Tough decision

[nipper]

Thanks for the opinions offered re: my problem/decision. I do not think I am nearly as mechanically inclined as many of you seem to be. In other words, any engine/outdrive work would need to be done by a mechanic. I can handle the cosmetic stuff. The huge cuddy on the Formula is no longer a real need for my family. We are really not doing any more overniters. It is basically a huge storage area, but one which makes the cockpit of the boat rather small. I can fish in the Formula because of the fiberglass floor (snap out the carpet), but it has really high freeboards. it is also easier to walkaround the windshield of the Formula than it is to get on deck of the V20 through the cuddy.

I do have a portapotty in the V20, and I kind of get a kick out of my wife using it with the cuddy door closed but with her head sticking out of the open deck hatch!! All in all, I would like to keep the V20 for many reasons, including the sentimental attachment to it as being my Dad's former boat. I took delivery of it with him from a Boston dealer, took it out through Boston Harbour, and then down south to Scituate, MA. My wife and I also took the V20 with my Dad from Scituate, across Massachusetts Bay, to Provincetown. Even with big lazy swells and the ocassional surfacing whale, we never felt unsafe. Those V20's have great seakeeping abilities in my mind. The Formula handles rough seas nicely (Atlantic ocean/Lake Erie/Lake Michigan), but it tends to either wallow just off plane, or, once on plane, start taking off like a bat out of hell with the associated pounding in rough seas.

Thanks again for your past and future thoughts.