On 2007-09-04 11:24:10 -0400, "
said:

My wife and I have had a 30 year old swing keel Catalina 22 for five
years.We just spent four weeks sailing it from Port Townsend WA, where
we live, to Princess Louisa Inlet. The boat handled everything fine,
but we are beginning to think we want something a bit bigger if we are
going to do more of the same and perhaps go further north.

We did the same 15 years ago.

Short story: I suggest you determine what you can reasonably expect to
do for the next 5-7 years and list what you need in a boat,
particularly accommodations as they will mean quite a bit more than
they did in the 22. I'll tell you, the first time you stand up to put
on your pants will be an eye-opener! 95% of the time, long distance
cruisers are in a harbor, so accomodationss become more important the
further and longer you go.

Our priorities: Full-time berth for two real adults. (75% of the boats
out there fail that test.) Making up the bed each evening gets old
fast. Head, galley, interior seating, stowage, and cockpit followed in
rough priority. Only after both of us were satisfied with that did my
concerns (keel, hull form, sail plan, etc.) come into play. After some
pretty-fair cruising, I'd add having a reliable engine with fairly high
priority.

A "slow" sailboat can be considerably improved with a good set of
sails. Ours is fast enough stock, but I like speed, so we have a couple
of semi-custom jibs, a proper main and great cruising chute. We
generally keep up with (or pass) boats 10' longer, and regularly pass
30-35' cats under chute.

After 16 seasons of doing far more than our pre-purchase expectations,
Xan's still sufficient for our expected needs for the next 5-7 years,
including an extended trip at least in the Bahamas, possibly through
the BVI. I hope you do as well.

--
Jere Lull
Tanzer 28 #4 out of Tolchester, MD
Xan's new pages: http://web.mac.com/jerelull/iWeb/Xan/
Our BVI pages: http://homepage.mac.com/jerelull/BVI/