depending on your future cruising lifestyle as a liveaboard, would determine to some extent what brand/style of boat you buy.... so, a 20-40 year old budget boat in the size you want or a newer modern designed boat that will cost many times more...
as Stu Jackson has said, the catalina C34 has a large comfortable V-berth.
then JK_Boston countered that the C310 and C350 has a "walk around" V-berth....
so, a conventional v-berth vs. a full walk around stateroom with an island berth/bed?
the V-berth in my boat which is a Cal 35-III is not a walk around, but a conventional v-berth. it has a 6'6" length that is 30"wide at the foot and 7'11 wide at the head (the measurement of the cushions)....room enough for three but very comfortable with two, leaving room along the sides for gear/clothes storage, and with the door closed there is still enough standing room and arm swinging room to get dressed.
(im sure the older cal 34's had the same vberth size, and the 34-I models can be found in decent shape for 6-10G)....
I cant imagine a boat having bigger, or anyone needing bigger, but bigger is better than too small.
when we were looking to buy, we looked at many boats bigger than ours, and it is surprising the amount of builders that sacrifice the vberth space for a slightly larger living area.
I suppose this would be ok for a single guy who always sleeps in the pilot berth or quarter berth and only used the v-berth for storage, but most of the monohull boats in this size range do not have a second stateroom for a couple to sleep in, yet the couples who buy this size of boat, no matter what their style of boating is, would choose a bit more sleeping space over a bit more living space, if they have any experience at all in sleeping aboard boats.
one brand of boat that we looked at (a 36 and 38 pilot house model) was perfect in every appearance, and we liked the boats. a nice sized cockpit yet not overly large which helped make for more room below. the living space was LARGE for this size of boat, but the 36 was designed without a head and the Vberth was small (short and narrow), and even with my long legs, I needed a step stool to get up into it.... this would have been ok for a guy who is 5'6" and doesnt mind climbing up the ladder into the "top bunk"... but for an otherwise nice boat, it will never be sold to someone who is looking for comfort while spending time on the boat.
a single guy or a couple does not need a large living area unless they entertain others a lot in the cabin.... more living space only equates to more room to store/pile stuff in the living area rather than putting it away where it should be..
so in addition to looking for a boat with a good sized vberth, look for one with lots of storage.
as long as you have enough room in the living space to have two settees big enough to take a nap on, adequate galley space and a nice dinette table, a head and a comfortable v-berth, a couple can live on it comfortably if they choose to... this is not to say that bigger may not be better, but it not always is... sometimes we get more enjoyment and use from a boat that is smaller and easier to manage.
but one thing you can count on as a hard hitting fact concerning a larger boat with more room available... it will always be more expensive to own, even if you only halfheartedly try to maintain it....
as Stu Jackson has said, the catalina C34 has a large comfortable V-berth.
then JK_Boston countered that the C310 and C350 has a "walk around" V-berth....
so, a conventional v-berth vs. a full walk around stateroom with an island berth/bed?
the V-berth in my boat which is a Cal 35-III is not a walk around, but a conventional v-berth. it has a 6'6" length that is 30"wide at the foot and 7'11 wide at the head (the measurement of the cushions)....room enough for three but very comfortable with two, leaving room along the sides for gear/clothes storage, and with the door closed there is still enough standing room and arm swinging room to get dressed.
(im sure the older cal 34's had the same vberth size, and the 34-I models can be found in decent shape for 6-10G)....
I cant imagine a boat having bigger, or anyone needing bigger, but bigger is better than too small.
when we were looking to buy, we looked at many boats bigger than ours, and it is surprising the amount of builders that sacrifice the vberth space for a slightly larger living area.
I suppose this would be ok for a single guy who always sleeps in the pilot berth or quarter berth and only used the v-berth for storage, but most of the monohull boats in this size range do not have a second stateroom for a couple to sleep in, yet the couples who buy this size of boat, no matter what their style of boating is, would choose a bit more sleeping space over a bit more living space, if they have any experience at all in sleeping aboard boats.
one brand of boat that we looked at (a 36 and 38 pilot house model) was perfect in every appearance, and we liked the boats. a nice sized cockpit yet not overly large which helped make for more room below. the living space was LARGE for this size of boat, but the 36 was designed without a head and the Vberth was small (short and narrow), and even with my long legs, I needed a step stool to get up into it.... this would have been ok for a guy who is 5'6" and doesnt mind climbing up the ladder into the "top bunk"... but for an otherwise nice boat, it will never be sold to someone who is looking for comfort while spending time on the boat.
a single guy or a couple does not need a large living area unless they entertain others a lot in the cabin.... more living space only equates to more room to store/pile stuff in the living area rather than putting it away where it should be..
so in addition to looking for a boat with a good sized vberth, look for one with lots of storage.
as long as you have enough room in the living space to have two settees big enough to take a nap on, adequate galley space and a nice dinette table, a head and a comfortable v-berth, a couple can live on it comfortably if they choose to... this is not to say that bigger may not be better, but it not always is... sometimes we get more enjoyment and use from a boat that is smaller and easier to manage.
but one thing you can count on as a hard hitting fact concerning a larger boat with more room available... it will always be more expensive to own, even if you only halfheartedly try to maintain it....