When you realize you need a bigger boat!

[joes new addiction]

Lots of "family" things comming up next few weekends, limiting my "sailing time" to "quickies" on week days.
So, I told my wife, "I'm headin up to the boat for a GOOD day of sailing, try spending the night on her, (my wife is a nurse and was on call, so she had to stay local incase she got called in), (wanted to spend the night on the boat, make a cup of coffeer and have breakfast as the sun comes up on her. Simple dream but you gotta start out simple)!
This is all on a 1971 PT 1/4 22' racer transformed into a day sailor.
Got to the lake and desided to drive @ the entire lake and look at other marinas for future slips next season, (My first year "on the water". Last year I was a trailer sailer with a 16' AMC boat).
I had taken took the advice of the captain who taught me at the ASA class as this marina is the "hub" of sailing on this lake.
"Go here and you can learn a thing or 2".
WHEN someone is there, they have been helpful all nice guys, but, seems 99.9% of the time I come and go alone on the docks???
Also the way the marina is layed out, ANY wake from the channel seems to channel RIGHT down into my slip opening, were the boats at my slip get pounded. I sat and watched wakes the other day. the other slips seem to advoid them. The guy next to me told me he thinks this is where they stick the "new guys"? (Could be why there are more than a few open on this slip)??
After looking at a few other marnias, getting phone # I headed to my boat.
There was a stead north wind across the entire lake, stead, no "viens", "dead water", a perfet day to sail!
I ended up spending the most time I ever spent sailing!
I sail @ the entire lake! 7 1/2 hours! It was awesome!
On bad part of the entoire day was when I went to gliding into my slip a MASSIVE wake at the last moment shoved me UP and against the dock and the bumper got on top of the dock and I scratched the side of the boat that I JUST spot painted Wednesday!:cry:
Grabbed some take out at a diner and went back out at sunset to anchor at a mooring bouy I found in my "tour of the lake".
I was like a monkey f....., well it was funny! I try to glide up to clip on my line only to have the wind shove me away. I'd have to back off come @ again and try it.
Took 4 times before I figured out leave the motor in gear and idle up to it.
Moored for the night, settled in for phase 2 of my adventure.
That's when suddenly the 22' boat shrunk down to 6'! Seemed the water made it shrink to a small canoe!
I was on deck reading, eating thinking "life is good" when it happened! No matter which way I turned, moved, I needed 2 more feet of room?? The boom or a line or winch were moving @ alway under toe or against my head, ( Is the mast sinking into the boat? Is this wat happens at dark? The boat dissappears??!! You know when your in a forest and tree falls................
Went down below to crash and everything seemed to be in my way?
I had packed things away when I put her in the water in May and always seem to have room to move @ about before?
Did I take the wrong boat? Nope, this is mine, I'm pretty sure?
Was worried about the mooring (first time), so every few hours I wake, go on deck see if I was still where I thought. Yep we wern't in the next county, on the highway.
Morning came, first time using my propane stove I made up for her, made my coffee, sat on deck and devoured 2 muffins that needed to be punished.
"Life IS good"!
"OK vay-k is over, back to the real world".
I used the E-lectric motor to get back to the slip, (just couln't come to break the silence of the day with a gas motor, (although some guy was water sking at 7 AM and flying @).
All in all it was a perfect weekend.
But, now.................................
When is it time when you know you want to move up to a bigger boat?
Mine is a good day sailor, (althiugh my wife seems to be always in the way??), but if I had more room would I spend more nights on her? (I LIKE to include my wife in all this, I don't think we both would have made it work in the cabin that night)
Funny, when I look at her last fall I thought she had soooo much room we'd be able to take 6 people out in her?
Joe
Just when you think you'd found the "perfect boat" this happens!

 

[MSter]

Joe, welcome to sailing !
A good broker I once dealt with told me to buy as much waterline as I could afford ! He was right as I soon found out, you quickly get accustomed to whatever you have .
Mster

 

[Stu Jackson]

Interesting observations. You're right: when you go from 16 to 22 it seems, at first, huge. When you go from 22 to 25 you double the volume. Then you start making real "how much bigger" decisions.

We also find "a place for everything and everything in its place" is very handy, but on a small boat you are always moving stuff around but ONLY when changing "modes", i.e., sailing vs. being at anchor/moored and at the dock.

As the boat gets bigger, you end up having to move stuff a lot less.

 

[justsomeguy]

And the bigger you go, the more junk you can fit.

 

[Dunham]

Call us crazy but we are new sailors and we jumped into a 33 right away! We always heard that you quickly like to get a bigger boat. So we thought 33 was the right size. Most people at our marina think we are nuts for going for a 33 when we are so new to us, but it's worked out so far

 

[All U Get]

Hi Joe,
We took a big jump in size and feel right at home. Once we get it all fixed up we're off on a cruise that we've dreamed about for years. Keep at it.
All U Get

 

[joes new addiction]

Yeah, My wife give me THOSE looks when I told her about it,( cuz I'm know for this, fix up an old truck drive it and sell it. Buy a motorcycle, drive it 1/2 season sell it for another, so this isn't new to me).
Forget the fact that I spent EVERY free hour all winter refitting this boat and trailer, (that's 1/2 the fun of owning a old boat)!
What I bouncing @ is.....
Bigger boat, chance are more weight, towing, need more wind to sail her, less room between docks when glide her in.
There is something now I don't like (but don't mind) on this design I will take into my next boat, (if I get one)
If she was a 25'...................................
Joe
I'm the kinda guy who when you need a "left handed, fangle widget wrench", I have it on board!

 

[tkanzler]

The difference between a trailer boat, even my Mac 26X, and a keelboat is more than just huge. Full standing room below decks, full galley (with gimballed gas range), pressurized running water (even in the head), stowage room for everything, with everything in its place, and so on. Long weekends away were a real pleasure. Some of the very best times in my life include being up with the sun at a distant port, with a steaming cup of joe made in a percolator, enjoying the peace and quiet. By myself.


Cobourg, Ontario at sunrise. Probably the single best trip I ever took on a boat.

It's tough moving down to a trailer boat after having a large boat or two. :cry: Of course, it's nice being able to go places with it that my dock queen couldn't go, either without a huge commitment in time and/or effort, or at all (no canals to most of the Finger Lakes). It's also nice having my kids actually want to go boating, now that they can get pulled at some speed on a wakeboard. :dance:

Everything is a tradeoff.

 

[mark_swart]

Joe -- I've been there too brother! What you have is called three-foot-itis. I have been battling this disease for a decade, and in my case it has caused me to go both up and back down in boat size (16-23-27-30-26-34-28-27). It can be a nasty disease and I think the following considerations might help you:
- It sounds like you like singlehanding. Don't buy more boat than you are comfortable singlehanding yourself.
- You are married. As you go up in size you are going to get better bunks and an actual head, which your wife will appreciate.
- For me, headroom is a big deal. Once you get used to being able to stand up in a boat, it's hard to go back. For headroom, you are in the 25-27 foot range. I love my 27 because it's big enough to stay on, has headroom and a real head, and is still very fun and responsive to sail. I singlehand all the time and it's an easy size to just jump on and go.
- I read a book once that said "never spend so much on a boat that you feel bad if you don't use it." Sage advice and it's easy to lose site of that as you move up the ladder and see how many more bells and whistles just a little more $$ will get you.
- The good thing is that there are a ton of good old boats out there waiting to be fixed up, as well as affordable ones that are ready to use.

 

[Bad Obsession]

If the boat is set up properly, it isn't that hard to single hand it. I single hand my Catalina 30 all of the time with no issues. I confidently say I could handle a 38 foot boat easily.

If you want to remain a trailer sailor, you want the more room, and you want a bigger boat feel then you may look at some of the water ballast models like the Catalina 250 or Hunter 260. If you are ready to go to a non-trailer sailor then start looking at boats like a Catalina 27 or a Catalina 30.

The Catalina 30 is a popular boat and there are tons of them around. They are a HUGE 30 foot boat.

There are a lot of other good boats out there. Look around at www.yachtworld.com and check around to see what is for sale around you. Then go out and look at the boats. You may not even be in the market, but they will give you an idea on what you can get.

 

[MSter]

Joe,
Let me suggest you look into a charter, even a 3 or 4 day one. take a 32 - 34' to see how comfortable they are and also how easily handled.
Your wife will thank you !
Mster

 

[Bob J.]

What you have is called three-foot-itis. I have been battling this disease for a decade,

I also see a severe case of boat itis on the horizon.

 

[dlandersson]

Nice point about trade-off's.

My Mac 26X is a trade-off between cost, carrying capacity (up to 6) and capability (ok sailing (daysailing/coastal) and ok powerboating/tubing, et.)

It's a nice family-focused compromise.

 

[zeehag]

i have owned many sizes and kinds of boat---but i HAD to go bigger when every time i fed bubba in my 35 i stepped on him---was just too big a gato for a 35 ft5 boat--so i got formosa 41 and rarely ever step on bubba--he is happy gato--all skinny 15 pounds of him--

 

[BobM]

I guess you have decided...

I googled for a photo of your boat...and got your boat...exactly...listed for sale three days ago.

I just posted the other day that if I had to buy a 25 footer I would look hard at the O'day 25. Keel centerboard gives you shallow draft and depth for performance when you need it. The O'day 25 has more room than most boats of similar size. The price is usually quite attractive. Some have really nasty red Formica interiors...yech.

If you have a slip bigger is better as long as you can afford the bills.

 

[mark_swart]

I like the O'Days a lot too - nice construction and features (like the little cooler built into the cockpit). The 26 was almost identical to the 25, but with a hair more headroom and a sleeker design -- they were made from 84-86. Loved my 26 but gave in to 'three-foot-itis'....

I googled for a photo of your boat...and got your boat...exactly...listed for sale three days ago.

I just posted the other day that if I had to buy a 25 footer I would look hard at the O'day 25. Keel centerboard gives you shallow draft and depth for performance when you need it. The O'day 25 has more room than most boats of similar size. The price is usually quite attractive. Some have really nasty red Formica interiors...yech.

If you have a slip bigger is better as long as you can afford the bills.

 

[bria46]

The day you buy your Boat.

 

[JVB]

A bigger boat is more work. It takes more revolutions of the winch handle to raise a sail or anchor. It takes longer to put a big sail away, wash a big deck, paint a big bottom, etc. So unless you can really enjoy the extra space or extra seaworthiness ....

I lived across the street from a Galveston Bay, TX marina years ago. I noticed that the bigger the boat the less often it left its slip. Maybe the biggies were just too much trouble or maybe the owners were too busy making the money needed to afford the boat.

 

[BobM]

When do you wish you had a smaller boat?

When you get the bill for your slip

When you get the bill for your winter storage

When you get your maintenance bills

When you paint the bottom

When you mail your monthly boat payment

 

[finding41]

We are new to sailing and love camping. Our tent is11' x 13' with standing headroom. Our first sailboat a MacGregor 26D. They are about equal in size inside. Lots of room for stuff thats going to slide around when you heel. Standing headroom while top is up. Works for us.