"Point is, I want a boat that is in excellent condition.
Whether you are 20 miles out or 4 doesn't matter much if your sailing on a cat that's been abused and breaks up on you."

It matters when they have to go find you...and what if you fall off the boat and it leaves you behind? Are you going to use a tether? If you can see shore, at least you know which direction to start swimming. The EPIRB is a must, but I've never had the inclination to go out of sight of land on a beach cat. It's all just water out there, and it all looks the same...so what's the point?

I used to love cruising up and down the coast of NH and Maine, only a couple miles out, so I can SEE something on the shore, not to mention if something did go wrong, I could -maybe- flag someone down.


Oh, and if you want a boat "In Excellent Condition", you may want to buy a new one.