Read Dave Geer(?)'s the Nature of Boats it will help you choose the size you
really need and discusses the variables that may make you more satisfied.

Scott
wrote in message
oups.com...
I want to thank those who replied to my question. I have looked at some
of the boats mentioned above; the Nonsuch(seems to me to be a good,
more affordable option to the Bristol Channel Cutter and, since it has
a Freedom-like set-up, is easier to single-hand). I have also been
keeping track of the CS36 (I consider Canada my second home - one for
sale in Annapolis), the Catalina 30 (tons of these on the market below
35k), the old Cherubini Hunter Cutter ( a diamond in the rough), and
the older C&C35. I have also read about the Dickerson (Ferenc Mate). I
have read, perhaps on this forum, that the Camper & Nicholsons had
serious blistering problems (any confirmation?).Note that my
familiarity with most of these boats is via the internet. I may go to
Annapolis this weekend to meet them.I am just trying to narrow my
options down. I will probably go with the boat that I ( after confirmed
by a surveyor) think is a good deal, given the criteria I outlined in a
previous post: can single-hand, but not too small of a boat; I do not
have to run for cover when the weather turns moderately nasty; has a
solid hull, but is not slow; has traditional looks inside - I confess
to liking mohogany or 'teak caves'- and out (love the BCC)
Let me ask a more specific question(s).What displacement, keel,
rudder parameters make it very difficult to dock single-handed, even in
the relatively calm airs of the northern Chesapeake? I am assuming that
a real heavy (given LWL plus or minus 26-28') boat with a full-length
keel like the Westsail has would be very hard to dock by myself, or at
least be a pain in the butt if I daysail frequently - assume that I
will be docking under engine power.I am leaning toward a traditional
more heavily displacing boat whose LWL is greater than 26' so as to
give me decent internal room when I am in the company of three other
adults, but I do not want a boat with so heavy an initial stability
that I could out-swim it in lighter airs.
Thanks, Brian, sail out of Havre de Grace, MD - home, Lititz, PA
PS: anybody know of a broker in the Annapolis area who may be my 'cup
of tea'. The website of 'rouguewaves' out of Annapolis intrigues me.