Is your V small

centerline · Jan 27, 2015

depending on your future cruising lifestyle as a liveaboard, would determine to some extent what brand/style of boat you buy.... so, a 20-40 year old budget boat in the size you want or a newer modern designed boat that will cost many times more...

as Stu Jackson has said, the catalina C34 has a large comfortable V-berth.

then JK_Boston countered that the C310 and C350 has a "walk around" V-berth....

so, a conventional v-berth vs. a full walk around stateroom with an island berth/bed?

the V-berth in my boat which is a Cal 35-III is not a walk around, but a conventional v-berth. it has a 6'6" length that is 30"wide at the foot and 7'11 wide at the head (the measurement of the cushions)....room enough for three but very comfortable with two, leaving room along the sides for gear/clothes storage, and with the door closed there is still enough standing room and arm swinging room to get dressed.
(im sure the older cal 34's had the same vberth size, and the 34-I models can be found in decent shape for 6-10G)....

I cant imagine a boat having bigger, or anyone needing bigger, but bigger is better than too small.

when we were looking to buy, we looked at many boats bigger than ours, and it is surprising the amount of builders that sacrifice the vberth space for a slightly larger living area.
I suppose this would be ok for a single guy who always sleeps in the pilot berth or quarter berth and only used the v-berth for storage, but most of the monohull boats in this size range do not have a second stateroom for a couple to sleep in, yet the couples who buy this size of boat, no matter what their style of boating is, would choose a bit more sleeping space over a bit more living space, if they have any experience at all in sleeping aboard boats.

one brand of boat that we looked at (a 36 and 38 pilot house model) was perfect in every appearance, and we liked the boats. a nice sized cockpit yet not overly large which helped make for more room below. the living space was LARGE for this size of boat, but the 36 was designed without a head and the Vberth was small (short and narrow), and even with my long legs, I needed a step stool to get up into it.... this would have been ok for a guy who is 5'6" and doesnt mind climbing up the ladder into the "top bunk"... but for an otherwise nice boat, it will never be sold to someone who is looking for comfort while spending time on the boat.

a single guy or a couple does not need a large living area unless they entertain others a lot in the cabin.... more living space only equates to more room to store/pile stuff in the living area rather than putting it away where it should be..

so in addition to looking for a boat with a good sized vberth, look for one with lots of storage.
as long as you have enough room in the living space to have two settees big enough to take a nap on, adequate galley space and a nice dinette table, a head and a comfortable v-berth, a couple can live on it comfortably if they choose to... this is not to say that bigger may not be better, but it not always is... sometimes we get more enjoyment and use from a boat that is smaller and easier to manage.
but one thing you can count on as a hard hitting fact concerning a larger boat with more room available... it will always be more expensive to own, even if you only halfheartedly try to maintain it....

centerline · Jan 27, 2015

jleblanc31 said:
..... Also wile cruising how do you deal with sleep wile out in the blue. sure if you are traveling with other people on the boat you can schedule times for everyone to sail the boat but what about the single handers.

there are many books written about singlehanders sailing the oceans, for whatever reasons they choose, and the racing sailor has the biggest challenge. the cruising sailor has options he can exercise that a racer cannot afford to attempt if he wants to remain in the race.
see this link, which is a very informative book about the single handed boat on the ocean. it is free for reading or downloading.
im sure there is way more information contained in it that you will be interested in, but it will give you a big jumpstart in your search for how does one manage their time and boat on the wild blue, without help.

JK_Boston_Catalina310 · Jan 27, 2015

jleblanc31 said:
I plan to cruise up and down the east coast definitely go to the Bahamas . and if and when I have enough experience I will head to the Virgin islands. and possibly sail to the west coast. I don't want to do a circumnavigation and even if I was talked into it I wouldn't be alone for the trip. I will be buying an older boat. most probably a fixer upper. Would like to be in the 30-36 foot range. But would go to 40 if the rite boat (price)comes along.

What is your price range?

Benny17441 · Jan 27, 2015

You are right it makes little sense to design unusable V-berths. In the larger boats they like to pretend it is a walk in stateroom but what good does it do if the sleeping facility is inadequate. The most unusable V-Berth I have encountered is that of the h34. First of all you need molded steps to get up there but then the ceiling is so low that you cannot sit and turn around to get your feet towards the bow. It is just not doable for two people to get up there and be able to get in and out comfortably. All in all the V-berth we had in the Cherubinis were roomier and more spacious that in most of the current boats. Since they went to the aft stateroom designs they totally disregarded functionality for the v-berth.

Bad Obsession · Jan 28, 2015

I will add that a functional V berth is much more useful than an aft cabin if you anchor out. The ventilation is so much better in the front for obvious reasons.

kloudie1 · Jan 28, 2015

I disagree, Benny.. I am 6 feet tall and 255 pounds .. my wife and I sleep in the vee several times a month, year round.. The step on the stbd bulkhead that was provided is fine for me. A little tight to turn around in, for sure, but nice once ya get settled.

centerline · Jan 28, 2015

kloudie1 said:
I disagree, Benny.. I am 6 feet tall and 255 pounds .. my wife and I sleep in the vee several times a month, year round.. The step on the stbd bulkhead that was provided is fine for me. A little tight to turn around in, for sure, but nice once ya get settled.

a classic example of making do with what we have and liking it....and ALL of us LIKE the boat we own and think its the best model ever built.... thats just the way us boaters are

when searching for our boat we looked at an H34 also, parked right next to the boat we bought, and I would agree that the vberth in it is fully functional, but i will also say that as much as we can get used to about anything, there are other boats that have the vberth designed differently that we preferred more.... but as long as there is enough room to stretch out, they all provide the same function.... its only a matter of preference...

kloudie1 · Jan 28, 2015

Oh.. I fully agree, Centerline.. The compromises kick in with what the owner wants to trade off..

Bad Obsession · Jan 29, 2015

You do realize that if you gut the boat and do a total refirb it may be more expensive than buying a boat in good condition. And after the total refit is done the boat may not be worth nearly as much as you have spent.

The only advantage to a total refit would be that you would know every square inch of the boat and you would have a good idea of what the boat could take based on the construction.

Before you start approaching price or start looking at a particular kind of boat, figure out what you are going to do with the boat. Do some serious soul searching and answer the question to your best ability.

Boats are like knives, sure a knife will cut something but often it is best to select the type of knife you are going to use based on what you are cutting.

If you want to do the ICW and do the coastal cruiser thing than you may select one kind of boat. If you are going to do serious blue water, say crossing oceans, you will probably select a different boat.

Coastal boats are set up differently than a serious blue water boat. Yes, there are exceptions to this idea, but in truth if is far easier to figure out the category of boat based on your needs. Once you know the category figure out all the manufacturers that build boats for that particular category and look at a bunch of those.

centerline · Jan 29, 2015

Bad Obsession said:
You do realize that if you gut the boat and do a total refirb it may be more expensive than buying a boat in good condition. And after the total refit is done the boat may not be worth nearly as much as you have spent.

The only advantage to a total refit would be that you would know every square inch of the boat.

Coastal boats are set up differently than a serious blue water boat.

I agree... it been proven over and over and over.... a $300-400 per month payment over the course of 5 or 6 years would get you a reasonable boat of the size your looking for, and will leave you with more money in your pocket at the end of the month to buy the unnecessay goodies that we all want.... and the boat will still be worth something after its paid for.
its a better investment than the boat that will take that much or more to fix it up after the purchase of it..... with the boat quite possibly having very little, if any value at the end.

knowing every square inch of the boat is good, but if you are a handy and curious person, you will soon know every square inch of a "turn-key" model...

most of us will only ever need a coastal cruiser... many coastal cruisers have taken round the world voyages. its very seldom the boat that is the determining factor, but our knowledge of how to handle it, read weather charts and pay attention to where we go at what time of the year...

MrBill_FLL · Jan 30, 2015

Hunter and Macgregor for their size have huge berths. I used California king sheets on mine.

start looking at the aft berth.

How about a Morgan out island?

Apex · Jan 30, 2015

..this forum has demonstrated great restraint at the title... with that being said, we have found from 25 and 28 foot range, it isn't necessarily length of the v-berth that has been of issue, more-so the foot width (or in Doug''s case head of the berth) I don't like to tangle feet, but am a poor sleeper as it is. The wife typically will sleep in the salon settee and I may choose either the v-berth or quarterberth depending on temp, the forward berth definitely has better ventilation on our O'Day 28.

centerline · Jan 31, 2015

jleblanc31 said:
I think I can rebuild a 30 foot boat for way less than $18000 I will say around $7000 and that would include engine rebuild, new wood inside , new lines, a good used set of sails if the boat didn't come with a set , top and bottom paint, and electrical.

It all depends on how you want the boat to look and what kind of functionality you are after... and what you initially pay for it, and what you expect it to be worth after you.put that much money into it....

I wont argue the fact that some people dont expect as much as others, but im a very budget minded person who is always looking for a cheaper way to do something, and as long as it can be done right, ill usually find a way.
AND, I want it to look good to others as well as myself, as that will maintain the value of the boat.

I am not a beginner at this, and i was born as poor as anyone here, but I learned early by a few costly mistakes, so im speaking with a few decades of experience...
I can only wish you luck and like a lot of us already have, you will learn as you go.

woodster · Jan 31, 2015

jleblanc31 said:
I think I can rebuild a 30 foot boat for way less than $18000 I will say around $7000 and that would include engine rebuild, new wood inside , new lines, a good used set of sails if the boat didn't come with a set , top and bottom paint, and electrical.

add about $4000.00 to that

Cat 310 #1 in GA · Feb 1, 2015

We bought the Catalina 310 primarily because of the v berth. It is luxurious!