Quest for my perfect boat

I'm a multihull sailor. I originally wanted a micro-multihull, but most are too expensive for my present budget. So, it looks like I'll have to get a monohull for the time being :( The sailing I plan is coastal cruising, perhaps with a few races. I will be sailing in the Solent.

Criteria

  1. Cost less than £5000. (Used to be £3000, but I procrastinated long enough to find more money).
  2. Available in UK or Europe.
  3. Shoal draft (i.e. lifting keels/daggerboard)
  4. Length up to 24' (but price will probably dictate the size).
  5. Must sail well and point high.
  6. Lightweight.
  7. Good looks. There's nothing quite as bad as an ugly boat. And there are plenty of hideous designs about.
  8. Suitable for sailing short-handed or single-handed.
  9. Construction: GRP, West System or Aluminium.

Examples

Swift 18

A great looking boat, trailable. I've never sailed one, but imagine the performance to be acceptable for a twenty footer. However, these boats seem to sell pretty quickly and I think they are over-priced. The other way of looking at this is that they maintain their value well and are popular.

E boat

I like the flush decks (apparently there is a coachroof version, but I haven't seen it). The buoyancy is a worry, (see the safety section on the Class Association website) but can be fixed, if necessary. I would prefer a fractional rig, as I would like to sail short-handed. The genoa could be a handful if the wind piped up while solo.

It would be interesting to sail one in a chop. I imagine this could be wet and pretty unpleasant - but we don't go to sea to stay dry ;-) A lot of people seem to have spray hoods.

E boats seem to cost between £4k and £5.5k. They could offer a lot of fun at the price too. I would really have to sail one to find out.

Micro 18

This covers a lot of similar designs, built mainly by the French as micro racers. They are all lifting keel, I believe. Currently they go for between £2k and £3k, although I've seen one advertised for £1800. Most of the designs are pretty appealing and I certainly think I could single hand one.

Strider

At last, a multihull. When I was a teenager I wanted my own boat even more than I do now. Being an empty-headed dreamer I would browse the multihull brokerage lists that my parents had and I saw that cheap, quick boats were available for a few grand. Nowadays it is far too rare that I see a Strider for under £6-£7k - and this is for the home built ply ones. I have not seen a GRP one on the market for a while.

I think the Strider or the turbo, is for me, rather than the Club version. I put a fair amount of importance on speed. Unfortunately I don't think I'm suited to building my own boat. Motivation over long periods is not my forte.

Tiki 21

Low cost Wharram. Cheap and some GRP versions. I don't really like Wharrams. I know of their great sea-going reputation and would like to voyage in one at some stage, but I don't like their appearance.