Hi. Perhaps I should explain what I mean by "Ex-Newbie".
I started out in my late twenties owning a 25 ft 1953 Norwegian Folkboat for a few years. It got dryrot so bad that I couldn't afford to fix it. Sold it, and it went to the San Francisco racing fleet,
AFAIK.
In my early forties I bought a trawler, a fiberglass 39 ft 1979 Taiwan built "Hudson" DeFever with a single Ford Lehman. Wife and I cruised PNW waters until I discovered dryrot so bad in the transom core and engine stringers that I couldn't afford to fix it. Sold it, and it became a whale watching boat somewhere in the PNW,
AFAIK. I swore off ever having a wooden boat ever again!
Now, in my sixties, I own a 25 ft steamboat that I built on a 1968 lifeboat hull. It is ALUMINUM and sits in my driveway on a trailer. No moorage, no bank loan, built it on a pay-as-you-go basis. Having the time of my life.