The short answer is No - but
I think it’s safe to say that no Beneteaus, Catalinas, or Hunters are going to be on anyone’s top ten list for crossing oceans or circumnavigating. Nevertheless, there are more than a few people doing this with them anyway. See: http://www.cruiser.co.za/hostmelon.asp - 15 years cruising all over the world on a Jeanneau Sun Fizz (this boat isn’t on anyone’s top ten list either).You need to refine your cruising plans and spend some time thinking about your cruising life style before you decide what boat you need/want. You say you might sail down to the Sea of Cortez and then go onto sail the South Pacific. Well, from the Sea of Cortez to the Marquesas is about a 4 week sail. You can pick your season and a couple days of weather forecasts when you start, but most of the time you will be 100s or 1000s of miles from land. You and your boat will simply have to weather whatever the sea cares to give you. What are you going to do in the South Pacific? Sailing back to the Pacific Northwest is not a trivial task. Or, you might sail the Caribbean and Europe. Sailing from the US East Coast to the Med. involves about a 2 week Atlantic crossing, possibly with a stop in the middle at Bermuda. What are you going to do in the Med/Europe? Stay forever? There is no good reason to sail the Caribbean unless you are going to do so slowly and leisurely - I imagine the Med. is the same. There is a temptation to think that if you just had a bombproof bluewater boat, you could keep your cruising plans vague because it would safely take you anywhere in the world. The truth is that the biggest single reason that people abandon cruising is that it turned out not to be fun living on the particular boat they chose to do it in. As an example here are two reasonably well equipped, comparably priced, cruising boats:http://yachtworld.com/core/listing/boatFullDetails.jsp?boat_id=1620930&ybw=&units=Feet¤cy=USD&access=Public&listing_id=6064&url=And:http://yachtworld.com/core/listing/boatFullDetails.jsp?boat_id=1699466&ybw=&units=Feet¤cy=USD&access=Public&listing_id=1783&url=Most people would consider the Mariner a bluewater boat; few would consider the Hunter to be a bluewater boat. I know nothing about them beyond the ads, but assuming that they are both in good condition - if I were sailing from Mexico to French Polynesia, I would choose the Mariner. If I were cruising the Caribbean, I would definitely choose the Hunter. If I was also determined to cruise the Med., I would still choose the Hunter. Would I carefully choose my season and weather window before crossing the Atlantic in the Hunter? Yes. If I were crossing in the Mariner, would I do the same thing? Yes. My preferences are based on my experience (which does not include crossing oceans - although I have sailed to Bermuda) and knowledge of my personal cruising life-style. Yours may be different, but unless your cruising life-style is very unusual, 90% of the time you will not be sailing anywhere - you will be anchored or tied up in a marina.For whatever it's worth, I have sailed on an old Hunter Legend 40 in very rough weather and it was definitely less uncomfortable than it would have been on our old H34. I don't think that rough weather is comfortable on any boat, but over the course of several days, the degree of discomfort can make a real difference.