Seaworthiness comparison between two yachts

Look, some of the older H, V and B’s are some of my all time favorites. The 58 B is an ocean eating machine. There are capable boats and not capable boats out there. But the list goes beyond the every day three.
As far as loss of life goes, very few incidences over the years, most have been due to overloading or weather. But very few recreational boats fall apart and result in loss of life, even the lesser quality brands. Most people are able to turn back to their home port when conditions become overwhelming. Sailboaters tend to get in bigger trouble and need to be evacuated.
You have to admit that recreational boating is a safe transportation event, you are at more risk driving to and from the marina.

Trying to stay with the OP again; When you take a less capable boat out in the open Caribbean waters, there is no returning to port. And yes, people are dying out there because of this.

Take a look at the Itama range .
Maybe an older 54/56 ? with V12 MANs
All Itama are heavy, solid ,central engine mounted ,low superstructure and crush waves .
Huge scuppers in the cockpit to drain water and metal storm shutters on the port holes .
Some like mine have water tight bulkheads .
Mine is a 42/48 has a 23 degree deadrise .
Focus on a north of 20 degrees for comfort and seakeeping .

As the recent owner of a Meridan 368 aft cabinMY on lake Huron, I can attest to it not being a good blue water boat. Any waves over 3' will have you wishing you'd stayed home. Pascal is also correct that tight quarter maneuvering with any significant wind is a challenge due to the relatively flat bottom and tall windage. Bow and stern thrusters help but docking in a 20kt wind will require skill, bravery and luck and it's not a good time.. The boat offered amazing interior space and ammenities but I bought it knowing full well it wasn't much more than a floating condo and used it as such. That being said, we still got ourselves in trouble on the great lakes a few times even after carefully watching the weather. Beam seas were torturous with this Meridian "yacht" (the heavy saloon couches, which are not anchored can move from one side of the boat to the other and can cause damage in heavy seas).. I'm not a seasoned mariner but I learned a lot with this boat and look back at it as an education. Meridian's are (were) great "boat show boats" and the admiral was smitten by it so we bought it and learned a lot about boating. It never gave us any serious problems and the QSB cummins were great but IMO the boat was underpowered and under tabbed. Outstanding vessel for a short hop to the north channel and anchoring in quiet coves for a week though.

I agree. I used to take a 58 Bertram and my partner with a 57 Dean Johnson to Venezuela every other year to fish the LaGuaira Banks. Smaller boats used to get beat up pretty badly, that they'd have to stop and return

The successful Aft Cabin MY's in the past were built on SF hulls, going back to Viking, Uniflite, Chris-Craft (after they bough Uniflite) and Bertram. These had the benefit of lower profiles than the new generations, some had cockpits and not all had there Aft Deck's enclosed. Californian Aft Cabin MY's were popular out of their dealer in Jacksonville (Roger Hansen), Ocean had them as well. It was easier to get a new model by changing the deck tooling and using the existing SF hull mold. The Hatteras ones seemed less successful and typical did not use a SF Hull.

The new generation Aft Cabin MY's like the Meridian and Silverton's have grown quite vertical. This allowed them to be very appealing to new buyers, especially women. They have been very good at getting new blood into boating, with a more dockside "condominium" appeal. The trade-off is the added windage has made them quite a handful in a beam sea or when docking in wind/current, and they have also cured many of the new boaters from getting their next one, but the education as you noted is part of the experience. I don't think these new generation of Aft Cabin MY's have ever been advertised as bluewater cruisers.

The full beam interior made possible by vertical hull walls was/is great for space and socializing. For serious boating in serious water, docking etc? no so great. We picked our days carefully for the 40nm lake Huron crossings to get to the north channel. Fortunately our Afghan hounds have never been prone to sea sickness. Overall ownership was a pleasant experience. I did learn about the cost of maintaining such a vessel and it was easily triple what the cost of our 25' pocket cruiser was. Next boat (if there is going to be one) will have better sea keeping ability but I'm afraid we might be priced out of that market unless we buy an old boat. After seeing some horror stories, I'm very leery of buying ANY boat right now.. We did extremely well selling our meridian (minus the 10% broker commission) and were not hurt financially on the deal.. That being said, someone once told me "you buy your boat again every 10 years".. I found this to be true with all the expenses associated w/ ownership. Since few of these boats are being made now, the used market for sellers is actually quite good.