[RichH]

You might want to ask your questions directly to the specific owners groups here on sailnet : Tayana, HC, Baba, Passport, Valiant, etc. Most of the owners groups have periodic rendezvous where many prosprective owners also are encouraged, etc. For example, there will be a Tayana rendezvous on the Chesapeake in early June. You might also want to actually join the individual owners associations (newsletters, shared info, etc.) until you firm up your preferences.

My T37 has the following warts: doesn''t sail at all under 8 kts; insensitive "barn door" rudder; teak maintenance; so-so metalurgy on original rigging, etc.
Exterior Teak: not really a problem ... easily long term coated with the modern acrylic co-polymers. Teaky, Yes; Leaky ... not a bit.

 

[RichH]

An opposite opinion.
Consider the accelerational forces of adverse waves and seas against a lightweight ''sled'' that sits ON the water. Then consider the accelerational forces against a heavyweight ''crab crusher''. Which one will beat up the crew more because it has extremely unstable momentum characteristics? Which one will be SEAKINDLY enough so that you can more enjoy the passage or voyage. ... and isnt it the "passage" and not the destination what we really seek? ... I''ll take that few extra days thank you. Why did Moitessier decide to to drop out of a singlehanded around the world race after one completed circumnavigation to continue for a second???? Answer... he enjoyed it! Geeze, if you need to get there that fast, maybe one should consider an airline ticket. I''ll bet that on your passage where the ''heavy'' arrived 3 days later that their crew did not have to sleep for 3 days to recover ... or the distance was so short that it didn''t really matter. (You could have gotten there even faster in a cigarrette boat, wearing a kidney belt and helmet.)
There is nothing wrong with a lightweight fin keeler, .... if you have the stamina, arms like popeye and teeth that wont get shaken out their sockets for beating into heavy seas for days and days and days on end.
A wholly forgotten factor in decision making for choosing a blue water boat seems to be SEAKINDLINESS ..... Take a good look at C.K. Marchaj''s little known work "Seakindeliness - the forgotten factor" or go to http://www.johnsboatstuff.com/Articles/best.htm before you attempt to venture an ocean crossing in somthing that approaches the performance and weight characteristics of an E-Scow.
Take your records ......................... and go racing.
The **voyage** is the essence of passagemaking NOT the how fast you can get to the destination. There is a very different mind-set between racing off to somewhere and simply enjoying oneself on a passage. Relax, take your time, dont get beat up in a ''sled'' It''s entirely your choice:...... enjoy yourself on a ''heavy'' or beat your body to a pulp on a ''''cork".

 

[RichH]

"Designers heeded his advise and reshaped hulls and lowered centers of gravity, moved weight out of the ends of the boat, lengthened water lines, reduced both deck and waterline beam, and reduced the reliance on form stability".
---- absolutely true .... including the designers of modern ''moderate to heavy weight'' boats.