Wendy wrote:
It seems like the design would simply *have* to be easier in a following
sea.

Like the song says, "It ain't necessarily so." There are a couple of
factors that affect how a boat behaves in a following sea, and it also
makes a big difference in how bad a following sea you plan to be in.

An important characteristic in any boat, sail or power, is reserve
bouyancy... in other words, as conditions (rolling, heeling, big waves,
whatever) stick the hull or a part of it deeper into the water, how
strongly does the hull, or that deeper immersed part of the hull, try to
rise? This is one case where more is better. And a boat with a transom
is going to have more enclosed volume, thus more reserve bouyancy, than
a canoe stern.

But keep in mind, most long distance cruisers avoid heavy weather and
spend less than 1% of their sailing time battling storms.

The one thing that I don't like about canoe sterns, and heard the most
complaints about, is that it severely reduces cockpit area (thus
available living space) and it's difficult to mount equipment on them.


Not the be-all and end-all goal. I'm not antisocial Being single, I
simply expect there would be times when I would sail alone. I may be best
served by something smaller, but 37' is attractive. The Pacific Seacraft at
32' would be fine, I think.

Size isn't really an issue for singlehanding (or shorthanding), people
have singlehanded surprisingly large boats... over a hundred feet LOA.
Equipment is a big issue though; and so is skill & forethought. In
former times, big sailing cargo were sailed by as few men as could be
done with, to keep crew expense down. You can read accounts of three
masted schooners being sailed by two men & a dog

One of the things I'd recommend is to get as much experience as possible
sailing OPBs. You seem to have the credentials to be a highly sought
after crew, it should be difficult to get a berth on some deliveries.
It's no problem at all if you're willing to bring boats back from races!

Fresh Breezes- Doug King