I too will never live in a HOA controlled neighborhood again if I ever sell my house. There are good points and bad points to a HOA but I get tired of getting a letter in the mail that starts out with:
"We couldn't help but notice ............. (grass to tall, weeds in flower beds, trees need trimming, fence needs staining, or 50 other nit picking observations)".
Yeah - you could probably spend the money and go out and buy a ready made boat in that size (If you want to dream - Mako 414 with quad 350Hp motors on it comes to mind,
http://www.boattest.com/review/mako/3659_414-cc) but working on projects keeps me busy and I get to try out a variety of boats. I usually buy them cheep, fix them up, run them for a season or two, and have managed to sell a couple for a profit to fund the next one.