Cruising Performance

[greenhands]

Hello All,
I’m in the early stages of planning a year aboard. Tentatively leaving NC April 2026, crossing to Med for summer, Fall across N Africa then recrossing and spring time up through Caribbean to home. Looking at boats in the 35-40ish range and about 50k. My experience is sailing mtn lakes and Chesapeake in a Catalina 22. No longer in my possession. I like the idea and layout of center cockpit boats as I plan to have friends and family join me at various points.
So on to the subject of this post. How important is sailing performance ie hull speed and point ability on a journey such as this? Been liking the layout of the endeavor 40 and besides the tank issues, does it sail better than a Morgan out island? I also saw a Scanmar 35 cc that looked fast and light but wondering if it would tend to get tossed around in weather more. Very aware that I require more experience, will probably cost more than I expect and I am probably foolhardy.
Cheers and anchors away. David

[GordMay]

IMO:
1. That’s quite an ambitious itinerary, to undertake in a year.
2. Most ±40 Ft, sailboats will perform better [in most ways], than a Morgan Out Island; but they're unlikely to be available [TransAt ready], for ±$50k.

[Tortuga's Lie]

In that size range, I wouldn't get too hung up on the idea of a center cockpit, it really limits your choices and eliminates some fine boats out there for your purposes. One thing that no one seems to talk about concerning center cockpit boats is the difficulty of handling docklines from the helm, you need to learn special tricks or have thrusters/3rd person. Single handling becomes a challenge when docking, make sure you have a substantial rub rail!