I recently looked at a Wylie 34 that is cold molded. I like the Wylie boats and currently own a Hawkfarm 28. The boat appears to be very well built (obviously a survey would be in order before going to far) but I know very little about cold mold boats. I have a friend (another Hawkfarm owner) who is a very experienced racer and cruiser–he seems to think that cold molded wouldn’t be a great choice for a cruising boat due to the difficulty in having quality repairs done if something happened “in the bak of beyond”.

Do you have any opinions on this? If the boat was sound and the design was suitable, would this put you off (I like the idea of aluminum as well but don’t see many in the 35 ft range)?