So, I've been looking at lot of different boats, thinking about a purchase in the ~2 year range. Right now we're sailing a Freedom 32 club boat, which is about right for our family of 3 (two adults, one child), with only one real sailor among us (so far). While I appreciate the easy to sail and very forgiving nature of the boat, which make it easy for me to effectively single-handle, I'm not sure I'd want to run right out and get one of these for myself. I think in the longer term, we'd like something a little bit larger, the better to accommodate friends & family (ie, one more couple), and which would be capable of crossing to the Bahamas, or, when it opens again, across the straits of Florida. In the meantime, coastal cruising in the Chesapeake and along the eastern seaboard. Maybe the latter is all we do on this boat, and we look to upgrade to 2.0 when it's time for more adventurous crossings.
I've been reading the incredibly helpful design threads on here a bit, and am slowly starting to grasp the factors driving "modern" boat design (and to understand why I've started seeing so many 'old working boat' designs appearing in modern FG at the marinas with modern gear and lovely brass brightwork), and I was drawn quite a bit to the Beneteau Firsts, for the LWL/LOA, DISP/LEN and DISP/SA. But then I look at the "comfort ratio" and CSF and I'm suddenly much less drawn, mostly because my non-sailors will really be happier with a much less tender and less bouncy boat (lower motion), and the CR is <20 (still better than the Freedom - even in a fresh breeze - Beaufort 5 - my "crew" wasn't very comfortable). As much as I'd like something that points well (the Freedom is meh to weather, amazing on a reach) and is good in light wind, I'm more concerned about my crew/passenger comfort.
So...I went back to a previous recommendation to look at the Pearsons (which I've always thought are beautiful). The 36-2 seems like a reasonably modern design when I look at the calculations - better than I expected after reading some commentary that Pearson had fallen behind in design. Of course it seems difficult to know what a boat will feel like in different seas without actually sailing it there, but it doesn't appear too different from the Freedom in terms of LWL/LOA and DISP/LEN, and has a considerably better CR and CSF.
I'm not interested in the shoal/swing keel, but the 6.5" draft shouldn't be an issue for us.
I've been reading the incredibly helpful design threads on here a bit, and am slowly starting to grasp the factors driving "modern" boat design (and to understand why I've started seeing so many 'old working boat' designs appearing in modern FG at the marinas with modern gear and lovely brass brightwork), and I was drawn quite a bit to the Beneteau Firsts, for the LWL/LOA, DISP/LEN and DISP/SA. But then I look at the "comfort ratio" and CSF and I'm suddenly much less drawn, mostly because my non-sailors will really be happier with a much less tender and less bouncy boat (lower motion), and the CR is <20 (still better than the Freedom - even in a fresh breeze - Beaufort 5 - my "crew" wasn't very comfortable). As much as I'd like something that points well (the Freedom is meh to weather, amazing on a reach) and is good in light wind, I'm more concerned about my crew/passenger comfort.
So...I went back to a previous recommendation to look at the Pearsons (which I've always thought are beautiful). The 36-2 seems like a reasonably modern design when I look at the calculations - better than I expected after reading some commentary that Pearson had fallen behind in design. Of course it seems difficult to know what a boat will feel like in different seas without actually sailing it there, but it doesn't appear too different from the Freedom in terms of LWL/LOA and DISP/LEN, and has a considerably better CR and CSF.
I'm not interested in the shoal/swing keel, but the 6.5" draft shouldn't be an issue for us.