One issue not mentioned so far in the wing engine debate is resale value. Although the wing engine is listed as a Nordhavn option and you can order a new Nordhavn without one, the market expects every single-engine Nordhavn to have a wing engine, and PAE brokers will tell you that a single-engine Nordhavn without a one will be harder to sell and bring fewer dollars. I don't advocate that a boat be bought just because of its resale value, but keeping resale value in mind is an important part of buying a boat. Whether or not you like wing engines, for a single-engine Nordhavn having a wing engine seems like a no-brainer because you'll likely recover more than the cost of the wing when you sell the boat. I doubt that this is true, however, for most other offshore passagemakers. --Milt Baker (N47-32 under construction with a wing engine)

At 10:44 AM 1/14/05 -0500, you wrote: >I don't advocate that a boat be bought just because of its resale value, >but keeping resale value in mind is an important part of buying a >boat. Whether or not you like wing engines, for a single-engine Nordhavn >having a wing engine seems like a no- The issue of resale value of any boat is a whole nuther issue, entirely. For instance, the popularity of sailboats rigged with other than a Bermuda/Marconi rig is such that nearly the entire field is dominated by them; even though that choice may very well be a really bad one for most buyers, especially novices. The point I am driving home here is that the entire boating market tends to be driven by considerations of looks, elegance, redundancy, but not technical ones. There is little that any one critic or buyer can do about this. But it is fair to say that this is something to keep in mind when going to make a purchase. Mike Capt. Mike Maurice Tualatin(Portland), Oregon