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I agree with K1VSK - set your budget, set a range of LOA and go see what you can find on the market. What type of sailing are you doing? Hunters, Catalinas and Benes are built for easy cruising and have less aggressive sail plans, smaller winches etc. I personally looked at Beneteaus, Catalinas, Hanse and C&C's - mostly because they still make boats in my size range of 32' and under. The C&C owners I spoke to tell me the boat is very fast - it has way more sail area than the others and HUGE winches (40's and up). But it is more money and more performance means my wife as a novice may be intimidated by the tendency to heel. In the end, budget killed the C&C (among some other tidbits like sail drive issues and product build quality). The Hanse is very lovely but none were available and they too are pricey (built in europe and subject to import duties, shipping costs). The Catalina 309 and 320 we looked at - nice boats - no teak to worry about but I felt they were just plain - 'plain'. Which maybe isn't a bad thing. We did not look at Hunters - I personally like the idea of adjustable back stays like on the C&C but no back stay at all is just a little weird. Also the idea of going forward to unjam a line in rough water and getting past the extra B&G stay which seems to be at a perfect angle to ensure you will get it in the neck was disconcerting. I feel the Hunter looks and is disproportionately tall in the water. In the end a Beneteau 31 came on the market - for me it had more 'character', plenty of room - sails well in light wind (which is what we get here in the Pacific NW) and it was the right price. It has a huge beam - so I am trading off some rough water handling for extra cockpit room. And it has a rear stay (not adjustable) but alas - every choice has a trade off.
I offer this information not as an endorsement of Beneteau but as an outline on my decision process. Take all opinions about this brand or that brand posted here or from your broker with a grain of salt - do you own homework. Enjoy the search - there is a lot to learn in the process. In the end the right boat at the right price will make itself known to you - whether it is a Hunter or a Swan or anything in between.
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