It's beautiful. If you truly think your life would be enriched with it, then buy it. But if it's an ego thing, or if it'll sit in port all the time, then why are you wanting to buy it? It will need a lot of preservation maintenance to keep it gorgeous, even if you never start the engine.
Are you a boater, somebody who goes to boat shows and hangs around the dock just admiring the boats there? Do you read boating magazines, and imagine your life aboard a great boat out on the open water? Do you imagine vacations on a boat, heading for some exotic port?
Or are you someone who only seriously thinks of it when you see a great boat picture, or when you drive past a marina, and think, "What a waste - all that money tied up to the dock."
I love boats, and especially love Chris Craft classic boats. But put it in these terms: Every single time that boat leaves the dock it will cost you money. EVERY SINGLE TIME. The further you go, the more it will cost you.
The instructor at my Coast Guard Auxiliary Coastal Piloting and Seamanship course I was taking years ago liked to say that owning a boat was much more than the well known "a hole in the water you pour money into." He said it was "like standing in the shower in your best suit, tearing up $100 bills."
Let me know if you buy it, and I'll come visit. I'd love to take a boat like that out cruising.
Dave
I've lived on or near the water all my adult life, (Annapolis Md 1969-1995 and Ft Myers and Cape Coral Fl now) There was even a time I worked on the Chesapeake Bay... I cant say owning a boat has ever been a dream of mine, It was just understood that one day, if I could, I would.
Ive been shopping for a pontoon boat to dock at home... but the Chris Craft caught my eye. (damn Craigslist)
This is what Ive decided to do... Im going to keep the money I have in the bank, sell enough of my timeshares to raise new money for the boat... If and when I do, if the boat is still available, Im going to offer the guy $10,000 less than he wants and if he takes it, use the 10k to ship the boat to California where it will become my west coast home. If my wife lets me.
Last edited: