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How important is 6 feet?

6K views 44 replies 23 participants last post by  sailordave 
#1 ·
My wife and I have been shopping and I have been trying to keep potential boat around 40 feet. My wife has taken a liking to a 46 footer. I like the idea of the extra space but worry that it isn't enough to justify all of the added expenses.

what are the pros and cons of having the extra length?
 
#27 ·
Don't. You should worry about maneuvering with the bow thruster. First, it is yet one more thing to pay attention to, especially with a joystick; foot buttons are only marginally better. Second they are simply not powerful enough to really help when conditions are heavy. In my experience a capable boat handler is better served focusing on main engine and rudder.

I don't like the added drag while sailing, the impact on storage, the added maintenance, and in many installations the black dust from motor brushes.

Lots of people don't agree with me. Of course lots of people bought Pintos and Pacers. *grin*

My wife and I have been shopping and I have been trying to keep potential boat around 40 feet. My wife has taken a liking to a 46 footer. I like the idea of the extra space but worry that it isn't enough to justify all of the added expenses.

what are the pros and cons of having the extra length?
Bob Perry's point about space is the biggest impact. In addition to added length you have added beam and usually added headroom and even more added depth (not draft, depth). That means more storage under the floor boards.

As others have noted maintenance and repair costs go up. So do forces.

The note about slip costs was correct but incomplete. Even more important is availability. A lot of marinas have very limited space for larger boats. The bigger the boat the fewer the choices and the greater the cost.

Make sure to consider water and air draft. Depending on where you sail it could be an issue.
Absolutely. Don't lose sight of this. One of the nice things about ketches is that generally the air draft is less.

Yes, she likes the looks of that Morgan. We have not done anything toward buying it.
I am a towboat captain, running up and down the inland waters of the United States. I run a 78 foot, 3000 horsepower Z-drive pushing 900 feet of barges. I have a pretty good handle on big power boats. Sailing a 46' boat? That's a daunting thought.
You'll do fine. Your boat and barges are just big sailboats with no control over windage. A few more controls, a lot more control.
 
#4 ·
Your wife is saying, bigger is better. Since it sounds like it's an option, I would do it. If one of you really doesn't like your boat, you won't get to enjoy it.

It would be interesting to hear what boat she likes and what you both plan to do with it. Size alone does not dictate space, maneuverability or maintenance cost (other than per ft slip, etc, costs)
 
#5 ·
Since you are asking I am guessing this is your first boat, but difference between a 40 foot and 46 footer is likely going to be quite a lot assuming comparable type of boat. Likely close to double the cost to maintain but hard to say since you don't name what kind of boats you are looking at. Check out what your slip fees are, in your area given size. there are often jumps in price per foot at certain lengths, so it may well be that it is not only more feet, but more per foot for each of those feet as 40 foot is a common size for a slip, so you may have to pay for a 50 foot or even 60 foot slip in some marinas. At my marina it is 33 to 45 foot boat is 112 a foot and 46+ is 117 a foot for the summer. not a big jump but some places it may be much bigger jump. So $4480 a season vs $5382 season. Sails will be bigger and need to be of heavier cloth, rigging is longer and possibly heaver, and so on and so on....
 
#6 ·
It's very rare to meet a boater who wished they had bought a smaller boat.
My first first, non lake boat, was 45 feet. It sure looked big at first, sure got small fast. Now I have a 55 foot boat, goes faster, carries more fuel, longer range, more water, handles seas better, systems are easier to work on.
Sure it cost more to keep, buy not as much a one would think, it still has only one engine, generator, water maker etc. Sure the sails, winches and running rigging cost more, but I don't buy those thing often.
 
#8 ·
Interior volume will increase proportional to the cube of the length. So, 6 feet of additional LOA buys you a lot of volume.

Around Alone days-94-95-96.
Day-94'
24hr.Run-147 NM. Pos. Lat.46*16'S Long.71*3'E. Weather=Bar=1002mb. Wind=W 8-25kts.Seas=8-12ft.W. Cabin Temp=46*49*.
Day95.
24hr.Run=153NM.Pos. Lat.46*46'S. Long.75*04'E. Weather=Bar=994mb. Wind=20-30kts.NW. Seas=8-15ft. Cabin Temp=46*49* Day-96.
24hr.Run=143NM. Pos.Lat.46*51'S. Long.77*41'E.
Total Miles sailed so far=12,820 NM.Weather=Bar=990mb.Wind=W50-65Kts. Seas=20-40+ft.
Miles sailed last three days=433 NM.
Miles left to go to Cape Leeuwin=1,500 NM.
Top speed so far=New Record=14.1kts
The Rest of the story.
Day-94;
Today we find Sailors Run sailing over the top of the Island Kerguelin, some 130NM to the south of us. Kerguelen is a French Possession and geographically a very interesting Island, because of all the amazing amount of waterways and anchorages all around it. The Island is very large some 70 miles by 60 miles, making it much larger than Hawaii. It is volcanic and popped up out of the ocean35-million years ago, shortly before I got my first boat. The Island has a very harsh environment, with snow and glaciers as well as winds that are clocked at 105-kts regularly every year. Mostly scientists and a few tourists visit each year.
The sailing has been good the last three days but another low will arrive tomorrow. Also the cargo ship Tokyo Bunker passed 18 miles north of me on this day bound for Australia.
Day-95.
Today A gale approaches and I drop the main out and hoist a double reefed mizzen and run the stay sail and we are now sailing pretty well in 30kts.
I replaced a chafed line on the wind vane and when I went to use the electronic auto pilot it doesn't want to work, it appears that it is jammed and kicks its breaker like it does when it is hard over and can't steer. I will have Debbie call on this one and see what she can find out.
Later in the day I popped my last popcorn and enjoyed it very much. I was kicking myself for not bringing more as my crackers are also almost gone. Then I decided to take one more look in the popcorn locker and there at the very bottom I discovered 5- more bags 'Yahoo'!!
AS evening came on so did the storm and this is much worse than predicted. I got soaked getting the mizzen down and the stay sail so I could run under bear poles.
Day-96.
The storm rages on and it is sustained 50+knots and gusting 65-knots. I have gone to the drogue as I was hitting 9kts, bear poles. The drogue a 6 ft. delta slowed the boat to about 3-4kts and made thing seem a little more under control. One large breaking wave took away my man overboard poll; fortunately I have no name on it. Another breaking wave tore one of the struts off the solar panels so I improvise another one out of schedule-40-PVC.
This is by far the worst storm I have encountered at sea, the waves are getting monstrous at 40+ft. and the wind is screeching and howling and I pray it will let up soon. I see a slight rise in the barometer and pray it keeps moving up.
Hanging in there in the "Big One" The Jeffe'
 
#11 · (Edited)
To me a 46' boat is the perfect size for a couple. Good living space, space for guests etc etc. Sailing it isn't really much different than a 40' boat (except to those sailing 30' boats). Yes there are more costs involved, but it is bull the amount people throw around (that's also the story the 30' boat owners use). I used to have a 39' boat and the one I have now is classified as 44' by marinas etc. and since I actually keep track of my boat expensive it looks to have cost me about $200/yr more than the 39' boat did. In other words if you can afford a 40' boat you can afford a 46' and you are going to be a lot happier!
 
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#18 ·
....My concern was the cost of the added length, thats why I waited before mentioning the boat.
But, it's really not just about length. A 46ft boat, from a solid builder, taken care of, life limited components replaced and in good condition, will be much less expensive than a 40ft boat in bad condition or with known defects.

Research.

Generally, I say get the bigger boat, but it sounds like your wife just likes that boat, not necessarily bigger. If so, google it up.
 
#17 ·
We bought a Catalina 34. Had it about a year and then my wife said she LOVED the Catalina 400. Oh. It turns out that she OKed the purchase of the 34 because she loves me, not because she loved it. So we sold the 34, and bought a 400. Happy wife … happy live.

edit: the Catalina 34 is a GREAT boat. So is the 400.
 
#22 ·
You can handle a larger boat the same as a smaller boat. With the larger boat you have to think through your maneuvers and know your exit strategy. As you build the skill set the different in size does not matter. Careful this applies to the person handling the boat and the crew. I would suggest chartering a 46 footer similar to what you are considering with a good skipper/instructor and see how you and your wife like it.
I sail a 70 footer and endorse the bigger is better. Handles the weather with ease but with the trade off of all forces being greater. Experience counts as Bob relates as he sails in a storm that we all try to avoid.
Enjoy
 
#24 ·
Now she likes a boat of that size go check out other boats of a similar size too. There maybe another option.

It takes about 10 seconds to learn how to sail and maneuver a bigger boat. Let it not daunt you!
I got scared moving up from an 8 foot skiff to a 10 foot sailing dinghy. Just imagine if I didn't have the courage to go that. My sailing would have stopped at 12 years old :)

Mark
 
#25 ·
Yes, she likes the looks of that Morgan. We have not done anything toward buying it.
I am a towboat captain, running up and down the inland waters of the United States. I run a 78 foot, 3000 horsepower Z-drive pushing 900 feet of barges. I have a pretty good handle on big power boats. Sailing a 46' boat? That's a daunting thought.
 
#26 · (Edited by Moderator)
Sailing a 46' boat? That's a daunting thought.
Funny that for a lot of people the sailing of a 46' boat isn't what they are worried about (because they are sailors), it's the motoring and related maneuvers that worry them.
 
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#29 ·
I have slightly modified BobPerry 's formula

.5% = the number of married women who will up and buy a sailboat big enough to live on and go cruising divided by 99.5% of women who wish their husbands sold the damn boat, stopped dreaming and took a little more interest in shopping malls and home repair. Take that number, multiply times what they told you your IQ was in high school. Add 4. Take the sum to any convenience store and buy as many power ball tickets as you can. The odds of winning the jackpot will be roughly the same as finding another women who wants a bigger boat to cruise the Caribbean.
 
#35 ·
Lot's of women love the idea of sailing. The may yearn for it. It's the reality that bites :)

I know, that's a sweeping generalization :) My post was in jest, sort of, until you count the number of single guys looking for someone who would cash it all in and head N, S, E or W.

I suppose if you found that girl than it seems easy enough. But if you haven't than it seem daunting, maybe impossible.
 
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