How Do You Buy A Boat From 1000 Miles Away?

This is a question I've been grappling with for quite a while now.  The middle of Colorado is about 1000 miles from the nearest ocean.  The largest bodies of water in the state are what I'm sure many in other places would call ponds.  Needless to say, there aren't a large selection of boats you (or at least we) would consider living on full time.  Even if there were, we would still need to get it to the ocean where we want to be.  And I don't think we could sail it down the creeks we call rivers here (even though a few rubber ducks may fit).

Rubber Ducks on Boulder Creek

The internet certainly makes some research much easier.  Since we decided to go with a catamaran we've been looking at various boat specifications, plans and pictures online.  A task that would have been much more difficult 30 years ago without the web.  But I'm still a visual person, and I really need to see these boats in person.  What I see in a picture and reality often differ.

Of course, trying to see every possible boat that might work would only lead me to singlehandedly fund the US airline and hotel industry...and not something I can do for long if I actually want to buy one and sail away.  So we've got to narrow things down a bit.

The "longer list" of catamarans that might work (basically every catamaran that we could find that were sufficient to live aboard and under 40ft) are:

• Fountaine Pajot Athena 38
• Fountaine Pajot Mahe 36
• Fountaine Pajot Tobago 35
• Gemini 3200/105M/105Mc
• Lagoon 35 CCC
• Lagoon 37
• Lagoon 380
• PDQ 32 (& LRC)
• PDQ 36 (& LRC)
• Prout 33 thru 37

I know there are a few readers that have some knowledge or experience...so if you have any insight on what you would choose (or have chosen), I'd love to hear any thoughts.  We're looking for a coastal cruising liveaboard boat that may make occasional longer passages and can accommodate 2 plus 2 dogs and guests. Oh, and while the more reasonable the price the better, I'd better throw out a cap of $180K or so.

Right now the top 3 on our list seem to be the PDQ 32 & 36 LRC versions, and the Lagoon 37.  While some boat-specific items were considered, most of the appeal of the above is based on the creature comforts.  So, to my friends and family reading, feel free to click thru the links above and provide any thoughts you may have as well.