First there is no such thing as the perfect boat. The challenge is to find the one that suits your needs best and gets you out sailing.
In general, you can't or shouldn't load any cat down or performance will suffer. Again generally speaking, you can distribute more load over a longer waterline but the hull shape will also play a factor. A wider hull will carry more load then a skinny hull, yes obvious I know.
Gunboat, for example, wages the war against weight with religious fervor as does
African Cats. In both cases you'll find some of the most pedestrian items cast in carbon fibre (like sinks, garbage bins and toilets). Loading up a Gunboat 48 with stuff would be criminal, a 62 would handle the load much easier.
As far as compromises, it depends on the boat. The Outremers have skinny hulls, so much so it's tough having 2 people passing each other in a hull, and you really need the 55' before you can carry a decent payload see:
http://www.catamaran-outremer.com/ar...?id_article=60. For some the compromise is budget (Gunboat), others it's a lack of "luxury" finish (Lerouge, Outremer), etc...
Any boat with daggerboards will require more vigilence but those bitten by the daggerboard bug wouldn't have it any other way. However, keels offer many benefits beyond convenience, like beaching and modern mini-keel designs are making windward sailing more of a reality.
Resale value isn't the biggest issue as much as the fact that the general market for these boats is quite small. Peter Johnstone will point out that every Gunboat resale to date has been in excess of the original buyer's
purchase price. They are definitely the anomaly though and most boats will depreciate as fast if not faster then their
charter bound cousins. Typically because the exotic nature of them. Additionally any boat not built in a pro and reputable yard (e.g. some Schionnings) or oddball designs will fair even worse.
Money being no object will mean different things to each buyer and their programme. Sunreef has definitely got some interesting stuff going on but 62' is now the smallest. Petter and Gunboat are in a class of their own. BTW am I the only person that thinks it's weird that the fully carbon fibre Petter comes with a dishwasher?!?! The St. Francis 50 is very impressive -- just ask Randy. Yapluka and their
aluminum construction is worth a glance but again it all depends what your wants and most importantly needs are.
Here's my suggestion: make a list, get your wife's must haves and your
kids wishes. It'll help with buy in and smooth any land based angst if all participate. Some of your list will be qualitative (finish preferences, feeling of comfort, etc...) and others will be more empirical (hull construction preferences, washer/dryer,
helm position, etc...). I'm not sure what your timeline is but boat shows are a great way to get aboard a ton of boats in a hurry...
Annapolis in October and
Miami in February are the bigger multi-hull shows. Post-show you can arrange to test sail some of your short list as well.
Ok I could babble about cats forever but I'll stop now. Hopefully this is helpful
j