Sailing with dogs - companionway stairs

[Trailz]

In considering a future boat, my wife and I are hoping to find a companionway with stairs (not ladder). We're looking at older boats in the 36-42' range, with potential purchase price of around 75k.

The other nice-to-have would be two simple cabins like the Hans Christian 33 (which is 41' with bow sprit)

Other aspects we'd prefer
Encapsulated keel
Skeg hung rudder
No teak on deck

Does anyone know a boat that fits these ideal (for us) specs? Thanks

[Peregrine1983]

We take our dogs on trips when we are close to home and if I was in the market I'd take a hard look at pilothouses and deck salons. They have either no or little drop between the cockpit and the interior, respectively.

And with a pilothouse you can steer from inside on passage...

[Reeve21]

Freedom 35 and older Catalina 42 are in your price range and have companionway stairs. I have owned both and this was part of the reason why.

My 14 year old dog still does OK on the Catalina, and the Freedom was a piece of cake for him.

Freedom 40/40 also has stairs, but might be a bit above your price range.

Don't forget a walk through transom, that is a game changer with a larger dog.