Cost of Maintanence: Does size really matter?

[wannabe4]

35' vs 40'
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Should I expect much of a difference in maintanence costs of the above size boats? I plan on living aboard for many years after retirement in a few years and my cruise will be open ended. I want to buy a 40' boat for space, comfort etc. but worry about the extra costs associated as compared to a smaller boat in the 35-37 foot range. If it amounted to only a few thousand a year I could absord that amount. Thoughts?

PS: This site is awesome and I really appreciate the help!

[PBzeer]

Everything will be proportionately larger on the 40 footer, plus an extra 5 feet of LOA for anything (haulouts, bottom paint, dockage, etc) that charges by the foot. A lot will depend on the condition of the boat at purchase.

I chose 32' because it has all the room I need (sure, I'd like more, but I don't need it), costs are cheaper and it's easier to handle.

[Ilenart]

Similar issues discussed.

http://www.sailnet.com/forums/boat-review-purchase-forum/40349-40-vs-45-maintenance-costs.html

[sailingdog]

Winches, sails, halyards, sheets, are all larger/longer, so more expensive to replace. Ground tackle is probably significantly larger/heavier. etc..

[danjarch]

The simple answer is YES, YES, YES. Every additoin foot cost extra.

[Maine Sail]

As others have said.... YES !!!!!

[chucklesR]

Not just in length, beam matters too (said the short catamaran owner).

[sailingdog]

I just looked up a previous post of mine, which had some paraphrasing from Beth Leonard, author of the Voyager's Handbook. Here it is:

One thing I'd mention is the passage from Beth Leonard, in her book the Voyager's Handbook, 2nd Edition. I'll paraphrase the passage, which was in the July/August 2007 Good Old Boat magazine:

Disadvantages of a larger boat:

Cost: Costs to maintain a boat roughly triple with every 10-foot increase in length. Initial expenditures for the boat, to purchase and outfit the boat, also tend to triple with a 10-foot increase in length.

Seamanship: A larger boat is more stable and considered by some to be "safer" than a smaller boat, however, a smaller boat can be more forgiving of mistakes made. A larger boat generates forces that aren't manageable without mechanical assistance, and mistakes can be deadly instead of being correctable.

Fitness: A bigger boat will often have bigger winches, but bigger winches and such will not help you move the larger anchor the larger boat requires, or help you flake or bend-on the larger, heavier sails a larger boat requires. The mechanical aids only go so far to helping manage a larger boat.

Reliance on Mechanical Aids: You generally have to rely on the mechanical assistance, in the form of larger winches, electric windlass, etc... and if those mechanical aids fail, you're in trouble.

Scale: On a bigger boat, everything is bigger. Lines are thicker, so to coil them you need larger hands. The boom is higher off the deck, so you have to be taller to reach it. The gear is larger and heavier, so you need to be stronger to manage it. Often, getting a larger boat means that the smaller crew members can have trouble doing things by themselves... and if the larger crewmember is injured... they're going to be in serious trouble.

Leonard goes on to say that starting out with the larger boat would have been a mistake. That the smaller boat was more forgiving and allowed them to learn from their mistake by helping them get out of trouble, where the larger boat would have made their mistakes worse.

Leonard also says that the boat should be limited by the strength and fitness of the regular crew. If the furler breaks, the crew still has to be able to drop the headsail, even in gale conditions, and stow it safely. If the windlass fails, the crew must still be able to retreive the storm anchor quickly. If this isn't the case, the larger boat becomes more of a danger and actual safety decreases with boat size.

I do highly recommend you get some serious experience in... working your way up to making a Pacific passage. While people who were relatively inexperienced have made such passages, their success has involved more than their fair share of luck IMHO.

Look at the differences that were demonstrated earlier this year. Ken Barnes had a 44' steel boat... and on his first major passage, he was forced to scuttle the boat and get picked up by a Chilean fishing boat. Donna Lange, a fifty-something grandmother, in a much smaller, but in many ways more seaworthy 28' boat, finished a circumnavigation. The storm system that caused Ken to abandon his boat was one that Donna also passed through as well. She was one of the people who responded to his Mayday call IIRC.

I hope this helps... I encourage you to pursue your dream of a trans Pacific crossing, but think that it needs to be tempered by a dose of reality.

[Faster]

Currently owning a 35 footer, and having downsized from 40, I can tell you that the costs are nearly exponentially higher. Three gals bottom paint vs two now, 120 foot halyards vs 90, 800 sq ft of sails vs 560 (at 100% foretriangle)

Everything is heavier, stronger, longer, more expensive. We were fortunate to be splitting expenses with partners on the 40 footer, and aside from moorage (we're in a much more costly moorage situation now) the annual expenses for our 35 footer are only a little more than the 1/2 share we paid for the 40.

[wannabe4]

Gentlemen, thanks for all the incredible responses!

Halekai36: Loved your CS 36T. Gorgeous boat! Is it suitable for blue water cruising?