Caleb,
Thanks so much for being willing to chat about my dilemma! I really appreciate someone with whom I can explore ideas. It certainly helps solidify my thoughts. Thanks also for your links. I have bookmarked these for future reference as well as myu current needs.
I was very fortunate to touch base with one M33 owner, who had this to say: " ... I do feel the boat is basically sound for blue water sailing..." Apparently he has made quite a few modifications for coastal cruising in New England and seems to very much enjoy his boat.
Per the comparison of the Sail Calculator, the SC28 and M33 appear to be quite similar, with the M33 edging out the SC28 in a few places, but as you suggest, I am not sure if the numbers say it all. So yes, it would be great to have some on-the-water comments. I am hoping to strike up a conversation with the one M33 owner who has sailed his a fair amount.
As far as the Blue Water sailing equipment goes, I expect that these things would be required for whichever boat one settles upon. In my case, I have been slowly gathering the toys. I found a nice ICOM SSB radio (if it has not been stolen in the recent burglary of my home in CA) and I got one of those fancy broadband radars in a sale at thbe end of last year. So now what remains is a life raft.
Along these lines, the M33 is probably a bit better as it has much more room above deck than the SC28, with all that space to store stuff! As it is, in sailing the SC28 in the Bay Area, I have found the deck to be quite tight, allowing little extra space for spare fuel jugs, water jugs, life rafts, dingys, solar panels..... Even below decks the SC28 feels somewhat tight. Maybe this is good as in a blow, you won't be thrown about quite so ar, but I expect that it will be very difficult to fit all the goodies inside!
So now, with the one limited comment of the M33 owner, the Sail Calculator comparison, and these other considerations, the M33 looks a little better. No, I am not really headed toward racing (although I have heard that any sailor becomes a racer when he even gets close to another boat!), but the idea of having a 20% increase in speed means that you can go to 20% more places in a given period of time? I expect that after a few weeks on the rolling deck, the outlook of green rising up above the briny deep is a welcome sight! So heck , 10days on the M33 vs 12 on the SC28???
And then of course there is this question, what am I going to do with the M33 if I don't get her ready to sail? She is a beached whale right now and it will take quite an effort to get her down to the beach. If I don't tend to her needs, my guess is that she will end up rotting in the mountains - what a very BAD image!!!