Hello Brad,

I would consider myself to be in a similar situation to yourself, and I have a young family 4 & 6-year-olds. I am quite handy and try to get the most out of a dollar when it comes to boats. So I generally will pick up spare parts where I can for cheap, and this group is very knowledgeable and helpful as for a one-design group.

Two years ago, I bought a J30. It has core issues, soft spots, and the interior is in shambles. I have been slowly fixing the boat, little things at a time. This year I was fortunate enough to get a spare J30 that someone was trying to get out of there yard, I use this as a parts boat.

Even though the boat is not in the greatest shape, I still race it on a weekly bases and also cross-lake Erie.

The Yanmar engines are bulletproof and have not had any issues with mine. After having an inboard engine, I would never go back.

Wiring the only things I worry about is lighting and instruments, it's quite straight forward. Just try not to go down the rabbit hole.. if it works don't touch it and fix what needs fixing.

The things that can start racking up the cost are sails and equipment, and fiberglass can be fixed pretty cheaply. Dacron sails can last a long time if you're not worried about winning races.

I generally do not go farther than an hour offshore, so my concern of a catastrophic failure is pretty low. If i am going more, I make sure I go with a buddy boat.

I have been hit by a storm with 50mph wind, and the boat survived just fine.

So i can help you with parts some parts, the biggest cost to consider is storage, dock-age and lifting the boat. I have join a yacht club which is $1200 a year which includes all those things.