A few thoughts...
Since your primary use will be living aboard - but with some regional cruising thrown in - I'd encourage you to look at the current Catalina 387 ad (e.g. 1st page of Sail's 2/04 issue). Look carefully at the gorgeious pic of the main cabin. But look again, past the bits & pieces, and notice you can actually see the sides of the hull (where the hull ports are). While keeping that pic in front of you, now look at a similar pic (CW's 2/04 issue, p. 23) of the Hunter 36. Once again, you can see enough of the hull to picture how it comes down around the entire area occupied by the main cabin. Try to imagine where the hull lies behind those seatbacks. Those two pics are talking to you, but not in the way you might think. My point is that we often overlook the most obvious - and sometimes most useful - of details when shopping boats because we see the trees but fail to reflect on the forest. (And clever boat designers help us with this, too.) This style of layout is used in all the boat brands you are looking at and its main purpose is to create as large, open and airy a 'feel' down below as possible. I enjoy this 'feel' when I'm a guest aboard another boat, but some of us living aboard aren't real keen on accepting its compromises. By way of comparison, let me mention that our boat looks narrower down below (altho' it has a 13' beam on 42' LOA and a 33' LWL, not far from the boats you are looking at)...but behind our settee cushions we have six tall, deep (very deep) storage lockers where things are readily at hand but totally hidden (and secure offshore). Those cute little cupboards you see at the ends of the settees in the two pics are, on our boat, quite a bit deeper and taller - and far more functional. Moreover the shelf inbetween on each side is deep, enclosed and can take e.g. a TV & VCR or a condo-type stereo. All of this is because the designer tried to provide for storage AND sitting/lounging/eating space...but at the expense of a more spacious 'feel'. This kind of accessible storage (we have something like 13 cabinets and drawers just in our forward cabin, all immediately accessible) is coveted when living aboard. (To be fair, I should add that, fitted out for offshore sailing and extended cruising, all systems included and tanks full, WHOOSH weighs 21,000# - that's a fairer way to compare size). I don't mean to be trumpeting my boat over others, but simply to encourage you to look at the big picture and reflect on what you will actually need vs. what a builder is offering. All 3 of your preferred builders are predominantly serving customers who weekend and vacation on their boats, or who charter for 5-day periods; their needs inevitably are different from yours. Another example (of what we may touch and use but not 'see') is the companionway. For folks who come aboard mid-day Saturday, relax and putz away the weekend at odd jobs, and leave Sunday afternoon, the companionway is probably an afterthought. As a liveaboard you will be using that companionway a LOT. How ergonomic is it, how safe and easy to use with one hand full of coffee cup? Does it feel sturdy? Do you have handholds? How do you get under the dodger easily and descend (again, perhaps with one hand busy)? Typically, as boat buyers we blow right by the companionway without a thought...but there's a lot to be considered WRT that one feature. (And BTW, don't be overly pleased by short companionways that only have a few steps, as that may be a bad thing. When builders are using bubble-type hulls but want expansive floorspace, they will push the cabin 'up' vertically so the floor pan can be wider. This in turn lifts the center of gravity of the whole boat, which will tend to make the boat tippier. (I recently read that new boats sold on the East Coast are equipped 4:1 with shallow keel options, further accentuating this issue). For more on this, consider reading Robert Perry's review of the Hunter 450 at www.sailnet.com/sailing/perry.htm). Finally (sorry for the length of this)...those heads. We Americans suffer from large personal space needs and awkwardness about privacy issues (or so the sociologists tell us) and my own impression is that buyers often default to two heads when thinking of 'privacy' and 'guests'. IME privacy on a 40' boat is far more an illusion than a reality, but no, we may think 2 heads are the 'easy', safe choice (never considering that we will have to actually maintain 2 heads and their associated parts). Jeff is so right...and the funny thing is that the minute you take the boat out of the slip, who will want to use the forward head, up there in the pointy, bouncy end of the boat? (Can you imagine banging and rolling your way across the Gulf Stream towards Gun Cay and the ONLY head on the boat is up in the bow? Yikes!) Again, just to offer an alternative perspective, our WHOOSH has (alas...) only one head. But an owner or guest can arise and leave his/her cabin, use the toilet, take a shower in the stall, then make coffee in the galley, and finally go topside to fetch the morning paper - all without intruding on either the other guest(s) or owner(s) by passing thru their cabins at any time. If guests become an important consideration for you (perhaps you're an empty nester, or eager to host your parents and show them your new lifestyle, or treat friends to a new experience - all good fun if the guests are game), my point is that there are alternatives to simply adding more cabins and toilets while stealing useful space away from the finite amount available. It's far more about the thoughtful, creative and knowledgeable efforts of a designer than it is about cubic volume and number of bulkheads. Hope this is a tad helpful. Keep digging; you'll get what's right for you with some diligent research...and besides, it's fun, isn't it!? Jack
Although the sail show was disappointing in the number of boats and vendors that had displays, we did enjoy the weather and found 3 boats that we are very interested in. They are the Catalina 400 MKII, Hunter 41 and Beneteau 393. Our plan is to sell the house, go south and move aboard. ;D We currently have a H340 which we love, however it would be a little too small for us to live aboard on a permanent basis. We are not looking to do any major crossings just some island hopping and mainly coastal cruising. I would be very appreciative of any opinions or experiences that anyone would have that might make our decision easier. Thanks so much.
