How much longer (or shorter) is your next boat going to be?

[CarbonSink62]

Since my current boat is 18 feet, it seems like up is the only way to go. I love my Capri 18 and was looking at the Catalina 22 but then the Compac 23 came back into my radar and I'm looking seriously at that. I'm committed to a rented mooring and a trailer boat; it is the cheapest way to get on the water and if money gets really tight I can skip a season and only pay for insurance (umm.. that hasn't happpened yet).

Catalina makes a good boat for a good price, but the Compac has a salty look that really appeals to me. The price on the Compacs isn't too bad either.

I intend to sail the 18 for 3 more years and then move up. I'd like to develop my skills more on a smaller boat.

[newhaul]

actually the biggest problem with the 24 i have now is lack of headroom in the head.
therefore i need at least 27 ft length for standing headroom may as well go for 30 ft and be done with it.

[bljones]

How about wider? Does wider count?

[redhead78]

I think in the near future I would like to go down from 38' to like 34', with a shallow draft, it would have to be beamy though, easier to sail by myself......Red

[MedSailor]

My next boat will likely be approximately the same length, but will definitely WEIGH less. My boat is 41feet, but weighs as much as some 50' boats. That makes her gear as large, expensive, and as hard to handle as a 50' will all the interior and waterline benefits of a 41'. Hmmm....

Of course I chose it that way, all of the negatives are in exchange for a rediculously overbuilt hull. Considering my last boat had the hull crack in a storm and try and sink on me, only to again have the hull fail in the yard I wanted an overbuilt hull. :-)

Next boat will weight less, as it won't be for offshore, but the current size is just fine.

Medsailor

[SailingJackson]

When this thread started I had just sold my 25' boat. I had that one 17 years.

I thought I would go boatless, but it turned out I couldn't take it. I broke down and got a 36' boat this spring. I wanted the biggest boat I could feel comfortable with w/o going to electric winches and bow thrusters. Bigger boats are nice, but the forces involved get really big quickly for a 58 year old guy trying to singlehand. 36' and 14,000 lbs has been just right.

GTJ

[wolfenzee]

Because I live on my boat and would have to sell my boat before I get another boat, the resulting paradox means I will have to keep what I have. So if I can't get a better boat, why not make this one better, which is what I am doing. I try to keep my fantasies from becoming too fantastic which is why I am not standing on the dock lusting after a 90' schooner, but am sitting in the cabin of my 30' cutter.

[billyruffn]

Bene,

Find me a buyer for BR and I'll downsize to a 30 ft stink pot in a heartbeat.
No raspberries, please.

P.S. Isn't this sorta like asking a guy what he's looking for in his next wife?

[jimmalkin]

An old thread but an interesting conversation and Dog has it right early in the thread, I think. My experience: 35 foot sloop prior to marriage. Towards the end of full time work: 50 cutter. Semi-retirement: 28 sloop. Why? I can hop on and throw up the sails and bash around by myself for several hours or several days. It takes four minutes to get underway. It is MUCH cheaper to maintain, it is simpler, there is less "stuff," projects are fun and appropriate for my level of competence and the size of sails, winches, rudder etc are manageable for an aging geezer.