On Tue, 08 Nov 2005 20:46:06 -0800, Stephen Trapani
wrote:

I have a Hunter 33', stronger than a MacGregor, but I would never
venture out into the ocean with it. On the other hand, I crewed numerous
times on a Blanchard 33' in very heavy seas and felt as safe as a bug in
a rug.

There's a Hunter 33 down the dock from me, and while it looks roomy as
hell below, with all that windage and the high boom, it gets slapped
around on windy days on Lake Ontario.

These days not all boats are designed to be seaworthy, but rather
"daysail in 15 knots max."-worthy. There's no harm in that, if that's
what you want.

And most people do.

Ocean-going boats, for reasons of stability, safety and comfort, are
frequently narrow and occasionally dark below...the expectation is
that you'll be on deck most of the time, anyway. There's exceptions to
this, of course, but we can't all afford Moody and Swan models.

As for the original poster, I smell troll. A good way to get sailors
to pitch fits in type is to suggest first a Bayliner and then a
MacGregor 26 as ocean-crossing boats. What's next, a C&C Mega?

R.