What size boat do you see in the Carribean

[gcaskew]

What is the typical boat length that you see in the Caribbean harbors?
I love the floor plan on a Catalina 310 and I know that will be fine for the Bahamas but I'm afraid it may be a little small for making it to the south Caribbean.
Do you see any 31's down there or is it all 37's and better?

[boatsail]

Good question. I really want to see some answers. I was on a 33' Beneteau last in the carib and was one of the smaller boats most places that I took notice, though I did not feel like the boat was to small for me. I have a Cal 27 here on the Chesapeake and love the smaller size boats for ease of singlehanding.

[boatman61]

I think its not so much a case of what size... more a case of what one can afford to fit in comfortably (this varies from person to person)...
This year I saw quite a few European flagged boats sub 32ft anchored off Marigot and in the lagoon... most seemed well content with thier lot...
Lets face it most Europeans are happy for the adventure and the novelty of regular sunshine and tropic views... a steady 30c is a blessing and the luxury items such as airconditioning, washing machines, watermakers etc are pretty low on the priority list..
What we look for is a sound hull, a waterproof deck... which means a dry bed.. an efficient cooker and a boom tent for all that lounging around in the cockpit sipping a cold one...
Its not how big it is... its how you use it...

[Sailmonkey]

we fit quite comfortably in a 32' boat, but were in the minority.

[callistov42]

I agree with Boatman. I think it is cultural. The Europeans typically are in smaller boats. We keep our Vagabond 42 in St Martin and it is a pretty good sized boat in our marina except for the BIG cats you see everywhere. Most of the bigger boats at Anse Marcel are American. A well found 31' boat will be fine in the Southern Caribbean if it (and the captain and crew) are well prepared. The French guys in my marina zip back and forth to Europe in 30' to 35' boats all the time and don't seem to think twice about it!

[PCP777]

What would you think the perfect live aboard size would be for 2 adults and a child on a budget? Something we could sail to the caribbean and be safe?

[Cheechako]

You see mostly larger boats.... from the US anyway. The French seem to have a lot of smaller boats ... many of them unpainted aluminum. No reason in the world you cant take a 31 all the way to Trinidad. The longest overnighter is Bahamas to the DR. In the 80's I took a 30 footer from Seattle to Mexico; not many overnighters on that trip.... mostly days at sea.

2 adults and a child: depends on age of child and type of boat. an old school 30 is small, a newer design 30 has two cabins. If a teenager, you probably want more space.

[lostviking]

My wife and I live in a 34 trawler. Plenty of space, almost too much to keep clean. We have the Europa model with a large flybridge who is like a giant terrace on top. If we wore to have a kid I would prefer to put it in a own bedroom, but for two people it is more than enough. We are hitting the Bahamas and Caribbean in a week or so. We are Europeans though, so we might be happier with smaller boats

[Zanshin]

Especially in high-density charter locations the number of hulls per boat is going up, nowadays the preponderance is for cats in charter vs. monohulls.
The French islands have a lot of smaller <35 foot boats, many of which have gone across the pond. But even in those places the average hull length (and beam) has kept on going up and up in recent years.
Looking at the long-term anchorages in the Simpson Bay lagoon I'd say most of the boat are >35 feet and well into their 40's. Outside of Gustavia on St. Barths (the two long-term anchorages) the average size is even bigger. And that is ignoring all the 80+ megasailboats.

In the BVI even the Cats are growing past 40 feet - but most of the boats there are chartered ones.

[Zanshin]

Here a picture I took from the Witche's t**t (local name) on St. Martin looking at the Dutch side of the lagoon.
Panoramio - Photos of the World

[gcaskew]

See I'm thinking a smaller, newer boat that I like the floor plan, rather than just length for the size of it.
We really want an island berth so it's easy for her to get out of bed and cool off, hot flashes know no season...lol

Plus if you are staying in the caribbean you don't need to store a month of goods for long passages.

Rather have a smaller, newer boat and a BIG cruise kitty, rather than a large boat and have to pass on things we want to do while cruising.

[sailorboy1]

for an island berth you are going to be in the 40+ foot range and for the lower end a center cockpit and for the mid-larger 40s a newer design with a forward centerline or a deck salon style

I don't really understand the first question, size is size and comfort is comfort no matter where you are cruising

I can say the the difference in interior space between my last 1988 Cal-39 and my current 2001 Hunter 410 is HUGE!!! And the hot flashes issue was part of the reason we changed boats plus as we get older someone always needs to get up to pee in the night!

[rtbates]

I know of a little 25 foot Cape Dory 25D that you can see down there if you look real hard.... Retirement is Dec1,,,yehahaha

[gcaskew]

The floor plan that we like is a Catalina 310, it has a island berth in the bow. The question about size boils down to this. Do people that sail the caribben do it in boats the size of the Catalina 310?

I was talking to a guy on another board and he was telling me you had to have a 40ft mono to enjoy the caribben and all this other junk. I finally asked him what was his best spot in the caribbean and come to find out he had never even gone down there.

Don this is not a dig in any way at you, just information on why I was asking about the size of a specific boat that I like and if people that sail there ever see boats that size or have taken one that size down there.

The Hunter 37 Legend from 86 - 89 has a nice island berth in the aft quarters. We just have to have something she can get out of bed without killing herself to go to the head in the middle of the night or to cool off.

[sailorboy1]

hey the only person who has to like your boat is ........ you