First of all some general thoughts:

I do come from windsurfing and though I always considered sailing boats as kind of nice I always found them a bit slow and boring when compared to a windsurfing board.  However, given the fact that I have a family now windsurfing is not so much of an option anymore.

Instead I converted to sailing when I had the opportunity to buy a used sailing boat from friends of ours (a Dyas).  After two years on the Dyas (which is a great boat) I changed to a Seascape 18 (which I find to be an even greater boat).

On the Seascape I learned some of the advantages and dis-advantages of the modern  wedge-like boat-shapes:

• They are fast. And they do plane! Almost like windsurfing…
• They are stable (which is nice for family sailing – however, the Seascape 18 can capsize)
• They offer a lot of space in the cockpit (again great for families)

However, as always there are also some disadvantages:

• At least with my sailing skills these boats are not as fast upwind as other comparably sporty boats
• Some people find them ugly (I don’t)

After some time on the Seascape 18 the Alster lake in Hamburg became somehow too small. Furthermore, we got a second child and we felt it was time to look for a larger boat which was also suitable for the Baltic sea and a family with small children.

In principle I considered four other boats apart from the Django 7.70:

• Pogo 8.50
  Never managed to sail one – they were difficult to get hold off when I was looking for a boat. Whenever I found a used one they were / looked too old or were very far away.
• Pogo 30
  For sure a dream-boat but definitely over budget.
• Saphire 27
  Saw one on the Boot-Messe in Düsseldorf and somehow did not like it on first sight. Felt flimsy…
• Seascape 27
  Saw it as well on the boat fair and liked it. Did sail it and it is extremely well-performing and nice to sail. But somehow it felt less solid than the Django 7.70 and most important of all: I found the seating position to be very uncomfortable – at least I personally would not like to take a longer ride on it. My wife found the cabin too small.

When I test-sailed a used Django 7.70 I decided to buy it right away. Reasons being:

• It is not as fast as the Seascape 27 but also well performing and again: It can plane!
• The interior is large enough and nice enough so that you can spend a rainy day inside (okay, not my favoured solution but it is possible)
• The boat is really stable.
• The boat feels solid – it is definitely no toy.
• Mine has CE class A.
• It is still light enough so that it is relatively easy to handle in the marina (at the time being I have limited skills in maneuvering larger boats under motor)

These are obviously my personal thought – maybe they help you in choosing your boat…