Largest boat couple can handle

[S/V Illusion]

Originally Posted by Networker

But if we did get a larger boat, say an oyster 65 or swan 70, why can’t a couple alone handle it? Reefing in a storm with electric winches and autopilot, what are we missing?

Yes I know of that German couple that died 2 years ago in too big a boat and why, but what else is missing? We know how to do smaller boats but what don’t we know? That’s what I’d love to learn.

You aren’t missing anything. Two able competent people can easily manage a larger boat which is well maintained and properly set up. There is no mystery here and throwing hypothetical problems out as some have done serves no useful purpose when you are properly prepared.

It’s stating the obvious that more complexity and larger size requires more maintenance and time but the payback for that is more safety, comfort and more entertainment. Get the biggest boat you want. You will learn how to handle it soon enough.

[Paul Reading]

We sail a Discovery 55 two up and it is easy the speed of the boat makes passages shorter and so there is less fatigue.

However we have suffered a failed windlass and a broken shackle resulting in our genoa going over the side.

I was ablt to haul up the anchor (just) but we could not retrieve the genoa without the use of a winch. I would not like to go any bigger even though in the ordinary course of events it would not be a problem. You need to be ablt to handle it when things go wrong.

[HankOnthewater]

Originally Posted by Networker

Hi, knowing the community and what the default answer will be, may I ask what is the largest boat a couple can handle, and what prevents a couple from handling a larger boat then they can handle.

To some degree it is not the physcial size of the boat that limits to be be sailed two-up. It is more about the skills and agility of the crew (couple) and how the boat is setup.

I make 4 statements (not generated or inspired by AI)
- The less able bodies the crew have, the more help one would need from electrical or hydraulic equipment.
- The larger the boat and forces are, the more help the crew needs from above equipment
- There is a tendency to have backup systems for each, when sailing short handed, ie 2 auto-pilots, 2 plotters,
- The less competent crew is, the more the tendency is to compensate for increased gadgets and systems. ie we can not dock a boat comfortably, therefore we need a bow thruster.

In each of these cases, the complexity of the boat increases dramatically. That in itself is an issue, as with any systems, each of these will break down, and the crew often have to fix things, when away from safe harbour.

I am still happy to sail a 50-60 footer by myself, and I would be happy a sail a bigger one when well set up. But to sail my friend's very fast 42 footer (more a racing boat) on my own..... no thank you.

In short, these are the limitations I can think of:
- agility/strength of crew
- crew competence (seamanship)
- setup and type of boat
- backup systems in place
- financial resources (as mentioned by others)
- size might prevent access to certain waters (as mentioned by others), ie draft, airdraft, docking space, maneuvering space


And the benefits of a larger boat? sail in more comfort, safer, more storage space (hmmm, can also be a negative), ability to make longer trips, maybe a little faster
Disclaimer my boat is 53 ft.

Here is link to a similar thread
https://www.cruisersforum.com/forums...ig-228206.html

[Fore and Aft]

When you think about its really a dated question. If you want big and roomy just purchase a catamaran. I have clients in their 70s who comfortably handle a 50 foot cat. That cat is as big as a small apartment.
Cheers

[Jim Cate]

One could consider that Alain Colas sailed the Club Mediterranée solo in the 1976 OSTAR trans Atlantic race... and it was a 4 masted schooner of 236 feet LOA. But he likely had help docking her when he finished!

Jim

[Bowdrie]

Originally Posted by Networker

But if we did get a larger boat, say an oyster 65 or swan 70, why can’t a couple alone handle it? Reefing in a storm with electric winches and autopilot, what are we missing?

It's not what a couple can handle, it's what ONE person can handle should the other become sick/injured/incapacitated.
When Mr. Murphy comes calling all the electric devices won't save you.

[donradcliffe]

Originally Posted by Fore and Aft

When you think about its really a dated question. If you want big and roomy just purchase a catamaran. I have clients in their 70s who comfortably handle a 50 foot cat. That cat is as big as a small apartment.
Cheers

and what happens when a 70+ yr old falls off the roof of their apartment?

[Jim Cate]

You really need to define your proposed usage... what two can do day sailing ain't the same as what two can do passage making, where it is really two single handers sharing a boat most of the time.

Jim

[RaymondR]

Two people should handle one of these quiet readily??

[TrentePieds]

Fair enuff, Kello :-)

Can we agree that there can be no competence without experience ;-)?

TP

[s/v Moondancer]

My wife and I sailed a very well-maintained Tayana 55 over 40,000 blue-water miles, the last trip was a trans-Pacific, from New Zealand to Japan. We were in our mid to late 60s when we quit, we were not strong athletes but we were very experienced.

We left Maduro, Marshal Islands, heading for Guam, 1,800nm, and the autopilot broke 2 days out. Mostly we could get her to self steer but it was a hard 14 days for just the two of us. Halfway we decided to enter a small island but found that the transmission was stuck in reverse. Two days later the generator broke and we could now only charge by motoring backwards towards Guam.

Not really problems as we were very good with the white flappy things. We short-tacked into the commercial and military harbor in Guam. Unfortunately, the Genoa roller furler was jammed but we got the Genoa off her and the Harbor Master was kind enough to let us anchor under the main in a big ship area, except the windlass was now broken...128 lb anchor with 200ft of 7/16ths chain!

Four weeks later I had pulled the transmission and got it to the shop and back and fixed everything else...On a 70ft boat everything would have been twice as heavy, three times the work, and four times the cost.

Guam is a US island so parts arrived within a week, the only problem was when the Harbor Master wanted us to move a mile without an engine and windlass. I let my wife deal with officialdom as they tend not to argue with someone who sounds like their grandmother...Four weeks later, with all fixed, we headed toward Japan.

Anyone who thinks they could deal with all these problems without even contemplating calling for help should be happy with a 70 ft boat.

[Kettlewell]

I go back to my original comment in this thread. Sure, a couple can handle a 70 footer, but why? Many things can be done, but take a step back and be sure you really want to do them. My wife and I have cruised thousands of miles in a 38-footer, and for several years we had a family of four aboard. We cruised in company for months with a Nordhavn trawler, a 54-foot fast mono, and a 38-foot cat. Strangely, we always arrived in harbor within a few hours of each other on one or two-day hops, and sometimes our little boat was the first one in. My point being I personally find a 38-footer to be plenty of boat for a couple, providing decent speed, comfort, and capability, while at the same time being reasonable to handle and maintain, and can go most places I want to visit not being limited by water or air draft. Here on the East Coast I have met many cruisers who are very disappointed to find they can't enjoy over 1,000 miles of coastline between Norfolk and Miami because their boat is too big, and then when they go to New England they discover there are very few dock spaces to accommodate them, the moorings are too light for them, and there aren't a lot of anchorages where they fit in. Size does matter!

[Jimbo2010]

I think around 40' is the magic number.

Look at any 50'+ racing boat how many crew is required about 14, and those people are in good physical shape.

[rhubstuff]

..... "reefing in a storm with electric winches and autopilot, what are we missing?"

You are missing "reefing in a storm WITHOUT electric winches and autopilot."

If you can't do that, the boat's too big.

[Cheechako]

Originally Posted by Networker

Hi, knowing the community and what the default answer will be, may I ask what is the largest boat a couple can handle, and what prevents a couple from handling a larger boat then they can handle.

The default answer will be, “if you don’t know, don’t buy that boat”. Since I know that’s an unhelpful answer, please keep it to yourself, I’m trying to learn.

But if we did get a larger boat, say an oyster 65 or swan 70, why can’t a couple alone handle it? Reefing in a storm with electric winches and autopilot, what are we missing?

Yes I know of that German couple that died 2 years ago in too big a boat and why, but what else is missing? We know how to do smaller boats but what don’t we know? That’s what I’d love to learn.

Are you 35 or 65 years old?
I dont like relying on anything if I can't also do it manually. Relying on electric everything is a fools game if you ask me. But maybe that's just me.

Real world: Wife and I were on a 47 foot cutter. I added larger main winches before we went cruising. With a two hand winch handle and two speed winches, there were strong windy times I could not move the sheet on a 120% genoa. I would have to luff up to do so. Foot braced, both hands. I'm just 165 lbs though as was near 60 YO at the time.