I assume that the 2 years of needed fixing instead of 5, had it been so, would still not be with respect to the boat’s seaworthiness
for the planned trip.
I'm not sure I'm understanding the above.
The time would be related to making the repairs needed to achieve the seaworthiness I desire. Also, the future market value, as I consider all investments in a boat must also have the eye to one day go back onto the market to be sold, either by myself, or my heirs.
Maybe there is a silver lining here. But sorry to hear it did not work out. I’ve made two trips to the PNW from Long Beach to look at potential boat buys. Neither panned out
. The on-line photos look much better than the actual boat, etc. One discovers little that is critical talking on the phone to a broker from more than 1,000 miles away.
This is in interesting comment.
When I first started looking, I was looking all over the world, French Polynesia, Europe, you name it, I was looking. I found some boats far, far away and thought about going to look at them. One particular boat in French Polynesia was really interesting. But then I began looking at all the logistics of going there to look at it, and then, if I bought it, getting it home. Yeah, totally out of reason... Then I narrowed down my search to just North America. Found several boats on the West Coast, one in particular owned by a friend of mine (luckily) and I was looking at how to buy that boat and get it home. I didn't even have to go look at that boat, I'd sailed it, I knew just about everything about that boat. I was talking to my friend (the owner) and she told me I couldn't do it, the economics just didn't make sense. She was right. That didn't become a realization (why didn't I listen to her in the first place?) until after me spending countless hours researching every possible way to get it here... So then I reduced my search range to only the East coast. Heck, here I could just sail it home.
And now, I see what you are referring to above - the on-line photos, the conversations, the research, all of that - what's missing? My eyes (and those of an excellent surveyor - right? everyone here says it - get a good surveyor - I concur) and the things you can't see or photograph.
Lessons learned? Plenty. I'm sure each individual will have their own limitations, abilities etc. But for me - I'm reducing my search radius to within about a 6 hour drive from my house. I need to put my eyes on a boat before anything else transpires. It is simply economics. The costs associated with looking far away are notable - those costs must be considered. If you think about it, you have an amount of money (this will vary according to each individual of course). Every time you travel, every time you look at a boat, it's costing you money. That money is coming out of the budget for buying your boat. This aspect must be put into the equation of what your overall boat is really going to cost you. Of course, the 6 hour drive time is my choice. If someone were to live where the available boats are just not going to provide an ample selection, then one would have to adjust. For me that includes essentially a region from the Great lakes to Maine down to Annapolis and once the borders are open, parts of Canada.
That's pretty ripe boat country. I'm lucky. Perhaps that's the silver lining you refer to...
dj