Thank you all again for your replies.

I'll definitely look into Great Lakes and the MWR, I hadn't thought of that. I'm sure those Navy folks wont be too turned off by a Army medic looking to learn to sail.

I called the County tax office here today. In Texas, a trailer does not need to be titled unless its empty weight is over 4000 lbs. I can also get a 30 day temporary permit for $25 dollars, to get me up to Illinois. He couldn't guarantee other states would honor it if I got pulled over, but said he had never heard of it being a problem.

I posted over at that Yacht club. Sounds like they are very close to me. Unfortunately their web server is down so I posted on their temporary google setup. I asked if maybe someone would be willing to check the cat out with me this weekend, we'll see what happens.

If this boat turns out to be in bad shape, what would you recommend? Personally, when I get into a hobby I go all the way, probably more than I should. My wife is another story. I just think it would be a great thing to have to take on camping trips etc. I have a son who is still too young for boating, but I imagine it would be a great father son thing to do when he gets old enough.