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The Catalina 30 will have a lot more space/volume than the Cascade.. but the Cascades have done some serious voyaging and though a tad uninspired design wise they have a fairly good rep. Many were owner-finished, though, so you'll need to be careful about that.
If you envision mostly inside passages and picking weather windows then the C30 would probably do the job for you quite well.. she's a stiff, stable boat with good volume, reasonable speed and excellent builder/owner support still today. For spending 6-8 weeks aboard per year I think it's far more liveable, esp if a couple or more.
I imagine the Alaskan market is somewhat limited, however in general it's a buyer's market and neither the C30 nor the Cascade should gobble up your entire budget - meaning some money for upgrades, or perhaps opportunity to look at something slightly larger. We're on our 5th boat in 30+ years, made it up to 40 feet and now happily settled into a 35 footer as a nice couple's compromise for the type of coastal sailing we do, like you are planning, 6-8 weeks aboard every summer and occasional weekends throughout the year.
If you envision mostly inside passages and picking weather windows then the C30 would probably do the job for you quite well.. she's a stiff, stable boat with good volume, reasonable speed and excellent builder/owner support still today. For spending 6-8 weeks aboard per year I think it's far more liveable, esp if a couple or more.
I imagine the Alaskan market is somewhat limited, however in general it's a buyer's market and neither the C30 nor the Cascade should gobble up your entire budget - meaning some money for upgrades, or perhaps opportunity to look at something slightly larger. We're on our 5th boat in 30+ years, made it up to 40 feet and now happily settled into a 35 footer as a nice couple's compromise for the type of coastal sailing we do, like you are planning, 6-8 weeks aboard every summer and occasional weekends throughout the year.
