The answer says a lot about how likely you are to find the boat of your dreams. It’s funny, many of us have no trouble picking out a car, or even buying a house. Both are clearly significant decisions. They seem to be only minor tasks, however, compared to the anguish that we often put ourselves through when facing extreme challenge of buying a boat. Wait a minute, buying a BOAT? Could we possibly be over compensating here?

I have been called naïve by some; accused of belittling the importance of making such an important decision. OK, so I probably am naïve. I have noticed this pattern, however, dealing with folks over the last twenty five years. Boat buyers (production or custom) fall into two categories. One looks at what is available, picks out the closest to his or her needs buys it and happily heads off cruising. The other agonizes over every decision, every item aboard, every system included, every perceived shortcoming. Even if buyer number two does buy a boat it is unlikely they are ever satisfied. Their expectations have simply become too high.

The important thing is Not the boat itself. It is what you do with the boat.

Look for quality, add the stuff you want to meet your needs and try not to get bogged down in the decision itself. There is no reward for having "He died with the most perfect boat" chiseled on your tomb stone. It is not nearly as important as having your many cruising adventures championed in PassageMaker magazine.