Just a dream conversation. Please join.
I am starting with length as most Sydney moorings will only allow 33 feet. This is my limit and most marinas charge by the foot. Also 33 is probably the length I feel comfortable with, single handed or two up.
Now the boat. I am a bit of a fan of the Beneteau 33 and the Catalina 33 as both have all the creature comforts I need/want.
I know I will be able to sell either quicker than most other boats.
What is your dream boat and why?
This is a very open questions with lots of veriables.
budget?
what do you want to do with the boat?
long distant cruising?
Coastal cruising?
Racing?
Weekends on the harbour?
Comforts or strength?
I have a mottle33 and to me it ticks the boxes I wanted in a 33ft boat. At present I am on a 3 week cruise on it and only complaint is lack of storage space but then again this is the case with most boats this size. My self and the wife love the aft cabin and don't think I would own another boat without one.
Why would a Beneteau 33 and the Catalina 33 be easy to sell? Buying a boat and thinking resale at the same time really defeats the purpose. I think it's like buying cars these days, they are worth what someone will pay for them. It's usually a lot less than what we think!
My pick at the moment.http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/manly/sail-boats/yacht-cole-32/1094651490
Not sure what you mean by Catalina 33? We have a Catalina 320 or there is a Catalina 34... love the 320 great size boat for a couple to sail.
Chartered a Catalina 320 in the Whitsundays, awesome boat loved it, so many little creature comforts & very well thought out touches that just made it perfect for a couple. Particularly liked the sleeping arthwartships & flipping up the cockpit seat & being able to watch the stars while laying in the bunk. Nice long bunks, sugar scoop transom, well thought out galley & storage. Only complaint (I think this was the yacht that had a bizarre double cap shroud arrangement), two shrouds only millimetres apart from each other, I think that was causing an annoying hum in the rig at night at anchor when the breeze was over 10kts or so.
The Catalina 320 would be right up there on my list, not higher on the list than a Hans Christian 33 though, but completely different type of yacht there, intended for a different purpose.
Well I always say if you dream then you might as well dream big so I dream of money as no object firstly, so then I dream of a catamaran 50ft+ in length, with all the lines run back to the cockpit and electric winches, just because I like to sail not have to be doing a fitness workout on a boat. Okay so I'm lazy, and like my comforts that a catamaran allows you to have on board, (scuba gear, fishing gear, etc.). maybe a Fountain Pajot, or a Chincogan, I'd love to sail one of these around the world, either single handed or with a couple of friends
My pick would be this boats shes been there and done that Black magic and could do it a gain\
Can be sailed easily by one person
http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/maryborough/sail-boats/freedom-40-cat-ketch/1095679246
Not the same yacht but same model below
Bluemoon you are right, they are a well thought out boat and so much fun to sail on a reach as well. Never had a problem with the shrouds humming on ours, which boat did you charter? A friend of ours owns Rockstar which is a 320 and also Rocket which is a 375 which is a model that is also terrific for a couple. The only complaint we could make is the slap she gets on her big fat American bum when at anchor....Ramona previous boat we had was a Nantucket 31 virtually the same as the Cole 32. Maybe wrong but I think the 32 is usually a WA build whereas the Nantucket was built by Comprador on the east coast. Keel on ours was bolt on lead keel. We loved the Cole, and were sorry to see her go, but just found the creature comforts of the Catalina hard to resist as we got older.
Hi all,
Great to see such a positive response to the topic.
In reply to my knowledgeable contributer Romona, I never said Beneteaus or Catalinas would be "easy to sell".
What I said was "they would sell quicker than most other boats"
Currently the top five selling monohulls in terms of advertised boats on Boatpoint are:
Catalinas 31 for sale
Adams 40 for sale
Bavarias 58 for sale
Jeanneaus 81 for sale
Beneteaus133 for sale
I maintain, because there is a substantial number of these top five boats for sale, that if you price your boat correctly " it will sell quicker than most other boats".
I'd love a Catalina 28:
All lines run to the cockpit.
Traveler over the coach house.
Stern entry.
Wheel Steering.
Engine easily accessible.
Aft rail seats.
Spacious clean lines in the interior.
Wet area beside the companionway, no dragging your wetties through the boat, just drop them down the hatch.
Roller furling.
Deck stepped double spreader mast.
Small windows.
Ample hatches for ventilation.
Full gas stove, cooktop.
Twin cabins for friends to stay.
Perfect single girls pocket cruiser :).
Easy to sail.
It's my birthday soon ;).
Pogo 30
Salona 33
Elan E3
All look like fun boats to me.
Passage maker? Helberg Rassy 342
Slightly older boats? Northshore 33/34
Select to expand quoteMeg1122 said..
I'd love a Catalina 28:
All lines run to the cockpit.
Traveler over the coach house.
Stern entry.
Wheel Steering.
Engine easily accessible.
Aft rail seats.
Spacious clean lines in the interior.
Wet area beside the companionway, no dragging your wetties through the boat, just drop them down the hatch.
Roller furling.
Deck stepped double spreader mast.
Small windows.
Ample hatches for ventilation.
Full gas stove, cooktop.
Twin cabins for friends to stay.
Perfect single girls pocket cruiser :).
Easy to sail.
It's my birthday soon ;).
Right o Boys pass the hat around for Meg 
My old Catalina 28 is for sale again. I thought ok priced too, but I reckon you could get a bit more off.
My dream boat would probably be an Oyster or Tanya in the 40' plus range. I do like the light modern look.
As I become older I would not mind trying out one of these a Nonsuch a user friendly sail boat compact cruiser
www.yachtworld.com/boats-for-sale/
Even the non such 26 would be a reasonable compact cruiser
Im in same position,bought boat with small money, modified it for comfort of two investing in new gear and modify layout, and now Im the only user. Seeling it will be close or less than purchase price years ago and it is listed just above purchase price. But I will not give away my boat for "free" to buy quadruple overpricited catamaran. (Just the dream).
Select to expand quotemanitulak said..
Im in same position,bought boat with small money, modified it for comfort of two investing in new gear and modify layout, and now Im the only user. Seeling it will be close or less than purchase price years ago and it is listed just above purchase price. But I will not give away my boat for "free" to buy quadruple overpricited catamaran. (Just the dream).
Mines not for sale
You can stick your old peoples homes where they fit I'm not going there
I live on a Sea wind 24 Manitulak bit tight for room . And even if I could afford a large Cat Id have to sell it later on and find some thing smaller
So Ive started small and will stay small lower cost all round less to anti foul ect ect less over heads and running cost
That's good to hear about the shrouds Watermark, maybe the humming was from the way I had secured the halyards overnight then.
I don't recall the name of the vessel, but it wasn't Rockmans yacht, chartered it from Queensland yacht charters years ago.
HG, looks like you like the unconventional rigs, you would probably appreciate the junk rig then also. When you mentioned Black Magic, I first thought you might of been referring to the Bowman 46, called Black Magic that is for sale locally on Mid NSW coast (although the for sale ads have now been removed from the internet).
Anyone have any experience of the Bowman yachts?
It's supposed to be a dream boat so you may as well dream money is no object to your dream if it was about the boat you could afford then that's a totally different matter altogether, a big catamaran is my dream boat but unless something drastic happens I will never be able to have one or be able to pay for it's expenses, but dreams can be paired down to the affordable level, and I can be happy with that paired down reality.
Select to expand quoteHG02 said..
manitulak said..
Im in same position,bought boat with small money, modified it for comfort of two investing in new gear and modify layout, and now Im the only user. Seeling it will be close or less than purchase price years ago and it is listed just above purchase price. But I will not give away my boat for "free" to buy quadruple overpricited catamaran. (Just the dream).
Mines not for sale
You can stick your old peoples homes where they fit I'm not going there
I live on a Sea wind 24 Manitulak bit tight for room . And even if I could afford a large Cat Id have to sell it later on and find some thing smaller
So Ive started small and will stay small lower cost all round less to anti foul ect ect less over heads and running cost
I lived on not I live on a seawind 24 many years ago sorry for the correction
If I owned my dream boat probably a Hans Christian 33 T
If I lived in Tassy it would be Lucy
Hi Watermark, Blue Moon, Meg1122 and Toph,
Thank you for your knowledgeable comments.
Firstly Toph, why did you sell your Catalina 28? As a past owner you are surely qualified to comment on the pluses and minnouses of Catalinas.
Meg1122, I agree with with all your positive comments. I just have a bit of trouble seeing small windows as a positive.
My criticism of the Catalina 28 mk2 is that there is a significant step/jump up to the mattress in the forward berth. The headroom in the rear berth is minimal and no windows. I also have not met anyone who has successfully used the hot shower in the Catalina 28. Finally, they perform poorly into winds 15-20 knots. I believe they were built to sail on the lakes of the U.S. in max 15 knots but generally less. They are great reachers in 10 knots.
Watermark and BlueMoon, what are the creature comfort that you find appealing? Are you sailing with a MPS? I have crewed on Beneteaus from 27 to 48 feet, over a number of years. They are the successful boat of choice as a racer/cruiser. Sadly I have not seen a successful racing campaign from a Catalina. Thanks for enlightening me to the fact that there are no Catalina 33's.
Select to expand quoteBundeenaboy said..
Hi Watermark, Blue Moon, Meg1122 and Toph,
Thank you for your knowledgeable comments.
Firstly Toph, why did you sell your Catalina 28? As a past owner you are surely qualified to comment on the pluses and minnouses of Catalinas.
Meg1122, I agree with with all your positive comments. I just have a bit of trouble seeing small windows as a positive.
My criticism of the Catalina 28 mk2 is that there is a significant step/jump up to the mattress in the forward berth. The headroom in the rear berth is minimal and no windows. I also have not met anyone who has successfully used the hot shower in the Catalina 28. Finally, they perform poorly into winds 15-20 knots. I believe they were built to sail on the lakes of the U.S. in max 15 knots but generally less. They are great reachers in 10 knots.
Watermark and BlueMoon, what are the creature comfort that you find appealing? Are you sailing with a MPS? I have crewed on Beneteaus from 27 to 48 feet, over a number of years. They are the successful boat of choice as a racer/cruiser. Sadly I have not seen a successful racing campaign from a Catalina. Thanks for enlightening me to the fact that there are no Catalina 33's.
You didn't say anything about a racing yacht .
You said Dream boat I don't dream about racing other than racing away from shore Bundeenaboy
for those of you who couldn't be bothered googling the dream boat ,here you go !! 
A boat that will keep me safe in extremis. The HR34 is right up there at the top, Hans Christian 33 as well. I can't justify spending that much on a boat so within my budget an S&S34 tops my wish list. Oh, I have one! :-)
Did you know a completely rebuilt S&S 33 won the Sydney to Gold Coast race this year.
+1 MB, but the only problem with the s and s 34 is that its a bit small for all the creature comforts so its hard to get my wife excited about coming aboard.
Select to expand quoteBundeenaboy said..
Did you know a completely rebuilt S&S 33 won the Sydney to Gold Coast race this year.
yep the still rate well bundeenaboy
I really like these discussions and some of the boats listed for sale always get me interested in moving on from my trusty TS.
HGs photo above with the HC 33 next to the little red boat demonstrates the difference in volume i live with 
I dream one day of something like a westsail 32 ? they appear to be comfortable with the space to pack the supplies needed to get anywhere 
For now i will enjoy what i have and later if i have more available sailing time may get something bigger so keep those discussions going.
I am about to head off for a weeks sailing on Port Phillip Bay so life is good.
