Gee, if you want a nice 42ft fishing boat, why not look at some of the boats for sale on the pacific coast due to the collapse of the Salmon industry, and the Canadian Government's licence buy-back schemes. I have a fine 42ft Troller that I bought from a fisherman leaving the industry in 1995. To reproduce a boat of this quality and type today woud cost a lot of money. I have done all my own work on it, and spent many happy hours cruising her. The total "investment" i have in the boat to date - including the money spent on moorage, fuel, and maintenance for the last 13 years- is about 1/5 what it would have cost me to get a boat of similar capability. And I am still married. If you look on the Pacific Boat Brokers website at any time, you can get a feel for this market. It is tempting to look at a lovely hull, and envision it finished. But the dollar value of a hull is probably about 1/5 to 1/4 the total cost of outfitting. An engine alone to suit a 42ft fishing type vessel will cost more than you would pay for a complete retired fishing vessel, and you are still years away from cruising. Then there is the phenominal cost of wiring, plumbing, rigging out etc etc. The retired vessels typically come fully equipped with all electronics (radar, radios, autopilot, nav sytems), and often include cooking pots and cutlery. The condition varies wildly, thus the quality- but there are good ones available all the time. In my case, I spent years commercial fishing before retiring at 30 to a teaching job, and later into business. But my wife and I kept the appreciation of the qualities of a true "commercial" grade of boat, and when retirement came in view we grabbed a good one. We have been cruising year round, and slowly converting it to a full pleasure boat from that day on. I have had lots of opportunity to work on the boat- and I enjoy that too. I like cruising. If I wanted to be a boat builder, I'd have done that. But life is short. If your pleasure and pride comes from creating something lovely and useful- then build a boat. If you want to spend time on the sea- buy one. best regards Jim Donnelly Troller Fan Isle Powell River Canada _________________________________________________________________ Stay on top of things, check email from other accounts! http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=9671355