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I am beginning to think that a boat maybe even a time capsule with the right offer may have the right foundation, the good bones to be a great starter boat for a mechanically and electrically inclined new sailor. After all how many sailors purchased a brand new Catalina 34 bare bones, I read at times in the past with no seat cushions or even life lines. Please tell me if I'm in error, if you have an auto pilot, a depth and speed instrument, a good compass and a notebook with navionics you have the basics to grow from. Oh yes, for the newbie sailor, a good life raft and insurance.
Good thoughts, George.
Basically, the right foundation gets you a great boat. The wrong boat with all the bells & whistles may well not do so.
Our boat was pristine when we bought her from her single owner, she was 12 years old. I thought that with the Harken BattCar system and the cleanliness of everything else, that I had THE boat. Forever. We bought the boat because of the aft head and aft cabin. We'd had a Catalina 25 for 13 years, and a C22 for 5 before that.
Well, I did have THE boat for a long, long time. But once we bought her, I immediately replaced the old ferroresonant charger with a new Freedom 15 Heart Inverter/Charger because the PO had installed a microwave, unheard of in 1986 boats. I upgraded the electrical system by putting in a larger alternator. I slowly went the LED route, but my use said it didn't much dent my energy budget with the old lamps because my mom taught me to turn off lights in rooms I didn't occupy! I anchored out regularly compared to my SF Bay C34 colleagues who simply didn't. Ever. I upgraded the traveler. I did or made sure of all the Critical Upgrades.
Now that I've moved to Canada, there are two things that I sure wish I had based on how I use our boat:
1. Windlass - I anchor out a lot here and the water is way deeper.
2. Diesel heat - Would extend my season and Steve Dolling mentioned how cold it was for them even in Northern California on their trip to MX and he came from here! (And had heat, IIRC.)
What all this means for you is this: carefully analyze How YOU Intend to Use Your Boat.
Only then will all the bells & whistles start to make sense. Analyze your needs and compare them to wants; two very different things. Folks said I'd die out there if I didn't have a HUGE chartplotter at the helm with a below decks ram autopilot. I spend literally no time behind the wheel and if I ever did the very last thing I'd want is a huge TV screen in my way. I have an anemic old ST3000 wheel autopilot. It gets me around and taught me good sail trim. It is not a unit for sailing across oceans, but how many of us do?
My cushions remain in great shape except for the two seats at the nav station and right in front of the galley. I stuck a couple of sheets of foam underneath and now they don't bottom out, but I'm making plans to replace those two. My OEM cockpit cushions don't like rain (which we hardly got in SF) so I use throwable cushions. Many have purchased those nifty blue seats with backs that are truly worth it - I've tried them on other boats.
You can find out what a bare bones C34 was like in 1986 by going to the wiki, link below, and looking at the price list and features. One of the hallmarks of these boats was that "bare bones" got you an ENTIRE boat.
http://c34.org/wikiwp/?rdp_we_resource=http%3A%2F%2Fc34.org%2Fwiki%2Findex.php%3Ftitle%3DEvolution_of_the_Catalina_34You'll need insurance to get a slip. I don't have a life raft and know of few who do coastal cruising who do, although Steve did.
Your final thought hit it out of the park. You're right.
