The admiral says size does matter...

Stu Jackson · Mar 8, 2014

Go for it. My wonderful wife said just that to me 15 years ago. Standing headroom, hot & cold pressure water, a real galley, a huge V berth (not birth), is very welcoming. For both of you. Enjoy, it works.

As far as birth is concerned, your son was conceived on our Catalina 25, after we found there wasn't enough room to do so on our C22!

Good luck, happy hunting.

It;s worth it to have her with you.

Roadking Larry · Mar 8, 2014

I ran into a similar situation after buying our Macgregor 26 last year. My wife decided she didn't like the cramped closet the porta-potty is in, didn't like the porta-potty and didn't care for having to crawl into the aft berth to sleep.

It's nice to hear the wife say "we're gonna need a bigger boat".
I'm not prepping my new to me Cal 2-27 to launch later this month.

topcat0399 · Mar 8, 2014

kpgraci said:
So I've been after my wife to go sailing with me forever, she always has some objection, after pressing her (at great peril to myself) she said she would be claustrophobic in the boat. Now she does have a dislike of elevators and other tight spaces, but I explained to her that, yes, my 22 foot sailboat is 'small' but you sail in the cockpit, not the cabin, and as far as sailboat cockpits go the ODay 22's is roomy, not to mention its open air, the horizon and sky are the limit. No dice.

So as I muse over sailboats online or in magazines that I'd like to own, which is pretty much anything plus 30 with standing room for a 6'3" guy, she will look and say "I'd go sailing with you on that..."

So I've discovered that I'm in a particularly interesting situation here, my wife wants me to buy a bigger boat, in fact, she practically insists on it, as I'm seeing it. This isn't about opulence, although I'm sure that does't hurt, she's a former farm girl, likes camping, doesn't mind roughing it. Maybe she sees bigger boats as 'safer'.

Whatever the reason, for the sake of our marriage I feel I must do what is right.

File this under first world problems.

Now I just need a little extra cash...

Glad the Admirals ok with a big boat and a bigger boat check book

And its not boat size that counts, its the size of the cockpit.....

Tom J · Mar 8, 2014

A friend of mine picked out a powerboat at the boat show, and he was very disappointed when the wife said "NO!". But then she said, "We need something bigger than that!". What are the odds?

Bill Roosa · Mar 8, 2014

Other things to consider:
where do you slip her? will the current marina have a slip for the longer boat with deeper draft? What will a new marina location mean on getting to the boat and cruising grounds?
I'd recommend a full galley with reefer and at least one full head with a shower.
I think you will find that sailing is not entirely like camping as you can do "things" on a boat that you can easily do "in the woods"

Anonymous 121765 · Mar 9, 2014

KP,

I've read the posts, and there seems to be a pattern here guys.
My thoughts & prayers go out to all sailing husbands everywhere.

Women are more attuned to comfort, safety & amenities not like us (just pee in the bushes) guys. We're just not that particular.

My approach would be to have your wife pick out the boat or style she LIKES, albeit with exceptions. But hey guys, marriage is all about compromise. Take it from a never married soul, don't make them mad.

For me, the upfront important issues are spacious cockpit, headroom, roomy companionway with a 3 step maximum ladder, in-cabin headroom & easy deck navigation. One drawback on my C30 (1980) is narrow decking to get past the stays.

But you know what, women put so much more in a relationship. They deserve to be spoiled sometimes.

CR

shemandr · Mar 9, 2014

And if you do coax her out, don't forget to give her the helm for a while.

JonnyQuest · Mar 9, 2014

My Admiral/Next-Boat dilemma stems from the Admirals nausea as a green sailor. She has gotten seasick on occasions when the waves kick up over 2 feet in the shallow MS Sound. She likes the stability that a cruising cat (think Gemini) would provide. On the other hand, I'm wondering if a bigger monohull than my 27 Oday would help her seasickness improve due to length and weight? Something like a Hunter 37.5 for instance. (I think I'd personally miss the sailing-moderate heeling-wind in face aspect if I went the multihull route)

Certain don't want the admiral to be unhappy, and we do have plans to upsize in the future-- just need to suss out whether multi or mono hulls would be better.

Definitely filed under "First World Dilemmas"!

Skipper · Mar 9, 2014

I had a Capri 26. I thought the accomodations quite luxurious. Then, I started dating this lady I had met at Starbucks. After a few months of dating and sailing, she said, "Some day, you should get a bigger boat".

That's when I first heard wedding bells.

The lure of a smallish boat is ease of handling, lower overhead costs, etc. But, in my opinion, the 30-foot sector is a great medium in terms of space, single-hand sailing, sea comfort, creature-features, seaworthiness depending on builder, and cost. The boats are still smallish, but have much of the "yacht" aspects needed by the female senior officers.

Anonymous 121765 · Mar 9, 2014

Jonny,

Seasickness can be a big reason for someone not to go boating.
Over the years of having taken many sailing, Here's what I find to be major reasons & a simple fix I use that works well.

Seasickness causes:
Seas, broad reach to down wind courses, not having food in your stomach, lack of sleep, too much drinking the nite before & spending time below. One thing I have learned that if a person got seasick before, they expect the same to happen again. Therein lies the pre-conceived "mindset".

Passengers I am not familiar with I first ask a direct question. "Do you get seasick"? If I don't get a definitive "NO", I suggest the following:

Motion sickness pills all have one thing in common, antihistamine. So I carry motion pills, but because some feel drowsy with these, I also carry non-drowsy sinus pills. If wanting a motion pill, I give them a half tablet at first (hopefully a half hour before leaving the dock). Two hours later, the other half. Sinus pills also work great if they don't want to take motion pills. I use these when spearfishing.

I can say with confidence that in a good number of people that took the medication as I had suggested, only a handful upchucked, the rest did just fine.

I also saw that if by not getting sick(as they had previously) this stopped their fear & it turned out to be their cure.

This is just my opinion, but it works.

CR

Bill1565 · Mar 9, 2014

Stu Jackson said:
Go for it. My wonderful wife said just that to me 15 years ago. Standing headroom, hot & cold pressure water, a real galley, a huge V berth (not birth), is very welcoming. For both of you. Enjoy, it works. As far as birth is concerned, your son was conceived on our Catalina 25, after we found there wasn't enough room to do so on our C22! Good luck, happy hunting. It;s worth it to have her with you.

Whose son?.

Sandy Stone · Mar 9, 2014

What an interesting dilemma to find yourself in. A few years back, we took our Pearson 32 over to Madisonville to spend a couple of nights at the Wooden Boat Show. Well, at one point while getting ready for bed we squeezed past one another in the cabin and she ended up smacking her shin on something. She turned to me with blood in her eye and said, "We need a bigger boat!" The rest is history.

WayneH · Mar 9, 2014

I've heard that twice now.

The first time was shortly after she got started sailing. Our 16 daysailer had gotten slammed in a microburst and we blew out the mainsail. So we are motorsailing back to the launch ramp with just the jib. The remains of the mainsail wrapped around us to keep the rain off. While I'm thinking "She's never going out again", she pipes up with "We need a bigger boat."

Then we took a week long trip in our 21 foot weekender. Porta-potty under the V-berth, camp stove on a flat surface, no running water. She says to me on the way home, "I'm tired of getting dressed on my knees. We need a bigger boat."

So I told her to do the research and search. My two requirements were maximum 4 foot draft and it had to LOOK like a sailboat. She had an color coded excel spreadsheet that was 5 pages long at one time comparing different boats. Red for boats that were no longer being considered or with some fatal flaw, black for boats that needed more research, yellow for boats that would "Make Do" and green for "Let's check these out."

We ended up with two GREEN boats. A Pearson 365 and a Tartan 37-2. She really liked the interior of the Pearson but the mizzen mast was stepped right in front of the companionway and the cockpit seemed incredibly small compared to the cockpit of the 21 footer. So the Pearson became a yellow boat and we bought the Tartan.

Now she says "About once a year, I wish we had a separate cabin for guests. But only about once a year." So I don't think she's got the 2 footitis itch. Maybe. Oh hell.

teebutch · Mar 9, 2014

Man are yall a lucky bunch of guys. My wife has not even stepped foot in my two sailboats. Has no interest in them and I would go big if that would be the problem.

sinnettc · Mar 9, 2014

I went from a laser, to a Capri 16.5, to a Capri 22 all in about 18 months because the Admiral wanted me to. She found the 16.5 and had the laser sold before I even knew about it. The Capri 22 took a bit of prodding but I figured it out after the 3rd time she asked.

We've also recently acquired a 2010 Trail Cruiser 23QBC travel trailer because the Admiral wanted it. It only took being prodded once for me to figure it out so I must be learning. She did say she'd be more comfortable with me single-handing at the lake if she's there in the trailer. Not sure I understand the logic there but if that's what it takes then I'm ok with it.

RECESS · Mar 9, 2014

I had some friends stay last weekend on our 323, the wife swears she is claustrophobic. It was chilly so the two days we were on the boat she was down below a lot. We stayed in the marina and on anchor. She never felt cramped in.

topcat0399 · Mar 9, 2014

teebutch said:
Man are yall a lucky bunch of guys. My wife has not even stepped foot in my two sailboats. Has no interest in them and I would go big if that would be the problem.

Perhaps you are the lucky one??

Eddie7045 · Mar 9, 2014

Are you talking trailerable or in the water ?

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