An interesting fundraising email, some thought fodder, and a link you might need…
So yeah, about that CAL 34…
Glancing at CAL 34s for sale on the west coast Craigslist, I see eight currently for sale priced from $7.5K to $22K and, anyway you look at it, that’s a lot of boat for the money. My personal experience of having lived and cruised such a beast tells me that the CAL 34 is a pretty awesome boat and I’ll rate it at 7.5 on a one-to-ten chart.
So, let’s compare it to what most folk would consider to be an excellent cruising boat… the Pacific Seacraft 34…
It has a bit more displacement, has a skeg hung rudder, it’s a cutter, and the build is a bit nicer. Otherwise it’s does everything that the CAL 34 would do. Rating it on the one-to-ten scale, I’d give it a 8.5. For those interested in what one will cost, a used one will cost you around $69K-$90K or so.
The question you have to ask yourself is whether the Pacific Seacraft is worth $50K more. My experience tells me that a $15K CAL 34 will do everything the Pacific Seacraft can, take you to all the same places, and in the same level of comfort. It being cheaper, will also leave more money in your cruising kitty as well so you can cruise further.
The bottom line is that they’re both really nice boats when all is said and done.
Just sayin’