I sold my old one. Heck, most of the time wanting my next boat was WHY I sold my old one.
Now though, I'm confused. We have loved our old Gulfstar, but we want something a little faster, a little bigger and newer. Has to have 2 cabins, has to have twins, has to have a flybridge, has to have a liveable galley, has to be salon style with a cockpit. We can spend around $200,000.
The boat that fits this bill is the Mainship 400. We like the layout, etc. But I have heard so many bad things about Mainship's quality that I have always turned my nose up at them. No offense to any Mainship owners out there....heck we may buy one. I guess I just don't like what people SAY about them.
That got me to thinking, why does that matter?
I think boats put us into tribes. Most of us here are members of the "older classic trawler tribe" a bleach jug like a rivera or a Bayliner might do really well what we use our boats for, but most of us wouldn't be caught dead in one.
There is also the sailboat tribe, the sportfish tribe (my brother is one of those, and even thoguh I fished professionally for 15 years I don't see myself there). The cat tribe, etc. etc.
We have always taken pride in our boat and what it says about us, or at least what we THINK it says about us. Boats speak to our hearts, there is no logical reason to own one.
The problem is, how do we meet our expectations of who we are, and meet our needs in a boat.
For me, a 42' Sabre flybridge is the perfect boat, I just can't afford one.
Then again, maybe I am just a shallow person.