First yacht...some help

Absolutely go pre-owned. Most boats get very little use so you can probably get one that's just broken in (200-400 hrs) for a huge savings and the first owner probably worked out the new boat bugs.
Once you get over about 34' give thought to going diesel Unless your lake is not prepared for diesel (mechanics, fuel). I'm not familiar with your area. It's considerably more money but they last and you'll probably recoup the extra at resale plus making it easier to sell.
It's in fact easier to run a larger boat as it's affected less by wind when docking.
Stick with calling it a "boat". If you use the search feature above you'll find a thread pertaining to Boat vs Yacht. In short let others call it a yacht if they choose. You call it a boat. Less pretentious.
Finally, if you're thinking of going 34' or 37' go for the 37. You'll be there in a year or two anyway so save the extra broker's fee.

Hi Dino and welcome to YachtForums,

In reading your requirements, the first boat that came to mind is the new line of Delta Powerboats manufactured in Sweden. These are extremely
well thought-out boats that perform well and offer exceptional fuel economy. They are also well suited for your climate.

Follow this link... http://www.deltapowerboats.se/en-us/

Depends on the level of comfort you want. If you're talking two couples in lounge about comfort with privacy and storage for a week available, 37 is pretty minimal. 50' is about where you get those kind of accomodations. Handling a 50'er is no more difficult than handling a 37.

A couple of builders that may interest you (and located in Finland) are Nord Star Boats (http://www.nordstar.fi/) and Minor Offshore (http://www.minor.fi/). Both offer diesel powered boats in the 24 to 40 foot range, but the smallest Nord Star is an outboard model.

Hi,

This is the Lake the OP wants to use his boat on.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Maggiore

It is a great part of the world and I have been lucky enough to be out on this lake and the nearby Lago Lugano a couple of times.

I just moved from a 28' to a 54' ... initially stepping onto the 54', I was absolutely amazed by the size of everything ... I spent the first day saying no way .. no way and then beginning to get used to the size. Ultimately, adult couples or even like me (wife, 2 kids, 3 dogs and a cat) will only be comfortable on something with some size to it. We will still leave the cat and a dog or two at home. 2 bedroom, 2 bath would be a good start and this might easily be found in a 43'-46' too.

Driving the 54 was easy. First time out did everything but back it into the slip .. no problem. I did notice that the boat is more deliberate than the 28' ... pushed around less by the wind or current.

Beautiful lake region you are looking at.

I think the type of layout you are interested in needs first to be decided. Do you want an express cruiser style or a flybridge/salon style? Both can be had with a stylish design. If you want to spend a week on the boat, then a salon design gives a nice above water living space with lots of windows and views. A flygridge on a cruising motoryacht is a very nice space to socialize and docking can be easiest with a nice view from the upper helm. If you go the flybridge route, then I would not look at anything smaler than about 45 feet.

Last year we started out looking for a 39 foot express cruiser and wound up with a 50 foot two stateroom/salon style flybridge boat. Definitely a good choice for us. We moved from a 30 ft express to the 50 flybridge. Two days of lessons with a captain (from this site) and we had 250 hours of trouble free handling of the boat in many areas we had not previously been to. I would for certain recommend diesels as they typically have larger props and handle much nicer in a tight docking situations.

We bought a Viking Sport Cruiser which is the US version manufactured by Princess Yachts in England. They are very nice boats and well made. There are other manufacturers in this class such as Sunseeker, Fairline and Azimut. Everyone has their own opionion on each of these brands, but I personally would never buy a boat that is not a solid laminant near or below the waterline. The Princess and Fairline are solid laminants for the entire hull and only use coring in the superstructure and deck.

-Rick

50 Viking Sport Cruiser

Reading that is worth more than the pay. Best to the family.

I have a client who for decades always had express cruisers, Predators, Pershings and the like...used to trade every year or two. He bought a 61, Viking (Princess) Sport Cruise and has had it for 3 years with no immediate desire to trade in until he moves to a big boat. The flybridge is what makes the difference. It still has an indoor station where much of the driving happens, but the flybridge really expands the lounging space and gives 2 more zones of privacy.

BTW, I would recommend that boat if you have the money. 2 good sized cabins and a small one you can use for storage and a nice sized salon. I usually run 27-30 when delivering the boat. The owner will typically cruise it at 30-32. It'll do 37 without the tender on the stern and 35 with it with a pair of 1100hp common rail MANs. There is also a large lazarette for storage. Mu only issue with the boat is that the engines are too close together making getting to the front of them for checks and service a real pain. They come with bow and stern thrusters, so handling is no issue even for a novice.

Not sure about some of the others, but a fairly young, low hour 50' Princess or Viking SC is well within your budget.

Oh yes they are, and they are fun to drive. I used to love my day between Norfolk and Beaufort running full tilt through the turns in the ICW south of the bridges on the Norfolk end. The VSCs actually run faster, but they will not cut rail down in the turns like the Predators did.

New Boat

Hi Dino,
With that budget in this market, make sure you take a big guy with you when you walk into a dealership or broker.....they will likely nail your feet to the floor or break your legs before they let you go!!

Just to add another VERY BIASED opinion on a boat, look at a Pilothouse. You will never regret this if you are in the "cruising" world. These are, IMHO, true boats for all purposes and can be used for all the activities you would want, especially with a "crew" of friends and pets. Go to Yacht World, type in "Pilothouse" then come back to these gentlemen for advice on what is the best model.
BTW, there is a new company with a pilothouse called a "SKAGEN 50" that I like the look of, HOWEVER, as it is a prototype/new brand I cannot give any recommendation other than the design is attractive.
Good luck

Your friends and family might be VERY comfortable in this

http://www.65donzi.com/

the problem would be getting them to leave at the end of the long weekend!

That of course and getting the boat to your location!

You have made an important point, that you can get lots of boat on the used market for a good price these days ... of course, repairs have not gone down in price much so maintenance and rehabilitation of an older flybridge could be significant.

Mike