Agree completely Brad... and I've never used my lower helm, but I see lots of trawlers going by here in nasty weather being piloted from inside... no "raincoated" tough guys on the upper helm... agree also, the joinery isn't Trumpy or Hatteras quality, but I can live with what I have in my MS... My appliances, and head are adequate meaning they serve the purpose - middle of the road so to speak... Not to drop anything in the punch bowl, but older boats can be repair and maintenance intensive. Wood takes a lot of care and controls/wiring can also need a lot of attention. Older boats have style that some of the newer ones don't have, and a well maintained one sure gets a lot of attention next to an all fiberglass boat. All of us want to see the pictures starting with the hull at haul out... we can always learn from others as they go through the buying process... also, if you're near Daytona, there's 2 34's here that you could checkout... good luck.. it sounds like you're doing all the right things...