Two, four, six or eight foot-itis is a bad virus. As soon as you think you are done and have your boat exactly the way you want it. The Virus sets in when you are feeling good about your boat and its comforts and the boat next to you has just a little more room, more water capacity, fuel capacity, wider cockpit, a little more power, and more freeboard. We owned our C26 for 6 seasons and 650 hours of cruising. Last year we spent 3 months onboard took a 6 week break and then 3 more months. My wife retired Turing the second 3 month stay while cruising in the Florida Keys. We pulled the boat out and prepared for our trip back to Chicago when she told me "we need a bigger boat!!" On our way back from Florida we stopped at Perdido Key and spoke with Edgewater Yacht sales. They had no new C30 in stock but had a used one that we took out for a couple of hours to see if we liked it. Unfortunately this boat was under contract so our choice was to put money down to get a build slot or continue a search for a used C30. I wanted a C30 because of the trailering component. My wife did't feel it was big enough. I liked the performance of the C30, it was 5 kts faster than my C26 and cruised comfortably at the C26 WOT speed. I'm all about the mechanics and my wife was all about the Galley, Head, shower, and the walk around decks. She wanted wide walk around decks. The Choice's were limited for C30's new or used for the 2021 season. I like the Ranger Tug and Cutwater products but having owned many other marine manufactures products through out the years I wasn't going to be stuck on the brand I was stuck on what we wanted in our next boat. I will never rule out purchasing another Fluid Motion product. The pro's surely outweigh the cons. For now the eight foot-itis as lead us to a 34' Pilot that fit the check list. There have been many times since selling the C26 that I wish the virus never hit us! I do miss the benefits of trailering. I actually enjoyed the trailer aspect. We have only cruised a couple hundred miles onboard the Mainship and I'm just getting familiar with it. I need some more time to get over the Virus!!!! My wife is over it and loves the bigger boat.
To those that get the virus think hard about giving into it! To those that can stop, Congratulations and enjoy your boat and don't over think it! To those that can't, Congratulations on your new to you larger boat and try not to look back!
