Headroom- how important?

[Hard Rock Candy]

Do not buy a short boat. you will become a short person. even if you are 6ft. two. short people are crabby people. I know I hated to bend my neck to do dishes or cook or mix drinks. Or dance. it even makes a problem with dressing. Bummer. Mac

[ozskipper]

For day sailing and over nighting, Its not a big issue. I have done two weeks on a boat with 5ft headroom and was quite comfy as I spent most of my time in the cockpit. I went below for the head and sleeping only. Even cooking and eating in the cockpit.

But yeah, as I said, for day sailing its not a big issue at all.

[Weyalan]

I can have standing head room, without stooping, in an area approximately 4' x 4' of the saloon. Everywhere else on the boat I have to stoop / angle my neck / duck / sit / crawl.
It doesn't seem to matter to me.

[Mike OReilly]

For a weekend sail, or the occasional week-long cruise, it might be OK to be hunched in the cabin. But for long-term cruising, standing headroom is an absolute must for me. Having to crouch for days or weeks would be a literal pain in the neck. Many people call my form of minimalist cruising "camping," but if my cabins had me hunched over all the time, THAT would be like living in a tent.

You Jolly Green Giants have it tough when it comes to sailing. My previous boat (Grampian-34) had 7' of headroom in the salon and 6'6" in the other cabins, so there are some boats out there for you. In my case, I'm certainly glad to be vertically challenged .

[Stu Jackson]

Originally Posted by ozskipper

For day sailing and over nighting, Its not a big issue................

But yeah, as I said, for day sailing its not a big issue at all.

I call BS.

I had a Catalina 25 for 12 years.

It's going on 17 years since I've had that boat, but for the first 5 years after I sold it I had the "C25 stoop."

Don't bother.

[Rhapsody-NS27]

I'm 6'5" so I didn't expect to have much headroom to begin with. I think my boat has standing headroom around 6' or 6' 2" but it doesn't bother me much. If I'm standing, I'm usually going from one place of the boat to another. Otherwise, usually seated or laying down in a berth. If I'm standing, my head is through the forward hatch or the companion way.

I obviously didn't get my boat for the headroom, but for the reputation it has for being a well built boat and I just happened to find one I could afford. Not only is this my first boat, it could very well be my only boat.

Just find something you are comfortable with. Best of luck in your search.

[JPA Cate]

Firefly44,

There's no way for us to tell if you can tolerate it like Mike or hate it like some others if you don't have the head room.

I can say, for sure, that you need enough room to stretch out in your berth at night, and for sitting. How important it will be when doing projects or cooking, I can't say. I'm short, but I'd hate having to stoop to cook all the time. Aside from galley work, most below decks boat jobs can be done kneeling on a pad or sitting on a cushion.

Now, as to motion sickness, there are some good meds for it, and some so-so ones. And there are a lot of threads on CF about preventing seasickness. Try a Google Custom Search here on CF, and read up.

Ann

[carstenb]

You'll never regret having headroom. You'll constantly regret not having it

[BoxerOne]

I am 6'3" and the first thing I did when I was considering which boat to buy was go below decks, check out the headroom, and lay in the berth. You can change hardware, electronics, paint and upholstery -- but making the cabin taller or the berth longer-- well you know.
Standing up and stretching out is the difference between living on a boat and camping on a boat. If you don't mind camping for the 6 to 10 months you mentioned, at 61 - 65 years old, then headroom is no issue.
Good luck.

[El Pinguino]

The older you are, the more important it becomes....

[Found at Sea]

I'm 6-4 and over the last 5 years have gone through three sailboats (Hunter Legend 34, Catalina 36 Mk1, and my current love a CT 41) attempting to find the right fit. Several times I told myself that I would be okay with the stooping posture when below deck but eventually found that an aching back and recurring lumps on my head were more than I could endure. Recently I found the answer to my search a 1974 CT 41. Headroom is 6'-6" in the saloon, head and master berth and 6'-4" in the galley. She's larger than I thought I would be comfortable with but as I get to know her the size is not a problem. Bottom line...for a more affordable boat with headroom look at the 70's William Garden designs. They're not fast or particularly nimble but they are very comfortable.

[Christerart]

30 years ago I lived in Gothenburg and owned a lovely wooden flush decked double ender. Couldn't stand up in it but lived with it because I was younger and the boat was so darn lovely, beautiful and was a great sailer.

Now, 30 years older - and tall - 6' 2.5" and wanting to get back into sailing (on the Swedish west coast despite living in Britain) both I and my wife decided after looking at several "modern" boats in the 30' - 35' range that headroom was very important - for the both of us.

My wife felt claustrophobic in some of the very nice Swedish designed boats we checked so in the end we bought an old (but very well kept and equipped) Maxi 95 (with the higher mast) pretty much because of the head room -
6' 4.5".

After the other boats we looked at in the same size, it felt absolutely huge and specious inside.

That said - if the present German owner of my old double ender contacted me and said I could buy her back.......http://www.cruisersforum.com/images/.../whistling.gif

[Terra Nova]

Originally Posted by gilgsn

...Even sitting, my head touches the roof...
If it's only your head you need to tilt a bit, I wouldn't worry about it...
my next boat will have full headroom...

Gil--sorry, but when I read this and looked at your avatar I thought "This guy really knows what he's talking about!"

OP--Headroom is never an issue...until you don't have it. Don't compromise on this.

[IntoMyHealth]

Headroom was in our top three features, not just for the salon but the owners berth. Otherwise, we would have been very happy with quite a few other shorter boats. If the B343 fits, wear it. Two more feet in length won't make much difference in cost of use or boat handling.


Sent from my iPad using Cruisers Sailing Forum

[Sommarlov]

Headroom is important to me. I am a tall women (6 ft two inches in heels) and my men are usually tall as well. I bought a Gulfstar 50 specifically for the headroom and storage space. If you are tall and can't stand up fully, you will have back and neck issues for sure.