1) Is the Lagoon 43 or a similar type vessel a good liveaboard vessel for cruising the Southeast US coastline and Caribbean? Greg I spent some time aboard the Lagoon 43 which has recently been replaced by a 44. Everything was great except the galley. It's tiny and has NO, repeat NO counter space, and would not lend itself the live aboard crusiing in my opinion. A charter boat yes, but live Aboard, No, NO, NO. To make a galley with no counter space, as an after thought makes it tough to envision life aboard for more than a week or two. Perhaps the 44 will address this big issue. Again, just my opinion. Bob 2) Does anyone have experience with purchasing a boat for chartering? Though I have no experience will Charter ownership, I have chartered. These boats lead hard lives and when the 4 years is up the engines and every other part, have many, many hard miles on them. If you plan to just use the boat for four weeks and get out at the end I think it might make sense, but not if you intend to keep it afterwards.