Smaller
boats are sailed more. Bigger
boats take more time to maintain and of course everything costs more.
Find a sea kindly
hull as small as you can with the most accommdation and stowage for the type of use you intend. And don't forget that you want to be self sufficient and not require crew to sail or move your
boat.
If you are weekending you don't need tankage and stowage for example.
Shiva is a 36' Contest which meets my criteria. Very large
cockpit, main
salon, even an aft
cabin, fullsize chart table, U shaped
galley and a fair amount of tankage and lockers a plenty. I've lived aboard, done plenty of
offshore passages singlehanded and with crew and now
cruise her coastally. More than 4 on board for
passage is crowded.
Most important she was easy to set up for
single and short handed sailing and this was very important. I see big yachts and there's always several people on board. I prefer the privacy and I think nothing of taking off in any conditions - alone. This type of freedom is what sailing is to me. And I have all the creature comforts except AC which is hardly needed.
I would look long and hard at lots of plans and make sure they have what you want, and they can be easily sailed and handled.