>I'm sure you've been using the same sig for awhile, but it just caught my eye >this morning. Although some smaller boats make long passages, 29 feet sounds >awfully small to me. Further, I believe that the lower limit for entry into >the WM 1500 is 36 feet; that is considered the minimum for safety by Steve >Black. Also, that's a lower limit for a sailboat, which would likely provide a >higher comfort factor. Would you comment on this, please? I simply want a small boat, period, regardless of WM1500 requirements and other suggestions about vessel size. I don't need or want much more than a robust boat, a rugged engine, an autopilot, a compass and a chart. Air conditioning, washer-dryers, satellite television and all those wonderful features of modern-day life I prefer to leave a shore. Although I've owned boat to 60 feet LOA, the most fun I've had in boats has been in small ones. Additionally, other factors drive me down the scale rather than ever upward: Ease of handling, ease of maintenance, simplicity, affordability, approachability, inability to carry many guests, conziness, the list goes on. Finally, I'm not convinced a 29-footer is, because of size alone, any less seaworthy than, say, a 69-footer. As someone once wisely said, to each his own. --Georgs -- Georgs Kolesnikovs Butch, a custom 29-foot passagemaker in design stage http://www.kastenmarine.com/buster30.htm