Ok, I'll throw in my $.02. YMMV.

Aesthetics is aesthetics and performance is performance. Sometimes
they're congruent, sometimes they intersect, sometimes they have
nothing in common.

Me, I'm too old and life is too short to sail full-keel boats in light
air. I no longer have any desire to sail on any boat with a D/L ratio
over 275 under most circumstances and I wouldn't wanna own anything
with D/L ratio over 250. The closer to 200, the better. Yes, I mean a
cruising boat, not a racer. Of course, that's a generalization and
there'll always be exceptional cases; D/L ratio is only one of many
factors to consider.

I'd never accuse Catalina of being pretty or of being a quality boat.
BUT... if I were you, looking to singlehand in (often) light air, I'd
buy the Catalina in a heartbeat over the turtles you find aesthetically
pleasing. Walk the docks if you need an aesthitic fix and admire other
people's beautiful (slow) boats. For your own pleasure, sail something
that'll actually *sail* in your local conditions.

Frank