Great Minds Choose Smaller Boats?

[sailingdog]

I've noticed that some people on this site seem to discount the idea that a smaller boat can be the ideal boat for a person. I guess it has a lot to do with what you got the boat for.

If you want a floating condo, with all the pleasures and conveniences of modern life, including the microwave oven, the big screen TV, and the washer and dryer, you can't do that on a smaller boat.

If you want to live aboard a boat and run a business from it, a larger boat may make sense. You need to have living space as well as office space. I know a man who runs a very successful company from an office on a 34' catamaran... where he lives and has his office.

However, if you want to sail to far away places, and live a life that is based around sailing, a smaller boat may make a lot more sense.

Look at what boats some very well respected sailboat designers chose. Many chose smaller boats for their personal sailing craft.

Capt. Nat Herreshoff designed for himself the 26' "Alerion III". When Capt. Nat was in his seventies and living in Florida, he sailed a 30' K/CB "Pleasure"

Joel White sailed a Bridges Point 24 named "Ellisha" after his grandaughter

Phil Rhodes sailed a wooden 25 footer named "Nixie"

Carl Alberg sailed a 26' Pearson Commander named after his wife "Alma"

Bob Perry sails a 26' Cirrus called "Perrywinkle"

Part of the problem with a lot of the mass media is that they are driven by advertising dollars...and the larger boats are where all the money is. Look at the pages of Blue Water Sailing, Cruising World, and those magazines, it would seem that you can't sail across an ocean in a boat smaller than 40' in length.

Part of the problem is that many people confuse cruising with chartering. Most long-term cruising sailors I know have tried to simplify their lives and have gotten out of the rat race, and the rat race's need to compete with the Joneses.

However, I believe you can go and do a lot of sailing, and even sail long distances in relatively small boats. In fact, this was in fact the norm until not too long ago.

Look at Tania Aebi, who sailed a Contessa 26, Donna Lange, who is in a Southern Cross 28, Pat Henry, who was in a Southern Cross 31, have all circumnavigated the globe... okay, Donna's not quite done yet, but she's in the home stretch... The Pardeys sailed aboard two different boats, Talesin was less than 30' LOD, and Serrafyn was less than 25' LOD. Webb Chiles circumnavigated four times, once in a Drascombe Lugger, but that's an extreme example IMHO.

John Vigor's book, 20 Small Sailboats to Take You Anywhere, lists boats all smaller than 35' LOA. Bigger isn't necessarily better... if your goal is to sail and cruise for as long as possible... then a smaller boat may make far more sense.

A smaller boat costs less to buy....leaving you more money for the cruising kitty.

A smaller boat costs less to maintain....making the money in the cruising kitty last longer.

A smaller boat often can go more places than a larger boat. Bigger boats don't gunkhole well.

The small boat is often easier to repair. The hardware needed on a smaller boat is often simpler and more reliable than that on a larger boat. A manual windlass is going to have fewer maintenance problems than an electric or hydraulic windlass; an electric winch is going to need more maintenance than a manual winch; the electrical system is often far simpler, and require less work to repair; stepping the mast often can be done without a crane, and so on.

[PBzeer]

While there is much to be said for "Go small, Go now", or even small boats in general, I think, that ultimately, you have to get the boat that speaks to you. There is a lot that goes into the equation though that in a sense, has nothing to do with boats, or their sailing ablilities.

[skrap1r0n]

since I am a complete newbie to this, I would like to chime in here...

I have a specific goal in mind. I waould like to take some time off, and cirgumnavigate specifically, spending a bit of time in/around austrailia, new zealand, and around Europe/med-north sea.

I am in no way experienced enough nor financially able to do this now, but my long range goal is 10 years. That gives me enough time to learn, get certifications and save for a boat and travelling expenses (I am hoping sattelite internet is more accessable so I can work on the trip)

At any rate, back to the topic, in todays market, I could pick up a used Beneteau 38' for around 60-80k $USD. Now anything larger than a 40, in my mind, would be too much. But I am currently in a Catalina 25 and it's rather cramped for extended periods of time. I am average height, 6'1" and I would like to be able to stand up straight inside. Also, keep in mynd that my girlfriend who by then could verry possiblly be my wife will come along.

I would also like to have some basic creature comforts, such as a tv/vcr/dvd system, and since I am a techie and earn my living online, I would like to have some basic computer abilities.

I live in a very humble setting now, I drive an old car, have a small place that costs me next to nothing. and I don't really have a lot of "stuff", but things that I do have, that I use frequently, I try to make as nice and comfortable as possible.

Anyway, the point is, while I understand that it can be done in a much smaller boat, realistically, for my needs, I am looking for a 36-40 footer.

[sailingdog]

That's very true John...

One friend of mine, a lifelong sailor, always hated multihulls... went out for sail on a sister ship to my boat, and is currently awaiting delivery of a trimaran... When he called me to tell me he ordered one earlier today, I thought he was playing an April Fool's joke on me.

Some people want a floating condo, with all the goodies of land-based life. i can understand that is what they want... Me, that isn't what I want. I go sailing to get away from the rat race... I'm hoping to sail from Buzzards Bay down to Norfolk, VA via the outside later this year. Unfortunately, the wind will probably be against me... since it tends to come out of the southwest along most of the coast... UGH... but I think it'll be an interesting trip.

[Kacper]

Look at Tania Aebi, who sailed a Contessa 26, Donna Lange, who is in a Southern Cross 28, Pat Henry, who was in a Southern Cross 31, have all circumnavigated the globe... okay, Donna's not quite done yet, but she's in the home stretch... The Pardeys sailed aboard two different boats, Talesin was less than 30' LOD, and Serrafyn was less than 25' LOD. Webb Chiles circumnavigated four times, once in a Drascombe Lugger, but that's an extreme example IMHO.

Look at Kacper, in a 32' Bayfield, heading out across the Pacific this August

[sailingdog]

Skrap-

Part of the problem you're going to run into is that most bluewater capable boats in the size range you're looking at aren't going to be all that spacious on the interior. I'm a techie too... and have to have some basic computer capabilities aboard my boat, but I don't see any need for the large screen TV and all that stuff. I don't see any point in carrying a DVD player, when my laptop is perfectly capable of doing all that.

If I were you, I'd be looking at the Elizabethan 33, Southern Cross 35, Hallberg Rassy Rasmus 35, or the Alberg 37 (which came in yawl and sloop rigs IIRC). These are boats that are probably in your price range, and fairly seaworthy.

[tenuki]

skrap1r0n, You can learn a lot on a that catalina 25, but I know what you mean about the headroom, heck I'm 5' 9" and they seem small to me. My boat is even worse but I don't plan on spending much time below. I know people who are still stuck on their big boats 'getting ready' to take off, but there is always some maintenance or upgrade that needs to get paid for first.

[Valiente]

I just went from a 33 footer to a 41 footer for the purposes of passagemaking. I couldn't see me, the wife and our son, who will be eight when we leave and maybe 13 when we return, on a boat that wasn't essentially "compartimentalized" into deck, aft cabin, pilothouse, saloon, and forepeak workshop, which, currently accessible only via a heavy steel deck hatch, would make a nice sulking place if needed. The up/down nature of the boat further sub-divides things into distinct "zones"...I'm not even counting the head.

This was very deliberate a consideration as we were boat hunting. We wanted a small by current standards saloon for safety reasons and we wanted sea berths in that saloon. We wanted a pilot berth, or at least a place to curl up, in the pilothouse if we needed "spelling" during a watch. And I needed a place for my books and to write, which meant a folding office table in the dark and quiet aft cabin. Wait until I put crash doors in...it will be hermetic...

All this is going to be, I hope, vindicated during long passages when we might want to get away from each other a bit. But I don't think it makes for a great Lake Ontario boat. For that reason, I am in essence leasing my old 33 footer to a friend for a number of years, because I want to have the option of selling the "expedition" boat when we return and going back to the stripped out cruiser. My larger-boat-owing friends can't believe I'd ever go back to a smaller boat...and 33 feet isn't small, but it's smaller than it used to be...but I think I want to at least keep that door open, as the strengths of the smaller boat for all the Great Lakes and even doing coasting in say Nova Scotia to Newfoundland are more practical than maintaining an ocean-ready passagemaker. It's like those miniature panel trucks the post office uses to drop bags off to the mailmen: they are just right for the job they do.

Besides, I really do prefer the tiller to the wheel. I guess it's like when you love a petite brunette and a tall blonde...why choose when you can love both?

[sailingdog]

Besides, I really do prefer the tiller to the wheel. I guess it's like when you love a petite brunette and a tall blonde...why choose when you can love both?

Because you have to pay docking fees, storage fees, and taxes on both...and I'd rather just pay them on the smaller boat.. besides, I've never really like tall blondes... married a petite raven-haired beauty... and I'm not Mormon...

[tenuki]

I'm not even going to make the comment about docking fees....