Best Size Sailboat For Singlehander

[CruisingCouple]

Originally Posted by RainDog

+1. For daysailing, the smaller the boat, the more often you will sail it.

When we bought our Legend I was going to sell our 81 H22. My wife said, "We're not sellin' the little one." And it was not a request. It was a direct order.

[eyschulman]

Its like finding s good pair of shoes. You find what fits and feels comfortable and affordable.

[sailorboy1]

I haven't read all the thread, but:

There is more to any boat, including a boat that will be single handed, than just sailing. The best size is a boat than addresses and answers all the parts of its' use. The ability to single hand the boat is probably not the decider in the end as 1 person can and do handle pretty large boats. Even the sailing part doesn't mean a small boat is best as there are lots of comfort, speed, safety advantages of larger/less small boats.

[SaltyTanned]

Of course you cannot but single hand a Laser. An you probably cannot single hand much over a 60 footer.

I agree with most who posted here that size is not the capital criterion. Of course you need the strength to raise the main but usually the winches are adequate for most people, including women.

The boat you like, the one you feel like sailing, that's the boat you should single hand.

[gamayun]

I single-hand my Freedom 38 and I'm a new sailor of just five years. I would have been happy with the F32 (that was the "optimal" size I had been looking to get), but considering my long-term cruising and liveaboard plans, I decided to grow into the 38. She's easy to dock, easy to sail, easy to live on. A new main sail that I'm planning to buy will reduce the weight about 25 pounds, but the old main is doable. I can't hoist the spinnaker sock and handle it by myself, and it didn't have its gun mount spinnaker, which it was designed for, but that is the way to handle everything from the cockpit. The only thing I go forward for right now is to loosen up the lazy jacks when under sail, which could be modified so I don't have to do that anymore. PHRF is 141 without the spinnaker.

[lifeofreilly57]

Can I single hand my 47? Sure I can, but I'm definitely doing some mods to the running rigging for ease of use. Still, it's a bit of work that requires being fairly fit, the sails are heavier, the loads are larger, the sail plan bigger, etc, etc. You have to plan your moves ahead of time so you don't end up in a messed up situation. But it's doable. Docking is a bit busy by yourself, but again, with planning it's possible under control. But I usually anchor so it's not that much of an issue.
What is right for one person doesn't fit for another, I've been on the water since I was 5 in one form or another, on bigger sailboats for over thirty years and I'm still learning, you never stop learning.
Docking? Not a problem if you've practiced in different circumstances, of course you wouldn't want to dock in a marina that has a wicked current and narrow ways on your first try.
Pick a boat that fits your needs, then learn how it likes to move, no two are the same so it's pretty hard to say what is the best size for a single hander. I don't really think there's such a thing as a perfect size boat for single handing, it's what is right for the individual.
I do know that in earlier boats, up to 38' that the loads were much more manageable, but like anything, with a few tweaks a larger boat can be made easier to manage under sail.

[Blue Crab]

I hear all you bigger boat owners but the OP asked a practical question for someone going in and out of a slip a lot. My extensive experience and observations over a lifetime suggests that the less hassle, the more you use yer boat. Kinda "go small, go now," sorta thing.

This is how cruisers become just liveaboards. By the time ya move all the house plants, unplug everything, unscrew the others, stow the this and the that, cushion the wineglasses and guest china ... Whew! I'm tired just thinking about it. If it's a lot of work, where's the fun?

When I had my Cal 20 in the then new King Harbor in my hometown, I'd go for a quicky sail at the literal drop of a hat, and still be home before dark. Course that was back when a 30'er was a big cruising boat. Now you have to have 40+. And as soon as ya get one of those the goddamned neighbors will buy a 50'er. You know who I mean, the Joneses.

[lifeofreilly57]

Good point, I had to laugh when you brought up the houseplants.
Many moons ago when I sold my 30', the guy who bought it put in a big screen TV (they were new and hot and expensive at the time) with a surround sound system and a sat dish on his dock piling. He bought it more to impress the girls and use it as a shag pad.
About 2 years after he bought it I got a panicked call from him, he finally took the boat off the dock, when he did he started to get a huge leak through the packing gland. It had sat so long without moving, the packing material stuck to the shaft and then tore up a bit when spun, fortunately I had just replaced all the packing in it shortly before selling it. I walked him through tightening the gland and the problem was solved.
When I started a 30 was a big boat, now they're hard to sell because no one wants such a small boat.
On other side, about a year ago at a boat show I overheard a sales guy for a well respected cruising boat manufacturer telling a potential customer that lack of sailing experience was not an impediment to buying a brand new 45' boat as his first boat. That he could figure it out as he used it, it wasn't really that hard to learn as you go while sailing to the Caribbean from New England. Yikes, not such great advice! I know they need to sell, but it would be good to look down the road and cultivate return customers.
So I usually go conservative with my advice for anyone getting into it, not that people listen.....
I love to SAIL the boat, it's the whole reason for owning one, even when it is a home, it's a moveable home. Also why I don't like docks other than when it's time for servicing it, unlike being on the hook you can't move to another location when you don't like the neighbors.
For a newbie, think about the limit of size you think you can handle single handed, then buy the next size down.
Or one better, actually sail a few single handed and get a real feel for it, actual experience can be humbling. I've changed more than a couple minds by letting friends sail my boats on their own, while I was on board of course, as a backup in case they did something really dumb. It was fun to sit idly by while they worked up a sweat, not to scare them but just enough to get their attention. It's not as easy as it appears.
Still, I never let them dock though, the repairs are too costly.

[capttman]

Yup I have no trouble single handing my 434 and I'm mid age at 57

[gamayun]

Originally Posted by Blue Crab

I hear all you bigger boat owners but the OP asked a practical question for someone going in and out of a slip a lot...

If this is his main criteria, then he needs to look at a fin keel not full keel boat, with reasonable freeboard, a well-powered, reliable engine, and a good prop. To me, sailing the boat is still the more difficult task-loading endeavor and how you set it up determines whether you can handle it. I can't single-hand my club's Cal 20s because the main sheet is cleated behind the tiller and the tiller extension has a mind of its own when I try to reach the jib sheets. The Impulse 21; however, is a great single-hander, but I wouldn't want to spend the night on one. It all just depends on your needs. Size ain't everything

[fgd3]

You can single hand any size boat if you have the right machinery. But when some of that machinery fails you'll have fewer workable alternatives on a bigger boat than a smaller one. I find it easier to single hand my 32' Gemini than I did my 25' Hunter because the engine and steering controls are all in the same place and I have a more stable deck to work on. But I used to dock the Hunter under sail and I wouldn't feel comfortable doing that in the Gemini. As the boat gets bigger the things you can do without mechanical assistance get fewer. The question isn't so much how big a boat can you handle alone as how big a boat do you want to handle alone. It has more to do with your willingness to rely on machinery than anything else.

Fabbian

[Stu Jackson]

Originally Posted by RainDog

+1. For daysailing, the smaller the boat, the more often you will sail it.

Interestingly enough, we have the same sized boats.

I have been disproving this theory, which is a widespread msnomer, for the past 15 years. As I mentioned earlier, we'd had a 22 for a few years and a 25 for 12 years, but we use our C34 much more than those others because now I can go out an anchor out instead of simple daysails.

Smaller size does NOT mean it will be used more.

[letsgetsailing3]

Originally Posted by Stu Jackson

Interestingly enough, we have the same sized boats.

I have been disproving this theory, which is a widespread msnomer, for the past 15 years. As I mentioned earlier, we'd had a 22 for a few years and a 25 for 12 years, but we use our C34 much more than those others because now I can go out an anchor out instead of simple daysails.

Smaller size does NOT mean it will be used more.

The post you directly responded to specifically said "for daysailing".

[Stu Jackson]

OK, so I daysailed, a lot, too. Point is I've chosen to stay out at least one night, cuz have the time and the interest.

It's docking and undocking that are the largest interests of most people I've met with to-them-larger boats. All that's required is the proper gear and practice, practice, practice.

[MarcHall]

I think it depends a lot of how balanced the boat is and how well set up it is for single handling.

I single hand my Crealock 37 on a frequent basis. Things that help are a good autopilot and I have a WH which is bulletproof and a Monitor Windvane which is
used fairly frequently when I am out in open ocean.

Last year I also converted the boat from wheel steering to tiller which I find easier to singlehand as I am not trapped behind the wheel when I need to tack or make sail trim changes. The morse cable control that engages the autopilot is adjacent to the companion way at the front of the cockpit as is the wired remote autopilot control. Makes it easy to go from manually steering the boat to autopilot control and back again.

Also instruments moved from the wheel pedestal to the top of the companion way - so now I can see them from anywhere in the cockpit.

Without the autopilot I can normally either hold the tiller between my legs while standing up in the forward part of the cockpit or use the tiller lock to hold the tiller in place for short periods of time.

Mainsail halyard reefing lines are brought back to the cockpit and its a 2 line system rather then the single line system that I had for awhile. So basically
putting reefs in is done from the cockpit with either the autopilot on or using my legs to control the tiller.

Jib is on a roller furling. Staysail is on detachable stay. When tacking on the bay the staysail is normally not deployed and its stay detached which gives the jib plenty of room to tack from one side to the other.

Reduced friction on all blocks/lines. Crazy Fish was built in 1989 and the mast had never been pulled until last year. Cleaned up the mainsail track and replaced a number of blocks on the halyards and the mainsheet, rebuilt the roller furling units - everythings works better now with less energy expended. Can raise the main without a winch.

Also replaced the rigging with dyneema dux and boat does feel stiffer. Can reef later as the boat does not heel as much as it used to.

Good jacklines to hook into. Good lifelines.

Slip has 2 fingers so when docking the boat there is no concern about coming in contact with the neighbor even in crosswinds.


What would I like to have

The WH has tack switch on the main control which allows a single button 90 deg change in direction. Its not on the remote and it would be nice if it was. Currently if the boat is on autopilot, I will switch it to standby, change the direction of the boat while releasing one sheet and beginning to bring in the other sheet. Once on course, put the boat back on autopilot and then continue to trim the jib sheet and play with the mainsail controls. Be easier to leave the boat on autopilot and let it change the direction of the boat.

Top down furler for the asymmetric spinnaker and then would move the ATN sleeve from the asymmetric spinniker to the symmetric spinniker which would make both easier to deploy and recover particularly while single handling.

PLB - Epirb so if I do ever go overboard I have at least a minimal chance of being recovered. Be nice if there was unit with both the Epirb functionality and AIS built into the same device.

Marc Hall
Crazy Fish - Maintaining, Upgrading and Sailing a Crealock 37