[TrishLambert]

You have some great observations. I think it''s great that you viewed this first boat as kind of a no-risk experiment. I was writing a piece yesterday about boat size how it relates to choosing a boat, and I tried to convey the idea that if someone is buying their first boat with the idea of cruising, it can be hard to know what size will suit--we become accustomed to the space we live in on land, and honestly don''t know if/how we will live in smaller quarters. At that point, a 45 foot boat sounds small!!! I think there needs to be a transition period, and, though I didn''t write out this recommendation in my booklet, between you and me I think the way you''ve done it is a good idea--buy a boat to "try out," which will give you a really good idea about space, size, and a bunch of other stuff you listed.

My personal preference after 3 boats and 3 cruises is to go toward the smaller end of the scale if possible. Priorities change when you are on a passage, and safety becomes paramount. Minimizing fatigue is important, and having a boat that tracks well and is easily trimmed and maneuverable are some of the things that will help keep fatigue down. In our case, I am the weakest member of the crew, and our boat needed to be such that I could single hand her in to port safely if an emergency disabled my husband. I will admit, we didn''t intend to go quite so small (we have a Baba 30), but we fell in love with her--which is a whole other story! I lean toward the mid30s as a very manageable size, and cruising boats in that size range will have the stowage and tankage you need.

I laughed about the closet rod in the head! I was doing the Corporate Barbie thing when we lived in San Diego...in that case we had a VW van with a closet rod. Every morning I would go to the van to get my clothes before heading to the shower room!!! My land lubber friends were always amazed at the things we liveaboards do!

And I empathize about the books...that IS one thing I miss as well....Skip, my husband, has a policy that whenever we are going to stop somewhere for any length of time, he seeks out the library and, if possible, gets a card. Not only do we have a great choice of books and movies, but it''s easy on the cruising pocket book!

Best of luck with your adventure...I''ll be on the look out to see what boat you finally take off on!

Regards,

Trish Lambert
www.takehersailing.com
trish@takehersailing.com