Bazzacuda said..
Thanks everyone for the advice. We are not so much worried about racing it, for us its a family adventure we can all learn together and have some room inside. For that reason we are after a volume boat more than a speed boat.
The galley is small but does enough for one or two nights on the water, and the rest seems to work. We are certainly not expecting a palace in a 28 footer, but this does have more room than other comparable boats this size.
The shallow draft is an advantage for us in areas we will use the boat (lake mac has plenty of shallow areas). While we will be super conservative and not risk going anywhere it needs it, for us it will work (particularly if we motor up the swansea channel). It's not a deal breaker, and if the right boat with a standard keel comes up we will also be happy with that.
We have had some advice and are in no rush, when the right buy comes up will go ahead. There have been some more expensive newer models that have a few more maintenance headaches due, but given this one's size and relative simplicity it seems to fit the bill. We will make an offer based on what our friends who have lots of sailing experience think, and if it comes off then great, if not the search continues. In order to make it our own, we will be prepared to spend the cash to do what needs to be done. At this price with a slush fund is better than spending 70K and not enjoying having to fork out another 10 or 15 to get it up to scratch.
Obviously the wife and kids are happy with comfort over speed, and getting the fun sheriff to agree to the purchase is half the battle.
If anyone knows of anything else available that might be right, we are open to thoughts. Been great browsing through here as there is a wealth of information available.
Again thank you for taking the time to give us your thoughts.
Just to emphasise, the point wasn't about racing per se, but about speed as an indication of sailing ability. Hunters tend to sacrifice speed and having a well-balanced helm in order to get more interior space at low cost. It probably wouldn't be as easy to sail back from the island in a big nor'easter as many other boats.
That could be perfectly fine for you; every boat is a floating collection of compromises and this one has some good points for your purposes. You may just need to either switch on the motor earlier than with many other boats, or have to concentrate more on the sail trim and helming. You may just want to be fairly conservative with your choice of sailing days.
