Boat for Wednesday night racing and weekend cruising

[katytoo]

I'm looking for a suitable boat to race in my club's Wednesday night beer can races, to daysail, and to take weekend cruises to the islands on the western end of Lake Erie (where I sail). I'm thinking of something about 26' or so long. The accomodation down below does not have to be flash, though I'd prefer close to standing headroom. A couple of quarter berths would be fine. My wife does not sail with me so I often singlehand when I'm daysailing or off on a weekender. Obviously I would race with a crew. To be competitive in the club races I'd need a PHRF rating of no more than 180-220. One other factor is that I'm retired on a limited budget and would rather not pay more than about $10,000.
Right now I'm looking at a San Juan 7.7 which is about a day's drive from where I sail. Does anyone have thoughts on either the San Juan 7.7 or can anyone suggest another boat that would fit my needs?
Any thoughts or suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks and Fair Winds,
Peter

[zz4gta]

J24 which will typically rate 168 or there abouts
Merit 25 (I'm a little partial) which will rate 168-180 depending on where you are. Neither has standing headroom. For standing headroom I would imagine that you'd be looking at 27-30' of length.

[tommays]

Take a look at the small S 2 like the 7.9 and smaller



tommays