Mine is bigger than yours

[HukilauMike]

The best size?

The best size boat is the one you can and do use the most, whatever that may be. I have an Oday 23, and there have been a few times when I wished I had a bigger boat. Sleeping aboard is like camping, and forget about going very far; she just isn't very fast. However, because of my many other obligations/interests, I do not have the ability to do more than daysails with the occasional overnighter. In fact, the majority of my sailing is done after work, either solo or with one other person. The 23 is perfect for that. I am also able to do my own maintenance, something I would have trouble with on a larger boat with more complex system. In short, the 23 is the best size for me because it maximizes my time on the water. Now, if the Admiral and crew liked sailing as much as I do, well that would be a different story.

 

[Stu Jackson]

Use inversely proportional to length

There is that quote. When we bought our C34, after 11+ years with our C25 and a C22 before that, we "pledged" to overturn that rule. We can report that we've been very successful, using the new, bigger boat at least once a week, just like the smaller boats. Use it or lose it! One of the keys was being able to single-hand the boat and not have to rely on "crew" for taking the boat out, although we really enjoy those days with friends and family, too. In addition, the number of "systems" on a boat at 28 feet is most likely the same as those in the mid-30s range: electrical, batteries, engine, fridge, etc. Although anchors are bigger, the rest is the same: sails, standing and running rigging, etc. Sure, more expensive, but still relative based on what you like to do with your boat(s) and what you can afford.

 

[Ted]

32 and not blue

Give me a 32 and I'll live on the blue hoping to see you as I sail with the few.

 

[Ross]

How much boat you want may have very

little relationship to how much boat you need for your style of boating. My car is always going to be too small to carry the extended family on vacation and too big to fit into the parking space at the grocery store. My boat sleeps two and can seat four for meals and six people makes a nice group for drinks. She is weatherly enough to sail off a lee shore, burdensome enough to carry provisions for a month for two people. She can travel 120 miles on engine and main fuel supply. Can carry 78 gallons of potable water. She is big enough and small enough.

 

[Capt. Sid]

Mine is perfect... fior now

I have a W27 foo sloop that I an extensively restoring to the finest condition that I can possibly manage, new paint all around repainting all antiskid. Barrier coat thebotom. and upgraded all electronics, head system and interior fitings. I know that the 8,000 that I am sinking into tnis boat will never berealized by me in any future sell, but thats not the point with me. My boat is a part of me and is part of my identifty. I love working on her and every year I do soemthing to upgrade her. Its almost an obesession but healthier that others that I could have during my middle age, She is my girl and my middle-life fling and my wife is very uderstanding about her, my wife seems to realize that is something that i need to keep me sane and faithful to all my other commitments. I dream about a bigger boat someday so that i can sail around the world but i will cross that bridge when I come to it. Meanwhile I own this boat out right and can do anything i want to her.Right now that is to make her a beautiful head turner in any port.Sid BallantyneNew Bern

 

[Terry Cox]

The admiral and I purchased our 1991 model...

in 2002. We had done some cruising with our H28 during the three years we owned Our Quest prior to that. We looked at lots of boat models and makes, but kept coming back to the Hunter brand because of fit, function and value. Then one day we drove to Lake Union to look at a 40.5 that had just come up from Portland and new on the market, which was off shore equipped and the model I wanted for us. Two boats over was a P42 charter sister boat that had also just come on the market. One look at the aft cabin and I got overruled. Darn! The rest is history.She is easy to solo sail, stiff, fast and very comfortable. It was hard at first until she taught me to follow her lead and characteristics of where she wanted to go at any given moment of wind and current whim. Of course that was no different than the wonderful woman I married 37 years ago. It only took a few thumps on the head before I came around to her way of thinking... uhh Belle-Vie's that is.After three two month cruises these past three years and many other shorter ones before that have left us with no doubt that we made the right choice. I'm hoping that I can keep my physical strength to continue cruising with her for another ten years. The passion and desire, like our marriage, remain. New and old destinations will keep the fires burning until it is time to hang up my sailing gloves.Terry

 

[Andy]

Yours plus Two Feet

Isn't the optimum size always two feet longer than the boat you currently sail?

 

[Lee]

Wrong question!

Optimal boat size? It depends! This is such an old topic that keeps coming up guys! Some like it large, some don't. Most can't afford a large boat, even if bought cheap, maintenance costs keep creeping up. What do you want to use your boat for? You answered it already in the question: it depends! Trailer sailing on lakes with a 40footer? Crusing the Pacifc with a 22'? Besides, you need to have the time to disappear from the rat race for a couple of years, right? So what's the answer? Guess! But since I don't want to be just critical, here a constructive contribution to the "ideal boat size": For me (sic!) it's around 35 feet. That's the size I like to sail on the sometimes quite rough waters of San Francisco Bay, singlehanded if I must, or a crusie with two couples. There, here comes the next question: Not just the lenght counts, that's only one little factor; what type of boat should it be?: Longkeel, fin, wing, which draft, cruiser, racer, etc.etc. I give up. Happy New Year to all of you! Lee

 

[sand sailor]

hey old salt

the one you described its called a "tardis" looks like a phone booth till you get lost inside

 

[capn Bill]

Big enough for me

When I moved up from my O'day 25 to my present boat - a 1984 O'day 30 - the roominess in comparision to my '25 made it seem possitively palatial. Since 90% of the sailing and cruising I do is with just the admiral on-board - it's really more than enough. Sure - the new boats are incredible (if you like that sort of thing) but how much room do you really need? I can go practically anywhere I want in this boat - and know if I had a bigger boat that would not be the case. Bill on STARGAZER

 

[Jack Pearl]

Mine is bigger than yours...

I'm not sure what the best size is but I certainly notice that there is a "class structure" when talking about size of boats. People with bigger boats I've noticed tend to wave less at the smaller boats and seem to look down literally upon us small boat owners. Maybe it's just "Penis Envy" from my point of view but it all seems silly to me.

 

[Ferg]

Money Money Money

Well, for the average person, cost is a factor isn’t it. I don’t just mean the purchase price, but maintenance costs, upgrades, insurance, dockage, like that. From what I can tell, the magic number for the average retiring couple seems to be 36 feet on down. Compare the cost of a new main for a 36 footer to a 40’ish footer. Now think bigger, more expensive …. Everything.Ferg

 

[Warren Milberg]

Do you think

there is an inverse relationship between the size of your boat and how much sailing you do?

 

[Idratherbesailing]

Bigger is better sailing - unless you have to pay

I've had several boats over the years, from a 14 Hobie to a 37 sloop....and sailed on some 45 - 55 foot boats...bigger sails better and feels more stable, and is easier to live on at anchor...but oh, the cost... as you get over 35 feet or so...so I would say the largest boat you can afford comfortably is the best boat, if you have space to keep it...but any boat is better than no boat at all...on the water when you want to go and least worries is the best boat, whatever the size.

 

[halyardz]

Every time I think of moving up

Every time I think of moving up from my classic Tartan 33, I just wait several days and the urge departs. After all, its a great S&S design, its well made and I can single-hand it. Plus, I know all the systems. And I agree with many of the previous posts, as boat length and complexity of systems increase the likelyhood of leaving the dock on your own decreases. As long as you sail and your boat gets you safely where you want to go, where is the compelling reason to move up?

 

[OldCat]

Two Hundred and Four Feet!

204 feet (overall). But you will have to join the Navy . . .OC

 

[Joe11688]

Boat size really depends on a person's needs

Boat size depends on a person's financial status, the person's needs, and the time that's available to use it. If a sailor has a family of four or more, then naturally, this is going to dictate the size of the boat. I think that it's possible to have a large boat and have a great summer on it with your family. For me, a sailboat in the 22 foot range is perfect for the sailor like myself who normally sails with his dog most of the time, or occasionally takes a couple of grandchildren and a reluctant grandma. The plus side of an O'Day 222 is; you don't need a crew to sail it, you can sail pretty much anywhere that her larger sisters can go, and you can load it up and take it home with you if you have to. Mine can sleep four, but you really don't want to have four in it on an overnighter, unless two of them are children. Even then, it can be a little cramped. One other plus side to this size boat is the fact that the ground tackle is easy to handle by one person, and sailing up to a dock is just as easy as with a day sailer. Also, picking up my mooring under sail is fun and easy to do, with a little practice. I like the idea of being able to float in about three feet of water at anchor, knowing that no one is going anchor next to me in that cove at night, in the dark. I found out a long time ago that,-- it isn't what we have that makes us happy,--it's what we do.

 

[Jules Robinson]

Size of the Rig, Motion of the Ocean

Hello All,After renting boats from 22' to 46' I found that what really got my juices flowing was the size of the sails, hight of the mast, a tall double spreader rig and the motion of the boat though the water.I found that below 36 ft the feeling and impression wasn't the same as bigger boats. how ever at 46 ft it lost it coziness inside, it just felt oversize, a floating apartment, a beast. at that bigger size something was lost as well.so when I dreamed of a boat it had to be about 40', three private cabins and two heads. didn't think I could afford such a thing as I only saw later model boats with th is setup, so I wasn't in the market for a boat. but of course I spent times at boats.com dreaming and I came across the oday 39. surprised a 1984 boat in 39 ft could fit what I wanted. and the price was right. so I bought it. and it's just right. I don't want a smaller boat and I don't want a bigger boat. I keep it on a moring so my dockage expenses aren't too bad. I've learned to do all the maintenance myself so the up keep while very intensive is not so expensive. each of our two children ( an 8 year old boy and a 13 year old girl) has their own cabin where they love to hide out, and two heads w/showers and two holding tanks are really a plus. Thanks,Jules

 

[Peter]

26-35

The only way I feel I can answer this is to say the smallest boat I've sailed cruised on and felt I could stay for an extended cruise was a Tanzer 26, hence the lower bound. At the other end, the largest boat I've felt I could handle as a single-hander (i.e. comfortably handle the sails in putting them up and pulling them down, man-handling the ground tackle, and docking mainly) was a Columbia 10.7, hence the upper bound. The Columbia has been bluewater; the Tanzer was limited to Chesapeake Bay, not sure if 26 is enough for open ocean.

 

[Ross]

I must live in a parallel universe

I don't know anybody that can afford to keep and use forty foot boats and not have to work for a living. I live in a fairly nice house and keep a thirty foot boat. So I have a house and yard to care for and a boat to care for and a job so that I have the means to the previous obligations. It is nine o'clock on a Saturday morning in January and the air temp is well above freezing outside and about 68 degrees inside.Someday I may stay away from work more and play more but I can't afford to not earn an income for the next twenty years.