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I could have gone for 45/46 feet, but stopped at 40 due to the physical limits of the co-captain, who, while strong and younger than me, is still a small woman.
But the full keel aspect allows for fairly vast stowage, while the pilothouse and large aft deck give the sense of separtion that (I hope) will allow us (me, my wife and my son) a degree of personal space that would be hard to find in a more contemporary design with just one big saloon leading into a V-berth, with an aft cabin beneath a "party" cockpit. So design and psychology had a role when shopping for seaworthiness and the usual technical concerns.
I found 40 feet was a minimum for a couple with a kid who will be 13 or 14 by the time we finish in five years. We need a certain amount of autonomy, and that means it isn't a party boat, but rather a snug and safe place that I hope will be, if not expansive, cozy and liveable. Having a forepeak "workshop" that is capable of true isolation will help: if my kid wants to go play video games or pound nails there, he'll have that solitude.
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