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sailingfool, hellosailor, thanks very much for your input!
"Do I want and need all that boat" is precisely the question. Originally, I figured that a boat 34' to 38' (displacement 12,000 to 16,000) would cover my interest in shorthanded sailing and suit my experience level.
Then my grade school daughters started growing like weeds -- an inevitability that I was not entirely prepared for ;-)
I saw the 424 from my truck as I passed by and had to stop. I was smitten by the layout and the spaciousness for a family of four. Now, when I look at smaller boats I think, "That's a sweet, handy, little ship; but we'll all be on top of each other".
Where the smaller boats feel especially cramped is in the cockpit. Though not ideal offshore, I would really like a cockpit large enough to sleep in. The 424 certainly has a voluminous cockpit and that appeals to me.
Sailingfool, I appreciated hearing that your 36 footer appropriately, 'shrunk to fit' -- I just wonder if the next jump up to the 40' range would shrink quite so much.
Maybe the magic I really need is a 38' that 'expands' to 42' where needed. That's the same magic I keep looking for in the waistbands of my trousers ;-)
I'd certainly appreciate suggestions for boats in these sizes with 'sleep-able' cockpits.
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