Bill,
Yes, I would prefer a larger boat as my wife sails with me now and can help run the boat. Also, a larger boat has more room down below, is drier, and if it has an inboard engine can power quite well into the waves whereas an outboard can''t. There are many positive reasons why a larger boat is better.
The reason I have a small boat is: expense; I often sail for 2 hours and a small boat is faster out of and into a slip; a small boat is easier to singlehand and I can fly the chute by myself. No boat is perfect and they all involve compromises. When I retire we will probably get a used NonSuch 30 or maybe a Freedom 28.
I don''t know what you mean by "sea worthy" so you will have to tell me. My Freedom 21 is built much stronger than a Catalina 22 and even some 30 footers so it can withstand more extreme forces but if you sail conservatively it makes no difference. When you push boats like I do it is nice to have a really strong boat. This is approximate but 15 to 20 winds create 6 foot waves; 25 winds create 8 feet; 30 winds create 10 feet; 35 winds 12 feet; 45 to 50 winds 20 foot waves so you will sailing in 6 foot waves alot. These waves are considered steep. I think a 30 footer is definately more comfortable on the Lake and a 40 footer even more so but size has propblems too. I have seen alot of Catalina 22''s cruising.
You will not be able to
anchor and go below in a thunderstorm. In a 22 you would have to stay in the cockpit to steer. In a 30 footer you could put it on
autopilot and go below but then you would not be able to avoid any possible collisions. I am scared in thunderstorms because there is so much water in the air I cannot see and worry about
collisions. I also hate fog because I cannot see. You also must have a depthsounder for navigation. Practice with your
gps and remmember that 45 degrees 15 minutes 30 seconds is 45 degrees 15.5 minutes on a
gps as the last digits on a
gps are fractions of 100 and not 60.
How old are you? I am 53. How many days in a row would you have to cruise? I go for 12 days at a time 4 times a summer. Are you looking for adventure? Maybe some danger?
Simply peace and quiet? To just get away? I enjoy all of the above.