I was just hosted aboard Gary's 9.2C (thanks again Gary!). It was interesting to see the 9.2C vs. the 9.2A I own. It is very roomy compared to my boat, but I really have to recommend that you see one in person if you are serious about buying. I would tell you that about any boat. They all look great in photos, but you have to see them in person to really know if you want one.
What the 9.2C has to offer vs. the 9.2A and perhaps most other 30 foot boats is two discrete cabins. If you need privacy aboard this is your boat. It has a large double aft in a private cabin and a large vee berth forward. The center cockpit is comfortable and the high location of it enables you to keep a good lookout if you are in a high traffic area. On the minus side, you are more exposed to the weather and the high location will make a good dodger a must for serious cruising, but again that is true of all boats and a dodge is a custom item for everyone. The high sides of the dog house will also catch wind more so a little more hp is probably a good thing for cruising for bad weather. The sides are pretty vertical, but this allows space for moving about on deck comfortably.
Gary would like to take his boat down the ICW to the islands some day and probably the only things that are limiting on the 9.2C are dry and wet storage. The 9.2C lacks any sizeable lockers making fender storage a challenge. I suppose you could store them in the tub when you aren't using it. Or take a tip from power boaters and rack them on deck somehow. A number of owners have built custom deck lockers next to the cockpit and that is a viable option.
Fuel is probably 20-30 gallons (didn't look at Gary's fuel tank), but the relatively small engine on the 9.2C will only burn about 1-2L per hour. With my 2 cyl 2QM15 (14hp) I have motored for 20 hours at 5.5 knots (my cruising speed with this somewhat underpowered engine) and still had nearly half a tank. Water is 40 gallons in a tank under the vee berth. If you have a survey done have the surveyor look hard at the tanks as both my fuel and water tanks (both aluminum) have leaked on my 1981 and the replacement of both is about $1000 if you do it yourself.
The holding tank is the tightest limit at about 12 gallons. The holding tank is under the aft berth and there really isn't any room to make it larger. The quadrant is right over the tank and the hull tapers up to the stern in that location. Needless to say keeping the holding tank system leak and odor free will be a priority with it right under a berth (it is under the double in the main cabin of the 9.2A formed by the port settee). Using the head freely can fill it in a matter of a few days. It shouldn't be a huge challenge to find pump outs on the ICW, but it will be a bit inconvenient to pump out often. So in a nutshell, you can do some pretty serious cruising aboard, but need to plan to stop about every 3 days to pump out and fuel up. There are some interior lockers for storage, but again, a storage plan would have to be worked out for serious cruising.
A downside to the 9.2C is engine access. It isn't as bad as it seems though. The engine is covered by the nav station and the top slides out to allow access to the top. The only real challenge is accessing the starboard side. Gary recently repowered with a 16 hp Beta and he and his Son were able to manhandle its 200lbs into place relatively easily. They just had to remove the mounts and then lift it over the galley counter to get it down the narrow passageway and into the engine compartment. A bigger engine would definitely make this and working on the engine more of a challenge. He unbolted everything he could from the old engine before removal (including the head) to make it lighter and smaller, which helped a lot.
It should also be noted that there isn't a lot of room for storing sails aboard during a cruise either, but again this is true of any small boat. Personally I like my set up of a 135 on a furler with a drifter in a sock for light air, but that is probably a bit much Genoa for the Chesapeake, where Gary sails, or for San Francisco Bay. It isn't too much for cruising in the islands though.
My ultimate recommendation is to focus on what you need now and what you do 80% of the time. Every boat you choose will involve compromises and those are a very personal choice. The 9.2C is a pretty unique boat.
