The Prairie was designed for the loop and coastal cruising. It's very solidly built, but like all boats, how it's been treated makes all the difference.
After checking the engines and electronics, and the usual things like leaks at all deck fittings, stanchions, port lights and windows, consider that the fuel tanks were bedded in foam, so any water working it's way in behind them (or inside them) will result in a very expensive repair. The good news is there were no original teak decks, so that's one source of leaks you avoid.
I believe the stock engines were Perkins 4-cyl, around 85HP each. This is more than adequate. The original owner of mine opted to upgrade after two years of ownership, and (IMHO) overpowered it with two 6.354 turbos, allegedly 200HP each (although I've also seen them rated at 185.)
This is not a full-displacement hull, but a soft-chined semi-displacement. In theory I can do 13-15 knots, but my fuel budget would never allow it, and my wake would register on the tsunami warning system.
The Prairie maximizes usable interior space, without sacrificing walk-around decks. There's only a tiny cockpit, but lots of room on the trunk cabin overheads and especially the flybridge. Mine is galley-up, but I believe they started making them galley-down soon after. I ended up with two very comfortable staterooms, each with private head and shower (and tub in the aft cabin.) You give up a v-berth with the galley down, but some would say a more comfortable saloon. Even so, the saloon seating isn't very comfortable. I'm still working on that.
The aft cabin has a full-sized, centerline berth that takes standard sheets and has access on both sides, although it's short on headroom at the head of the bed.
Beyond those basics, how each boat is fitted out and how well it was maintained make all the difference.
