Westerly Centaur 26 vs Bayfield 25

[mistersmith2017]

These are two boats in the running for me. My plan is to sail the Bahamas/Caribbean for a year or two, and I want to have the option to go through the Panama Canal and into the Pacific.

Both of these boats have solid reputations. Can anyone list any major advantages/disadvantages of either one? I'm trying to narrow it down.

[boatman61]

The Westerly I'm familiar with.. the Bayfield I'm not.. so I did some research...
Bayfield 25. Needs a bit of breeze to get moving, pretty look, nice interior.. shoal draft... nice boat... inboard..? small cockpit
Centaur... similar layout but not as fancy, sails well, likely be a bilge keeler so will not point as high but on the bright side save on haul outs in tidal areas.. inboard diesel.. looks clunkey topsides for full 6ft headroom up to forecabin. Roomy cockpit

Bayfield Westerly

[Mahana]

I've been in the cabins of both and the Centaur (layout B) seemed much roomier. A number of folks have commented on the cabin feeling larger than those found on some bigger boats. You sacrifice cockpit locker space in exchange for the two deep quarter berths.