Hi folks - I'm flattered to be asked, but my knowledge of production boats is almost nil, aside from their reputation. Some, like Nordhavn, have achieved their reputation on the heels of a well-found vessel which they no longer produce (the 46), as well as a couple of rallies which permitted them to proclaim their boats have "crossed oceans more than all others combined" or some such. No doubt the Nordhavn line is among the best, but it is not the panacea. Valiant Yachts did the same sort of thing in the 80s with Bob Perry's classic 40 footer to achieve notoriety; two solo circumnavigations one of which rounded below all five southern capes. The Valiant 40 became "the" boat to buy for the next decade. The passage-making boats I have been privileged to see up close or have been aboard have been mostly one-offs: Beebe's Passagemaker, Teka III, Chartwell, Beebe's Mona-Mona, and our own Seahorse. All of these have attributes peculiar to early passage makers; for instance, all have paravane stabilizers. However we also know folks who have circumnavigated in their Hatteras LRC, sans paravanes. It's so difficult to pick five, because even when narrowed down to Passagemakers, there is more information needed. Where will you cruise? How many aboard and will you want room for guests for portions of passages? Many, many questions, indeed. Instead, I think you'd be wise to research based on your needs and pick five. Then ask the listees to eliminate them one by one. Years ago, while searching for the "right" boat in which to circumnavigate, I posted this same sort of question as subject on the old cruising listserver, which was then populated by some very knowledgeable folks. The fact that this was a sailboat search is not significant. I had already done a lot of research and picked nine boats, based on where I was headed. The subject of my post was "Eliminate a Boat Contest," and I stated my question thus: "Please help us cut this list down, i.e. are there any of these you wouldn't consider for the South Pacific?" This generated a lot of interest and discussion, and eventually narrowed my choice to two boats. However, I ended up buying a boat which wasn't on the list, one which I had never heard of! A friend, and one of my favorite fellow listees, who was prolific on many lists was Rick Kennerly, a.k.a. Rick the Mouseherder. I think that Rick's Rules, as he called them, are good advice when shopping for any boat: "Regardless of which boat you end up with, here are Rick's Rules for buying a cruising/live aboard sailboat: 1. You buy cruising boats by the pound, not the foot. 2. A small boat and a suitcase of money beats a 40 footer tied to the Bank. 3. You gain interior storage by adding beam and draft, not length. 4. It costs three times more to keep up a 40 foot boat than a 30 foot boat. 5. Concentrate on the basicsbbsound hull, rigging, sails, and powerplant. Electronics, tankage, cushions, etc. are all cheap and easy to add/replace. 6. The view of the anchorage or shore from the cockpit of a 30 foot boat is the same as from the cockpit of a 60 foot boat. 7. Go small, go now. 8. Be sure to get a boat in which you will be proud to be seen arriving." Regards, John "Seahorse" ************************************** See what's new at http://www.aol.com