Been on and sailed a 42, very nice boat.  Liked the three cabin over the pantry.  Sailed really well. Have not been on or sailed the 400.

We did look at the 42 but the family fell in love with the 36 at first sight.

For TV, we put the table down and there’s plenty of room. Also a very comfortable place to sleep.  You can use a step for the v-berth.

Everyone thinks of getting a bigger boat.  :)

Rich - have two friends in Ohio with a 400 and both love the boat. Very roomy and great areas for tankage and batteries.  However both had severe problems with the mast base rotting out in the bilge.  Lots of work to repair - fixable - but be aware.  Also have friends with 42's - very nice boat as well and they seem to sail very fast!  Lots of sail to contend with and 6 more feet at $$$ per foot for everything. Good luck

Rich, We are experiencing the opposite situation. After owning a '82 O'Day 34 for 7 years, we looked to get out of the v-berth (sound familiar?) and looked at boats in the 36-38 foot range. Then saw a C42 and feel in love with the space, pullman berth, forward head, two aft cabins for guests. We found (in '06) a pristine '98 three cabin and spent $137k for her. We called her 'our $100k non v-berth' upgrade. We had 12 great years sailing the sounds of North Carolina and several 8 week summer cruises on Chesapeake Bay.  The C42 is an unbelievably great sailboat - fast, strong, and very easy to sail by a couple. We mostly sailed her as a couple, with grandchild guests for summer sails and several weeks with us on the Bay trips. I have been retired for 10 of the 12 years, while my wife teaches with 8-9 weeks to sail each summer.  We can sail nearly year round in NC, so we felt like she was a good investment based on the use we had. Over the last five years of ownership we replaced the sails, rebuilt the engine, installed new refrigeration, air conditioning, put on a 'Mack Pack' type mainsail system, and upgraded the radio and GPS. With me being 73 years old (wife 59) we decided in order to sail 10 or more years we needed a little smaller boat. So we sold the 42 for $109k (she was as pristine as when we bought her) and after looking at 19 early '90's 36's in Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Maryland, Virginia, NC, & Florida over six months, found a pristine, one owner '92 with only 540 engine hours, on Chesapeake Bay. We bought her at the end of November (on the hard), and have not sailed her, but are confident in another Catalina, and can't wait for spring break in April to launch and sail her. I can't recommend a 42 enough (two friends at our marina have two cabin pullman versions and love their boats too).  As a good sailing friend said when we were considering buying the 42 (for much more than we anticipated spending, 'This isn't a rehearsal'...  We are so happy to have had the experience owning and really using a great sailboat.  I suggest you try to catch a ride on one. You will buy it. Feel free to email me with any questions at gypsea@nc.rr.com, or call 252-230-2847 for a conversation. Regards, Lee Gardner  Wilson & Oriental, NC