Hello Michael, my name is Clark Boeken and I am a cat enthusiast, personal owner of cats, and now the builder of cats. Your plans sound like a real adventure. As someone who has fixed, overhauled and redesigned everything from pubs, cars, boats etc be aware that the fun is in the doing, not a financial decision. when you are finished you will end up paying more than if you had bought what you wanted to begin with. I know this because I am infected with the bug that makes me think I can fix anything, which I do, but the cost never works. So find what you want and there will still be enough to work on, I promise. As to the two boats the PDQ and the Maryland they are both good boats. The PDQ has a lot of space for a 34 and very reliable, for a boat. Their customers love them. The only fault other than what you see, if any, is in anything over 3 ft waves they become a hobby horse on the water so if you buy one don't try it out on smooth water. But once again it is a well loved and trustworthy boat. The Maryland is of course a traditional looking boat, runs well, although don't know enough to comment except they have redesigned it from Maryland, Greenland to the Highland, which is an expensive proposition. The moorings had some in charter years ago and I would recommend talking to someone there as they ran them professionally. Good luck on your search and have fun. Clark E. Boeken Director Cruiser Cats (Pty) Ltd www.cruisercats.com Tel: 210 240 5612