[C320-list] 320 vs. something just a little bigger

[Allan Field]

Paul - I can share our experience. We had our C320 for 16 years and an
Ericson 30+ for 13 years before that. For us, the C320 was a perfect
Chesapeake Bay boat while we were working and sailing mostly like you are
currently - weekends and 1-2 weeks during the summer. Going into retirement
- I am 73 now, LInda almost 70 - we knew that we'd be using the boat
differently and a lot more. Accordingly, after thinking things through, we
knew there were 3 key things we wanted in our next boat: 1) A midline bunk
so one would not be crawling over the other in the middle of the night. 2)
Roller furling main (despite its bad rep') as we did not want to spend any
more time than necessary out of the cockpit as we aged. 3) We knew we
wanted another Catalina. We found a Catalina 387 4 years ago that met our
criteria and purchased her. There is a lot that we still miss about the
C320, such as the fridge when compared to the C387, but overall are glad we
did this. We consciously did not add a whisker pole as sailing with a
spinnaker would take us out of the cockpit. I really miss the pole when
sailing DDW but will not add one. What I miss the most is an A-Sym sail but
again, will not add one.

Hope this helps!

Allan S. Field
Sea Shadow - C387, #103 - formerly C320, #808
Columbia, MD

On Sun, Dec 13, 2020 at 7:27 PM Paul Ducham <paul at ducham.com> wrote:

>    Seeking opinions from those who downsized to a 320 or anyone who has a
>    320 and finds themselves wishing they had spent the extra dollars for
>    something a little bigger.
>
>    Iâve always subscribed to the boat philosophy that you should own the
>    smallest one you or your spouse can tolerate. And Iâm mostly convinced
>    that the 320 should be our next/last boat. But I wonder if Iâm going to
>    find myself wishing I had spent the extra money on something with 2-3
>    more feet of LOA for the extra storage, motion comfort, and additional
>    space.
>
>    For context, Iâm 55 and trying to pick a boat that will suite me for
>    the next twenty years, assuming Iâm not going to get stronger, smarter,
>    or more coordinated with age. I solo sail mostly (even when my wife or
>    friends are along, Iâm pretty much solo sailing) out of Chicago on Lake
>    Michigan. For the next couple of years, the boat will be used mostly
>    for day sailing and weekending with my wife and dog, with a 2-4 week
>    cruise each summer, mostly staying in marinas. But the longer-term plan
>    is to spend more of each summer cruising the great lakes.
>
>    All thoughts and opinions welcome.
>
>    Cheers!
>
>    Paul
>