Bashing and splashing to windward for hours on end can be exhausting.
Many coastal cruising yachts are designed with an essentially flat forefoot (the space between the bow and the leading edge of the keel) These designs are effective in light air and moderate sea conditions, but produce an unkindly motion in a more active seaway.
The best blue water cruisers are designed to allow the hull to slice through the waves instead of going over the tops of them.
These structural angles in the hull contribute to the slicing motion and allow the boat’s natural buoyancy to absorb the effect of oncoming waves.
Flat bottom boats fall off waves and land with a slamming effect, followed by a big splash. The entire boat shudders while the mast and rig can vibrate violently. The boat will often lose forward momentum and have to accelerate until it pounds off another wave and the sequence starts again.
True, many boats are built pretty tough but you and I might not be up to the rigors of the pounding.
That pounding can add to crew fatigue, particularly if it continues into the night when a crew member is desperately in need of recuperative sleep after an exhausting watch.
A genuine cruising hull allows the boat to look after herself through a wider range of wind and sea conditions.
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