I have had my C&C 34/36 WK for 12 years and I love the boat. I race it frequently single or double handed and cruise with my wife for a week or two every summer. But at 72 and not getting any stronger, I am starting to think about my next/last boat. Perhaps I need to be talked down by more experienced sailors because this issue was precipitated by our last cruise. I am by nature and experience a dinghy sailor and only came to keel boats late in life, so I have limited experience on different keel boats aside from mine and Caribbean charters. I don't have much of a sense of how different designs and sizes of boats perform in challenging conditions. Last week, my wife and I cruised from New London to Cape Cod and back. On the first day it was blowing 15+ from the east (so upwind route) when we left and I had a 110 genoa and a single reef in the main. All was well until we left Fishers Island Sound (relatively protected and calm) and entered Block Island Sound (essentially the Atlantic-chop and large waves). First the main reefing line broke and I was able to stow the main so we sailed the rest of the way with just the 110 genoa. It was rough enough for my wife to get seasick, but the boat was doing 6+ knots close hauled, so no big problem. However, the thought I kept having was that it was "only" blowing 18 knots true. If it had been 20-30 knots it would have been much worse and much more difficult to control the boat single handed and no way to further depower. We ended up motoring part way, but that was no fun either. I have never tried furling the 110 partially and it certainly is not designed with that in mind.
Thinking about this experience afterwards I was reminded of a charter we did in the Caribbean on a Jeanneau 50DS years ago. I was sailing the boat myself in nearly 30 knots of wind with main and genoa under total control, healing a bit, and having a great time. The water was not rough, but I was confident I could sail that boat in much stronger winds and waves and be fine. I had never really understood the concept of a "stiff boat" but I presume this is what it means. The Jeanneau was a stiff boat and mine was not. On the return trip, it was all downwind and I had just the main up, and it was supposed to blow 10-12 but by the time we hit Block Island Sound it was blowing 20-30 with large following seas. It was a real challenge to steer the boat in those conditions and I was running on fumes from hand steering for hours by the time we hit Block Island. I didn't think the wheel pilot was going to be able to handle it and never tried. I don't know if any type of boat/keel/rig makes that situation easier to handle. Obviously the 34+ was designed to have 4-6 people on the rail for ballast and sailing it single handed is going to have some compromises. Up to 15 knots, it is no problem, but as it approaches 20, things get more challenging. So I am thinking that I might need to start looking for a different boat for the future. Something stiffer (is that the right term?) so I don't have to be concerned about going out when it is blowing 20-30 (beyond that I just won't go out by choice). But I am unclear on what characteristics to look for. Is it mostly sail area/displacement ratio that determines this? Is it possible to have good performance in various conditions and not be overpowered in 20-30 knots? How much of a factor is size or design? Can a boat be "stiff" and reasonably fast in a variety of conditions? I still want to race and PHRF should compensate somewhat for performance, but in my experience, "slow" boats lose to "fast" boats in PHRF racing. Perhaps that is just the price I will have to pay. Anyway, I would love to hear the thoughts of the group on any aspect of this issue. Thanks- Dave David Knecht S/V Aries 1990 C&C 34+ New London, CT 
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