Catalina 22

[Leeward Rail]

FWIW: My wife and I were considering a 16ft Wayfarer Dinghy and a Hobie Cat, outfitted with boom tents, before the C22.
(Frank Dye did ocean crossings in a Wayfarer, and a Hobie did the NW Passage, so they can do great things in the right hands.)
When not camping aboard, and we could still race them, or simply day sail.
Sure, you can race a C22, but you can't fly a hull in one, nor does it have trapezes.
IMO, in our area, a boat like those makes more practical sense than a keel boat.

 

[fhp3]

Too bad your not on the east coast. I'm selling mine which I restored.
As far as the advice goes, do it now. Maybe you won't get out as much due to work etc. but you will have the boat when you want to. If you wait like me you'll wake up at 55, buy one and ask yourself why did I wait so long. Life is too short.

 

[tpenfield]

I think you could go for it as long as you can balance school and boat. Figure about $500/year to keep it in shape and operational, registered, etc.

If you go with a lower priced boat, you may be putting in about $1-2K in DIY repairs. What ever you buy, make sure it is a complete boat and not missing any components, etc. A workable kicker engine (4-6 HP) would be good to have along with a decent trailer.