So far

I've been looking at a number of boats, driving for hours to do so. There was a Morgan Outisland 27 that was interesting, but it seems to have been withdrawn from the market. The others that this company has sold are shown on the website as SOLD, but this one was just taken off. Odd.

I also looked at a Bayfield 25, but it needs some work, and I'm just not sure about it.

A Pearson 30 just seemed too large for me to handle easily by myself. In addition, it draws 5 feet, which is far deeper than I would like.

Although the Bayfield remains a possibility (unless it is sold first), I'm thinking of a couple of other possibilities.

One is to stick with the Dovekie for a while and get into sail/camping. Less comfortable but a whole lot cheaper. It would allow me to find out whether I really want to do this long term.

The other is to find something older and cheaper, such as a $3K Hunter 25 offered by one of these companies. That would keep the investment down, too.

Overall, of course, the looking and shopping is a lot more fun than actually buying, since so much less money is involved.

The other issue is where to sail out of. Virtually anyplace on Lake Erie is at least an hour away by car. I've seen some nice places, but it is also important to be within sailing distance of interesting destinations. That might mean driving a little farther to be over in the Western part of Erie.

Onward.