Brad, welcome to the Monterey family. My wife and I are new members as well. We also have a 322, a 2004 model and it is on the Chesapeake as well. Our marina is SkipJack Cove in Georgetown. We picked the 322 up in late September from Somers Point NJ and ran it down to the bay at the end of September. She only had 130 hour on her when we picked it up, and we now have 160 hours in less than a month. Ran to Baltimore once, several runs up to Chesapeake City, along with a few to Still Pond and Sand Island (right in your back yard).
We absolutely love the 322. The aft cabin sold it for us since we have a 5 boys, the younger three who head out with us frequently.
As for cruising speed, I happen to have the 5.7 280HP engines and I find that the best cruising speed lies between 3000 and 3500. I find I run around 3000-3100 (26 to 28kts) most of the time cruising as it just seems to be a little easier on the engines. Obviously, most of this running in September has been with the full canvass which must affect performance a bit overall.
Maybe we'll see you around the bay next summer. Headed down this weekend to winterize the boat.
