PropTalk reader Matt Cowles and his wife Jessica recently spent months searching for the perfect boat for their young family. Here, in Matt's words, is their story, as published in the January issue of PropTalk on newsstands now.

  Of course the first challenge in the boat buying process is making the decision to start the process.  It can be daunting because once you get started it takes phone calls, follow-up phone calls, emails, follow-up emails, countless hours searching the internet, and in general just a lot of time. Fortunately we owned a boat before when we lived in North Carolina, so we always carried a list of "upgrades" we would have wanted to make.  Down there we had a 2005 Sea Ray Sundancer 260.  In short, it was the perfect day cruiser, but pretty tight for any kind of overnight stays.  The boating we wanted to be able to do in the Chesapeake was quite a bit different than the quick cruising and anchoring out all day we did down south.  With the new boat we knew we wanted more cruising range, something larger overall, more space down below, inboards (we'll never do outdrives in saltwater again!), and Jess really wanted a separate shower in the head to avoid those long walks to the marina bathhouse in flipflops.  From there, we were a blank slate...new cruiser, old cruiser, trawlers, express.  About the only two things we did know was we wanted a power boat and would need something used to fit out budget. The finances of boat purchasing is tricky.  There's a fine line between "good deal" and "basket case."  Our previous boat was only four years old when we bought it, and we financed it meaning monthly payments.  Given the expected maintenance costs of boat ownership, the one other major change we made in this search was finding something for which we could pay cash.  No payments (at least on the boat itself!) Once we had our checklist ready, the search began.  Mostly we started looking for what in general was available in our price range to fit our "cash" policy.  Unfortunately, everything we were finding didn't stand-out to us as being very attractive boats.  Jess and I are both traditionalists and have an appreciation for classics (even our home is 70 years old), and we always loved the look of the older boats.  But what could we find in decent shape in our price range that wouldn't be a nightmare to maintain?! Most of the searching happened through websites like ebay, CraigsList, YachtWorld, and BoatTrader.  We would learn of countless other sources as we went along (more on that in a minute).  At first we tried to stay local, but when nothing came-up, we had to expand our search range.  Initially we found two boats that stood-out; a 1955 Chris Craft 42' Dual Cabin Flybridge (yes, a woodie) and a 1964 Hatteras 34 Aft Cabin.  Unfortunately the Chris Craft was in Rhode Island, and the Hatteras was in North Carolina.  Not exactly convenient.  The Chris Craft we found through Boat Trader and the Hatteras was on CraigsList.  We pursued both boats to get a feel for the situation.  The Chris Craft was listed by a broker and the Hatteras was a private sale.  We immediately learned the Chris would need some work, and that the Hatteras had been completely rebuilt by the current owner including a repower.  We needed to learn more.... So we reached out to a maritime museum in Rhode Island who put us in touch with a local surveyor to check out the Chris Craft woodie.  Given our limited knowledge of wood boats, it was worth the $180 to have a surveyor take a quick "first look" for us.  In the meantime, we would make arrangements to drive to North Carolina and see the Hatteras first hand.  More phone calls, emails, and follow-ups to get everything arranged.  With a process that began in June, we made our first visit to a boat in Atlantic Beach, NC at the end of August.  We made a weekend of it and planned to spend Saturday morning with the Hatteras.  Unfortunately (or fortunately), just before we left, we heard from the Rhode Island surveyor that while the hull of the Chris Craft was in great shape, the rest of the boat suffered from "vigilant neglect."  Despite the broker's attempts to woo me with nicknames like "Captain Cowles," we knew that was more than we wanted to get into. In the lead-up to our North Carolina mini-vacation, I took to learning everything I possibly could about the early Hatteras boats.  In the internet age, there are countless websites out there, many dedicated to very specific niches.  In this case, the Hatteras Owners Forum provided a wealth of information.  Armed with the "search" function on the forum, a few phone calls to owners who had recently sold the very kind of boat we were about to look at, and my trusty friend Google, I had a pretty good idea of what we would be willing to pay for this boat.  We went down, got on board, and thought despite a couple concessions, this boat would be great for us.  We told the owner we would think it over and get back to him later that day while we did some site-seeing in the area.  Later that night, we called him with an offer slightly above what some of those others had sold for, trying to account for some of the upgrades he did.  We knew he was asking too much to begin with, and that it had been for sale for a while, so figured he was ready to move.  He wasn't.  He rejected the offer outright, and despite being in town, checkbook in hand, and surveyor on call, we left the next morning empty handed.  On the way up, we stopped in Norfolk to check out one other option, but despite representations by the owner of her being "beautiful," she needed a ton of work. At this point, two boats were misses.  One falling apart, and the other with an owner unwilling to negotiate (though he did call back three weeks later with a counter offer finally - still well higher than market).  Time to reevaluate.  At this point, we had been focusing on twin engine boats - what about a trawler?  Then we found the answer...shortly after Hatteras starting making the aft cabin we had just looked at, they made a 41' flushdeck motoryacht.  Jess really thought this would be too big until I found out they also made a 38' version a few years earlier.  So priorities changed a bit...from this point forward, it's all fiberglass, and given the strong construction of these early Hatteras, we'd try and either find another 34 aft cabin or one of these 38' flushdecks.  Unfortunately, it turned into trying to find a needle in a haystack.  Searching for a 45-50 year old boat that was only made for a few years is NO easy task!  Finding a 34 in decent shape proved elusive, but two 38's were on the market.  One in Connecticut, and the other in Canada right next to Niagara, NY. The first call went to a YachtWorld listing for the 38 Hatteras in Connecticut.  Only one sad listing picture, and it was gas (we were trying to find diesel), so I call the broker who didn't seem to know much about the boat.  He gives me the contact information for the owner, and he and I spend nearly half an hour on the phone talking about the boat.  He had nothing but good things to say, had the top ends of the motors recently rebuilt, and was a really nice guy.  He sent me a bunch of pictures the next day, we reviewed them, and decided since it was the middle of the Labor Day weekend, we'd take the plunge and head-up to look at the boat.  But when I call to make arrangements to come up, he tells me he's sorry if he mislead us, but that he's not really looking to sell at this time.  WHAT?!  Yeah, the listing, broker, phone conversation, and pictures all kind of led me to believe you wanted to sell.  Sigh... Time to consider the international option.  The right boat, been out of the water for a few years, but had everything we wanted (even diesels), so we started the process all over again.  Broker confirms they're interested and that the boat just needs to be cleaned-up a bit.  The price is WAY too high for the market, but the broker assures me the owners are ready to deal and sends plenty of pictures.  Once again we found a local broker to go take a quick look for us, and the report is good.  But when I call the broker back to tell him we're ready to move forward and start making arrangements to head up there, he informs me the owner is only willing to come down $5,000 even though he was about $25,000 high.  Despite my best attempts to persuade him it's not GAINING value after having sat in a boatyard for the past 5 years, they are an immoveable object.  Jess and I decide to keep looking and consider trying them again in the fall. Once again we went through an entire reevaluation and started considering other options...should we look at something smaller, different brands, etc.  Through all this research into the older Hatteras, I kept seeing mentions of the 38' Chris Craft Commander which was introduced about the same time (1964).  Looking into those, the price, layout, etc appears perfect.  Diesel is hard to find, but we're willing to concede that perk at this point.  Trouble is, it's a boat that was made in the Midwest and that's where many of them remain, so finding one with a closed cooling system is difficult.  To get a feel for this whole Chris Craft line, however, we decide to take a look at a 1967 31' Commander in the northern end of the Bay I had found on CraigsList.  We head-up one Saturday morning, and the boat is beautiful.  Fires right up, has a beautiful original interior, and has obviously been lovingly cared for.  The owner will even store it over the winter for us.  Trouble is, the boat is just too small for what we wanted.  It had a narrow beam reminiscent of our Sundancer, and overall, we just wanted a bit more space.  I'm honest with the owner, he understands, and we leave empty handed yet again.  On the way home, we look at one more 41' Hatteras I'd been keeping an eye on...I almost offered him every penny he wanted for it simply to put the boat out of its misery.  Poor thing was trashed. Through all this, though, the field had narrowed to these older fiberglass Chris Crafts and Hatteras.  In doing some research, I find two other model-specifc sites, the Chris Craft Commander Club and the Commander Club.  They both had classified sections, and several 38's are for sale, but again, no closed cooling system (which is a MUST for us!).  Then one day, I was doing a very thorough CraigsList search and found a 1969 37' Commander for sale in Lusby, Maryland...but Chris Craft never made a 37' Commander.  Was this a 38 in my backyard?  No...after consulting with some of my new-found forum friends, we learned this is a mislabeled 35 Commander, and a beautiful example at that.  The price is right, the package looks perfect, so we move fast. We decide if this package really is too good to be true (the price is about 35% below market), we'll move fast.  I call the owner and we make plans to be down there two days later.  Before we even head down we decide that if it looks as good in person as it does in the pictures, we'll make an offer.  Within 2 minutes of being on board, Jess looks at me, smiles, and nods.  This will be it.  The owner before the guy we bought it from had gone through a huge refit spending a vast amount of money into this boat...new wiring, rebuilt motors, new fuel tanks, an entirely redone mahogany interior, new VacuFlush system, and the list goes on and on.  I make him an offer $5,000 below his asking price.  Despite a mystery man in Baltimore offering him more, I remind him I've come with my check book,  and we meet in the middle.  We are now under contract for our new boat! The more we start to learn about this model and brand, the more excited we get.  Being a couple from Michigan originally, we both remember gazing into the distance of Lake Michigan or Lake Erie and being in awe of the smooth lines of those older Chris Crafts.  The name along speaks to quality.  I obtain a referral on a surveyor, and less than a week after shaking hands, we complete a long day of examining every square inch of our "new" old boat.  Jess loves the interior and smooth ride.  Matt loves the newly rebuild Ford monsters down below and the care taken in the refit.  The now previous owners love having some extra funds for their new boat.  Everyone wins.

Fortunately, we were able to keep it in the slip down in Lusby for a few weeks while we figure out the "next steps" which include where to take it, getting it insured, transferring the title, and starting the list of new names on the refrigerator ("Mi Dulce Amore" is just not our style).  I spend the next several weekends going over everything to get her ready for the sail up to Annapolis where we made arrangements for her to be hauled for the winter.  When that day comes, I grab a friend (one of many willing, but few available), and we make the three hour sail.  The boat performs perfectly, and I am now even happier than I had been. And that seems to be the trend since.  The more we learn about all the details of this old girl, the more excited we get.  She's on the hard now, taking a break for the winter and getting some of our brand of TLC (including the removal of an ill-conceived radar arch), but cannot wait to get her back in the water.  In retrospect, the biggest blessing of this entire project was that the first offer we submitted on that Hatteras was rejected. So, some summary: Boats we looked at: In total, we looked at 8 boats; two wooden Chris Crafts, two 41' Hatteras, a 34' Hatteras, two 38' Hatteras, a 47' Chris Craft (wow, that one was really big!), one 31' Commander, and finally our 35 Commander. What we learned: - Just because it's listed for sale, doesn't mean it is. - Owners have not necessarily researched (or accepted) current market conditions - Hiring a local surveyor to check-out long distance possibilities is easy, and very informative - Not every owner is prepared to watch their "baby" go through the full survey process.  We think the day of our survey on our Commander was rough for the owner to watch. - There will be concessions - we ultimately ended-up having to surrender our preference for diesel (which we learned likely won't matter much anyway in terms of efficiency), and separate shower, but other than that, we got pretty much everything. - Patience pays off, and as with most things, "you'll know it when you see it." - Use model/brand specific forums to research every option.  There is a wealth of information out there by people have done incredible amounts of work on almost every boat out there.  And it's FREE! Details on the boat: - 1969 Chris Craft Commander 35 - 35' long, 13' beam, 3' draft - Rebuilt Twin Ford 427 V-8 Big Blocks, 300HP each - Sleeping for 6 (two in v-berth, a convertible settee, and a couch which converts into Pulman-style bunks)