[JohnDrake]

I have not see the data set so this is pure speculation. But I think that in general there are many older couples coming into sailing with an intererst in cruising as a retirement dream. One or the other of them many not have sailed much. That coupled with the fact that many retiring people have much more money these days, makes me believe that boat selection is about trying to get all the comfort of home and having the money to pay for it.

I also agree with Jeff H, there seems to be some urban legend about cutters and CC''s. I suspect the reality is quite different.

The lower cost (100-150k) boats that the author mentioned, Tayana V42, CSY 44 and Petersen 44, do not - to me - have anything in common with the modern deck salon CC''s that are so sought after. And, quite frankly, the T V42 at 30,000lbs and the CSY at 37,000lbs....have huge penalties for couples working these overly large sail plans (Jeff H points this out often and I agree...more displacement means handling more sail and no matter what equipment you have that is work). Further, none of those boats have the modern sailing handling gear unless someone invested thousands to install it.

My point would be, I think the raw statistic of average LOA and the fact that just over 50% are CC''s should not point anyone in that direction. There is a lot more to it than that. I will also contend that older 70''s era around $100k 42-44ft CC designs (Whitby 42, TV42, CSY 44 and Petersen 44) have just about the same space down below as a more modern 80-90''s''s era 38ft aft cockpit sloop.

I can see the attraction of an aft cabin..especially for a couple. But in my mind, a CC design invariably robs space from the cabin down below. Why would I give up space in the salon for a larger berth than my 6''6" x 7'' vee berth mattress?

Still, I would really like to see the raw data set and do some real stats analysis on it. And am still interested in what other''s think about this.

My best to all.

John