Hey from NE Ala...and thanks for the dilemma

Hey everybody, I'm was looking at purchacing a small cruiser in the next year or two(Cat22 or an O'day 23), but now I'm leaning heavily toward a Scot LOL. Some background: I was born and raised(almost literally) at Tuscaloosa Sailing club (FS fleet 121 IIRC), and my dad and granddad both have been Commodore. I spent most of my youth in a Sunfish, with a FEW trips in a Buccaneer(scared the crap outa me LOL) As I got older, I sailed almost exclusively with my granddad in his scots(#3221 and then #4476 Grey Genes) but mostly in 4476...well, other than a couple of races with a crazy old guy in his Coronado 15 LOL. So the dilemma is...I now live in Boaz, Al and work in Guntersville(which is driving me crazy every good windy day[:D]). I'm going to get a Laser at the first of the year just for me to throw in the water after work when I get the chance, but was going to look into a bigger boat for the family in another year or so. I thought I had settled on a Cat22, but now after visiting here I'm pinning for a Scot LOL. Oh, I have 3 kids; 10, 8 and 7, and the wife is not a swimmer...sucks for me. My thing is...#4476 was set up for racing:[IMG]http://i475.photobucket.com/albums/rr114/dkfullhouse/DSCF0331.jpg[/IMG] If ya'll can see anything in that pic... I'm most used to that setup. I sailed on Lake Guntersville one time with a gentleman from Huntsville who had a Scot, and I was much more comfortable with my Granddad's setup. How much of a difference will a plain janeish setup make in the sailing? I should've said...I'm looking at a budget of around $3-4K. Thanks everybody...