How Big is the Boat?

[Sazaisan]

Can someone tell me approximately how many square feet of living space there are in a typical 50/60 foot sailboat? I would assume a 15 foot or slightly wider beam. I am just looking for a best guess approximation. I would guess somewhere around 700 sq ft but what do I know? Thanks

[Kevin84]

Measuring in Square Footage is not the best way judge a boat's living area. You need to keep in mind on a boat, all your furniture is built in and so are your storage areas. Go on board a few boats and you'll see what I mean. Start with 30' and go up from there. You'll notice a huge difference in the feel down below.

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[Greenhand]

Layout makes all the difference on a sailboat. A 60' with cabins for family + crew might feel more claustrophobic than a three cabin 45'.

[JazzyO]

There is no straight answer to this question. There is no such thing as a "typical" sailboat. Some are for racing, some for cruisng, some are 20 years old, some 100 years old. Some used to be working ships. And for that matter, the difference between 50 and 60 foot is large.

Btw, I have never found a sailor who can tell you the square footage aboard his yacht. This is because it is irrelevant. You make do with the space you have - which is always too small.


Onno

[Nicholson58]

Good advice above. We have 58 feet. Its more area than our cousin's NY 1.5MM appt. What a bargain. Our dockmate has an Island Packet 44 with a spacious feel. Layouts vary tremendously. DO you plan to coast hop, ocean transit, day sail? Go to a few big time boat shows & see a lot of vessels. I toured a used boat sale concurrent with the Miami boat show some years ago. We saw a lot of layouts.

[maxingout]

Lay out is everything.

A layout that works well for dockside living, may not be very good offshore. Some bunks that work well at the dockside cannot be used when sailing to windward. And when the boat heels over, a spacious interior can be difficult to navigate. I first would decide what I was going to do with the yacht, and then get a square footage and layout that fitted my purposes.

[CSY Man]

which is always too small.

Not true, some us are quite happy with the size boat we purchased and sailed for years.

The benefits of going bigger is soon out weighted by the expenses.
My first boat was the biggest one @ 44'.
Been downsizing since.
IF you are a Trust Fund Baby with an un-limited budget, sure go
Big and pay the price.

I plan on retiring early and being debt free. Not sure what size the
Next boat will be, something in the range of 100% cash down and
easy maintenance yet comfy and sea-worthy.
And no external teak or any wood for that matter.

[Gerrycooper56]

There's no doubt bigger costs more but in some cases it's only an incremental cost - like does overhauling a 100hp engine cost twice as much as a 50hp?
The big ticket items like sails do cost more but how often do you replace them? Ditto with rigging, but not electronics. Sure living in a marina, hauling, painting etc cost more but again how often do you do it.
We moved up from a 43 to a 52 and haven't regretted it.

[CSY Man]

like does overhauling a 100hp engine cost twice as much as a 50hp?

Probably not, but buying a new 100 hp Diesel engine cost twice as much as a 50, or more

Again, if money is not a problem, enjoy your big boat, seriously.

I have skippered and managed big boats so I have tried it using somebody else's credit card, literally.

[tuffr2]

Interesting question. I know the look and feel of an RV with 380sq feet. I have been on a 40' sailboat. It was far less than 380sq feet.

I would guess a 40' sailboat would have 280sq feet.

But once you get to 50' or 60' those boats have to be 800' to 1,200 sq. feet if I were to take a guess. Not counting above deck which in itself is a huge daytime living area.

If you want a lot of space a catamaran might be the ticket.

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[denverd0n]

I think the real answer is, if you are concerned about square feet of living space, then the only sort of boat you should be considering is the big, square, houseboat type.

[RKsailsolo]

I second the motion to look at catamarans. Also, Beneteau's new Oceanis 38 has the most open interior floor plan among 38' monohulls.

[tuffr2]

Oh - forgot to mention. The sailboats I have looked at there is nothing square. The square world you live in would change to a oval and oblong world.

Also a 50' sail boat is more than 2x the size of a 25' sailboat.

My friend looked at sailboats with me. He said if I could not live on a 42' sailboat then something is wrong with me. But for my wife 42' is probably the smallest that she could live on.

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[SV Windrush II]

If you like more space for the length of a monohull then I would get a center cockpit with a rear stateroom. These boats usually take advantage of the space of the boat more. And you get a larger birth with privacy

Our 48' schooner is has a aft cabin and has a queen size birth with a small lounge for 4 people

Rob

[Mycroft]

My personal rule of thumb is that 1ft of monohull space is roughly (very roughly), equal to 10ft of landlubber space or 2ft of RV space.