Family with toddler

[MBLittle]

Originally Posted by annsni

We bought our first boat when my first child was 18 months old. We got a Tartan 33 and it was fantastic. Baby in the v-berth which when the filler was put in was ALL v-berth (no floor at all so basically a giant play pen). The next summer we had child #2 and she joined her sister in the v-berth. Worked out great. They got big and eventually child #3 came along and the boat was snug. Put the baby in the quarter berth and it was a pain to get in there to nurse him but it worked out OK. Then #4 was on her way. Uh-oh!! We needed a bigger boat. So comes along Catalina 42 MkII. Best boat ever for our family. Two good sized aft staterooms for 2 kids each, real doors to our room and a queen sized bed for us with our own head! Big galley, big cockpit, sails great. We never put netting up and instead just used harnesses. It worked great!! Not sure how well a dog would do but this boat is fantastic, in your range and meets all your specs - plus there are a lot of them out there! ETA: The first child is now 23, second 21, third going on 13 and the last is almost 11!!!! They all grew up on boats and love it!

We are fans of the Catalina 42 MKII, that's for sure.

We're also contemplating a Hunter Passage 42.

[annsni]

Originally Posted by MBLittle

We are fans of the Catalina 42 MKII, that's for sure.

We're also contemplating a Hunter Passage 42.

The best feeling ever is going to a boat show and walking away saying "Nothing beats our boat for our family!" Only the Bavaria 50 impressed me more than our boat and we're not going THAT big (but it had a walk-in closet!!!!!). LOL