The perfect boat doesn’t exist !!!

Now you are probably saying "How obvious is that". "Everybody knows that a boat is a series of compromises." Still saying it and believing it are often two distinctly different things. Most of the folks who go shopping for boats (custom or production) conspire to sabotage their own best efforts by searching for categorically opposite requirements within a single vessel. Example: A great offshore boat may be an OK coastal cruiser or a great coastal cruiser may be an OK offshore boat. However, never is the same boat the best choice for both.

Why do so many potential owner cloud their choices with conflict. Their main purpose for the boat is to circumnavigate the East coast. Someday, maybe they’ll want to cruise to Europe. Remember the operative word is "maybe". Trust me that possible side trip deserves only small consideration when the choice of a new boat is on the line.

So what do you do about this dilemma? My theory is you should pick a boat that handles 80% of what you want to do well. For the other 20% of the time, 20% that may never happen, you try to find "work arounds". Ship the boat to Europe or hire a delivery captain. Put cots in the salon for that one time in 5 years the grandkids show up. Do not, however, under any circumstances buy or design a boat that is seriously compromised or at worst unlivable for the vast majority of the time you will actually spend aboard.