Haas Minimill 2, Hurco VM5i or a ?

The good news is, I don't think you could make a really "Bad" choice here. Both look like winners and both look well beyond the typ hobby CNC. Looking forward to what you decide and pictures of it in operation.
 
Get the boat. I just told my 6 year old grandson I sold my boat and he ran to the sofa lay down and put a pillow over his head. I felt terrible but at my age it was getting too dangerous to cruise alone. At your age you have lots of cruising years ahead and if you have grandchildren..... A couple of years ago my son asked my then 6 year old granddaughter what was the most fun she had all summer "Driving grandpa's boat!".
 
Forget the money sinks, been there, done that. The mills are pretty much a coin toss. The resale and local service on the Haas might be the deciding factor.
 
The boat and the motorhome are people oriented hobbies. The mill in your shop allows you to become a recluse. Your choice.
 
Update: After reading some Haas vs Hurco threads I'm less inclined to go with the Hurco. Its made in Taiwan and recent reports from shop owners who purchased them were not favorable, they have both machines for comparison.

There's trouble on the Haas side...I have the ceiling height in my garage for the Mini Mill 2 but from what Haas is telling me they can't get it under my garage door threshold of 83 inches. :-( Yet some people have managed it so I'm researching further. The Mini Mill will clear with a height of 78.5 inches but the work cube is pretty small.
 
Update: Well it looks like I can squeeze a Haas Mini Mill 2 under my garage door after all though I may have to remove some trim.
 
Coolidge, following you around on this forum is going to cost me a lot of money.

I thought my tool habit was bad, but I see I have some catching up to do.

I still need a welding table...
 
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Ahahaha I wish I only had welding table drool. Get yourself some Haas Mini Mill 2 drool then you will know pain. 20 station automate tool changer, chip auger, rigid tapping, hi flow coolant, high speed machining...oh she's cool. But with the 10% off sale they are running now, the mill with sales tax, shipping, rigging is still $55k and that's before tooling. I could buy one tomorrow, sadly with my day job I could not keep a mill like that busy enough to justify throwing down that much money it really would be stupid. So I'm thinking wait until I retire and have lots of time on my hands, then throw down on something even bigger, a VF2SS maybe. Now you know why I'm trying to distract myself over in the G0509G thread lol.
 
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