Former Catalina 22 owner (my avatar pic), I owned it when I lived near Lake Lanier in Georgia. Unfortunately, sold to fund a 240hp I/O Sea Ray.
Thinking of another C22, or something slightly bigger, for us to trailer down to the Gulf Coast for weekends. Would be my wife and I, trailered from Auburn AL to Gulf Shores.
How do you think a C22 would handle the coastal weather? Mine had a swing keel, which made groundings trivial, but I wonder how the longevity would be for the cable system in the salt water.
Or maybe a C25? Water ballast Macgregor 25?
Potters seem a bit small, but I know they're typically considered pretty good for weather.
This boat would start out based out of Auburn, so used in lakes and trailered to the coast for long weekends/vacations. Eventually I'll get a bigger boat for in the water down there, so it'll end up being a local lake boat.
Am I missing any obvious brands?
As someone has said, most boats will outperform their captains. With that being said, I owned and loved a 1990 Macgregor 26 with a swing keel. Roomy, easy to launch and retrieve, easy to trailer, capable, and affordable. Mine had bow pulpit, stern rails, foldup boarding ladder, bimini, roller furling jib, pop-top with hood. What's there not to like? I'd go back to one in a second.
As for brands, lots of them. Precision come to mind as well as Compac as two of my favs.
Macgregor 26 is a good boat I have a West Wight Potter in which I've sailed 8 Texas 200 rallies. Very good boat and now that I also have Nimble 26, I realize very easy to set up The 19 has room for 4 to sleep aboard. The cockpit will seat 4 comfortably. The Montgomery 19 is also a very good boat for the Texas coast.
Any boat that draws only inches with the centerboard up is good, since the water in the estuaries and bays of Texas is very skinny.