Don, I was going through the same process a year ago when we were looking to buy our boat. I posted an e-mail (similar to yours) in the C380 Yahoo group under the title "due diligence questions." You might search for that and the responses I received - there was some helpful information. This may seem obvious but I would not buy a C387 if you are a passionate racer. We race casually on Friday nights and we do OK but she can't point as high as our competitors and she has too much mass for light air. On the other hand, she takes wind and waves without batting an eye, so she is a fantastic cruising boat.