Does Size Matter ?

[jackiepitts]

We have lived aboard our 54' ketch for about 5 years now and have been cruising for the past year out of the US. Does size matter? well yes and no in my opinion. We do have quite a bit of room and with that comes the ability to carry large amounts of supplies which give us the ability to live comfortably at anchor in our own little "city" so to speak for long periods of time. I do see people doing the same thing in smaller boats and no doubt they are just as comfortable but may need to head to shore a little earlier than we do, but in reality that is a small consideration as most cruisers enjoy the local experience and do not want to be holed up in there boat for months at a time.
When we had a land home we owned a 30' sailboat and enjoyed immensely. I use to say that I would go anywhere in the world on that boat. For one, two or three years it would be a lot of fun and a seaworthy boat that was comfortable for two people. Size did not matter, only the adventure. The boat we now have is different in that we do not own a land home and the boat is our home. Not having a land home was the biggest consideration when we were deciding on what size boat we wanted (well besides money of course). I can't imagine fitting our worldly possessions in a 30' boat and cutting the dock lines for 5 or 10 years...just a bit of a stretch for us I guess. But who knows maybe one day we will buy another land home and sell the big boat for a 30'. As long as you love the boat then the rest is just details (including size).
Oh one more thing in favor of small boats....big sailboats are much more likely to get hit by lightning. We can vouch for that!
Best,
Jackie

[feelsgood]

Originally Posted by Pete7

Hmm, our 31 foot yacht would cost $7500 a year in a posh marina, no idea what 60 feet would cost. Then there are the sails. A new set is $3000 in a quality Dacron. As for the Dockmaster will allocate you a larger mooring, well possibly. In St Peter Port Guernsey you will be on the fish dock with the trawlers and you know what time they start work in the morning.

No thanks, for us small is good, able to get into all the pretty little harbours even during peak holiday periods, yet big enough for the two of us. Would we like a much larger yacht, of course. Is it affordable, no.

Pete

Hey Pete we come from Guernsey and I can tel you that a 60footer would cost around £40 a day and no electric as they would be on the outer pontoons. As you said we have a 32 Colvic Watson and she is plenty big enough for Sal and me to live on and we have everything you have in a house.

[Pete7]

Originally Posted by feelsgood

Hey Pete we come from Guernsey and I can tel you that a 60footer would cost around £40 a day and no electric as they would be on the outer pontoons. As you said we have a 32 Colvic Watson and she is plenty big enough for Sal and me to live on and we have everything you have in a house.

Fg, we actually prefer the outer pontoons, sitting in the cockpit watching all the boats coming and going. Its now £20 a night for us at 31 feet. Someone tipped up with a big 60ft cat whilst we were there in August and promptly got shown towards the fishdock next to Boatworks. Lovely harbour, one of our favourites

Pete

[rgscpat]

Compromises are inevitable when you're trying to match the boat to the crew and the boat's intended use. So, I don't trust blanket statements about whether bigger is better.

Some variables I thought about were

Crew -- health, strength, interests, mental flexibility, experience, budget, expectations of privacy and comfort. My wife is very petite, meaning she can't reach the ceiling handholds in some modern floating condos, nor reach the gooseneck and headboard on some boats. We don't need or want a boat with 7' saloon headroom (and the resulting windage)!

Boat -- Size does give some motion comfort and resistance to capsize, but it far away isn't the only factor that matters for sea-kindliness and safety. Two boats of the same LOA or displacement could have vastly different motions, capsize resistance, and seaworthiness. And the same could go for their cargo capacity, build quality, and the suitability of their design for ocean work vs. coastal work vs. "marina harbor queen" duty.

Use -- My wife and I would probably be perfectly happy coastal cruising in a 35'/11m with spritely performance. But if we wanted to live aboard and cross oceans, I bet we'd want a 44'/13.5m blue-water boat to hold our junk, provisions, & water without overloading, give us more privacy and comfort, have room for guests/crew for passages, eke out more miles per day on passage, etc.

As they, say, your mileage may vary, horses for courses, etc.

Why is a particular size (and design) of boat best for YOU and the kind of sailing you do?

[SurferShane]

Originally Posted by Bash

I've always wondered why fellows living in small boats get so angry when they're drunk.

Never experienced this problem myself : my boat though small in accommodations was re-fitted at Pantawee Boatyard in gorgeous Thai teak and it has the class of the bigger Hans Christians. When I sit back to a good bottle of red (Quite often one or more of the $5 “cleanskins” we score down here; the $9 ones are brilliant!) it is always about relaxing to a bit of classical music or a good radio program on ABC National or the BBC and a good book. All this in the ambiance of brass kero lanterns whilst being lulled along in harmony with the sea often after having experienced a wondrous sunset in a remote anchorage.

Getting back on land to other people’s crap is what usually brings out my Dr Jekyll!

[barnakiel]

Originally Posted by SurferShane

All this in the ambiance of brass kero lanterns whilst being lulled along in harmony with the sea often after having experienced a wondrous sunset in a remote anchorage.

I can assure you that all the above (just be careful with the kero lanterns) you can have aboard a Wally too.

Although, due to draft restrictions, we will be anchored further off the beach.

b.

[Feral Cement]

Of course size matters!

The size of your boat, the size of your wallet, the size of your plans, the size of your timeframe.......

.....and bigger is not always better.

John

[rgscpat]

But probably bigger would be better if were the duration of your cruising?

[beau]

I heard recently that all women are satisfied with 2 1/2 inches as long as it comes as a visa or master card

[barnakiel]

Originally Posted by Feral Cement

Of course size matters!

.....and bigger is not always better.

John

!!!

Nailed.

b.

[barnakiel]

Originally Posted by rgscpat

But probably bigger would be better if were the duration of your cruising?

Probably only in remote areas.

The easy route (s.c. coconut milk run) does not call for amts of food / water beyond capacity of any normal cruising boat. E.g. A H28 is a 'go everywhere' in this respect. Boats below say 25' LWL probably for a solo sailor only.

b.

[zeehag]

biggwr 8isw not always better. cruising boat s should have plenty of area for stowage.

the men who measure poorly and then tell the woman the 2 1/2 inches they sport is actually 10 in, those men are better off without any mate. partnerships cannot be based on lies and false statements. and especially those thinking women are money oriented. men taught women that bit, so keep it. and keep it to yourself, unless you are bragging at how well you taught your woman to be a gold digger. go figger. karma happens.

when you grow respect for the lady again, then maybe she might want to sail with you. much of man's inability to deal with females is their own insecurity and their own feeling of inadequacy and their own feeling of what is yours is now mine-- control freeks -- and men actually blame women for this!!!! lol--we learned from you-- so until you guys can find a fix for it, dont gripe.

n0w, as for size of BOATS -- 35-40 ft seems to be a good size for most to sail- can be single sailed or short handed sailed without problems too big to handle. some larger boats are able to be sailed short handed--- but i prefer 40 ft for more than one person. i sailed a 37 ft performance cruiser with a friend for a near year, and found sometimes was too small for 2..LOL....

[boatman61]

Go get em Zee....

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by Joli

We (my wife and I) own and sail a 61. the headboard is 12 foot off the deck.

Thats alright. I'm 13 feet on a good day

I would cruise a 60 footer.
The one I aspire to is a 46. Theres one 54 I like a lot, but then they screw up the 58... Though I saw a Janneau 57 today from the outside that looks mighty fine.

Its budgetry of the intitial purchese more than the on going costs although obviously they would be a factor going from 39 to 60....

[zeehag]

goin gfrom 26'-35 ft is , maintennce wise, add 100 dollars more for the extra few ft. from 35-41 was 1000 more... so , doing work by self is good thing to be able to do to keep the costs down. docking is a lot more also---mine are moored so i dont pay a per foot fee--just a monthly fee..whew----the per foot fee can get ye if you're not ready for that...