As a Drascombe member, I can say that one cannot make a generalised comments ,untill you have a boat,wether Drascombe ,Swallowboat , or Laser and all its ilks.
I bought my Dabber on the basis of affordability, and possible good resale value when and if the time to upgrade to a Swallowboat comes along, I aspire to one of the Storms or possibly the new BR17, niether of which I have had the oppurtunity to sail as yet, but after having reservations of the percieved notion that Drascombes are a slow boat, well maybe they are ,but they turn out to be superbly seaworthy boats which is the be and end all really.
I still would like to have a go on a Swallow boat proper for a week or so, you cannot make your mind up about these things, in a trice , But in the meantime the Dabber has taken my affections , after crewing aboard a Wafarer for some years .
one should bekeep an open mind about these things, Would you rather have a proper Land rover than erzarte Japanese off roaders , or a modern Mini ove rthe original?