Cairns hits the nail on the head when he remarks about current high
styling that will soon look dated. Such high styling is also soon
physically dated as the large expanses of plexiglas (or whatever) get
crazed etc.
I like the Mac cuz they basically thumb their noses at traditionalists
while opening up sailing to part of the market that would otherwise not
sail.
I hate to criticize somebody elses boat but my impression of the
Beneteau is essentially my impression of eurostyling in general. Its
like listening to Abba and calling it music. Yeah, its fun now, but
really no substance.
My impression of Catalina is that they've figured out how to do
something well without costing a fortune. They are not ultra-expensive
but truly functional at reasonable cost, the essence of good
engineering. They are not flashy but do what they do very well.
Flashy is good for some people, long term functionality is good for
others.