I love my C26, but have found lots of shortcuts taken during construction -- major bulkheads not tabbed in, those under the sink and settees barely attached, a laughable hull/deck joint, major gaps between the 'glass and the plywood in parts of the cockpit, plywood in the bilge prone to rot, chainplates not properly anchored, etc -- so our boats aren't unassailable paragons of quality. They're still sailing after 30 years, though, and Windward's certainly stood up to everything I've done with her and come back giggling and panting for more.Suppose you were looking today to buy a new sailboat and were looking for a comparable model to a c26 or c22. Who even makes such a boat that is not crap?
There's General Boats and the Rhodes 22. I've seen a couple, never sailed one. They seem solidly built, probably more primary and possibly less secondary stability than the C-22.
The Catalina 22s I've seen seem sturdy enough. Etap? Beneteau?
Hmmm. Dunno for the 26. I'm not fond of the "Speed Racer" look of the Catalina, Hunter and Macgregor boats in the 26 foot range, and honestly don't know how sturdy they are. The Beneteau First 25.7 and 27.7 look interesting, but most seem to be in UK and Europe. Etaps are really nice, and are unsinkable, but again are mostly across the pond.
There's a broad gap between "not crap" and "sturdy enough to cross oceans." Even though I like fast, my own preference runs toward "built like a brick outhouse" rather than just "strong enough for intended purpose."
Problem in building 'em tough is that it's expensive, and most people seem to want the largest boat they can get for the money. The Flicka 22, Dana 24, Falmouth Cutter 22, Bristol Channel Cutter, Norsea 27 are all wildly solid boats that cost a bloody fortune. Not sure if any of them are actually being made now... I think the last prices I saw for new Dana 24 or Norsea 27 were about half again what a Catalina 309 costs. Guess which one the average coastal cruiser's likely to pick. And for most, rightly so: the 309 is plenty sturdy for coastal cruising and has lots more creature comfort than the Dana or Norsea.
Average sailor's likely to spend some weekends and 3-4 day stretches, and maybe one or two full weeks, on the boat, and will return it to its slip after that. I'll bet the folks doing long distance offshore stuff are either in the dough and can afford something large and sturdy and $$, racing and want something $$ and fast fast fast, retired and want more creature comfort than a 22-27 footer offers, or doing it on a shoestring and are buying used rather than new.
larger boats, Windward
that do not want anything bigger then something like the C-26. go to 
