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30 footer too small?

12K views 46 replies 36 participants last post by  tdw 
#1 ·
l thought so
 
#28 ·
jeffls,

You'll do fine. in a while you will add a refridge system for the icebox, get a real marine head put in and you will be living large.

A porta potti and icebox will due just fine also. Even though I have a shower on board, I use the marina showers 99% of the time (keeps mine clean ;) )
 
#29 ·
Yeah a boat can be fixed up to be nice with a little bit of time, money, and effort. My old gal (1969 Morgan 34) is being renovated, hopeing in the next few months to ditch the 120 volt fridge and install a 12 volt icebox, gimbaled propane stove (still debating between a stove oven combo in propane, or just a 2 burned propane stove and build in a cabinet for a 120 volt convection oven/microwave since Im still in the working world) Counter space is always an issue if your gonna cook, Ive added a teak foldup leaf about 3ft by 1.5ft so I can actually lay out what Im working on... still havent installed a proper salon table yet... but hey she is a work in progress ;)
 
#31 ·
I just bought a 30 foot islander a couple of months ago and have been living on it for about a month. Its more of a weekender rather than a liveaboard but I don't have much stuff so it works out ok. The one thing I am noticing is there is a distinct lack of storage space for things like clothes and stuff that you just don't want laying around. I am compensating by putting things in plastic bins and they work as an ok substitute for drawers. I have found several leaks in the rain and my stuff is at least dry that way.

I am finding I do a lot of shifting things from berths to settees and then back while I am trying to do things. But if you keep things organized and tidy it goes pretty quick.

If you have anyone come to stay ask them to bring a smaller soft sided suitcase. In 30 feet a big hardsided suitcase takes up pretty much an entire settee.

I am trying to plan out how to attack the leaks, add some more storage space and clean up cosmetic issues so I don't have to do things twice.

I was kind of worried that the alcohol stove would not work very well but I am finding it works just fine and I have no problems with the heat output of it. It boils water quick enough and I have had no real problems with it. I thought for sure I would be replacing it but I am finding it quite functional. The oven does not work so I can't comment on it until I get the tubes cleaned out but it I am using it to store my dishes anyway so am not in a big hurry to get it working. :)
 
#32 · (Edited)
I don't think anyone ever has all the storage space they want, and whatever you do have, you'll fill with stuff at some point.

I've seen some good stroage ideas. Getting a fabric shoe rack to hang in the head seems like a good one. You can fit shirts and stuff in each of the "boxes". they are long bu narrow and easy to fit somewhere.

I saw one boat that had mesh storage areas everywhere. The most noticable was against the forward main-cabin bulkhead. There was a small metal frame that went from the cabin side, near the port lights inboard about 18" then curved up and attached to the cabin ceiling. There was mesh strung between the two metal rails one fore one aft. I'll see if I can find a picture of that.

They also had made some hanging pockets to go on the tables, both in the main cabin and in the cockpit. The cockpit had two drop leafs and the kept one up nad the other down. The one down had the pockets. Inside they did the same.

I found a few pictures:



More Ideas here:
Flickr: endeavor_64's Photostream
 
#33 ·
After living on a too-big 44' houseboat for a few years I figured out I didn't need most of that space and I'd rather have the freedom to go more places. 99% of my belowdecks time is spent at a desk, in a comfortable reading chair, in the galley or in bed. On a 20-footer those happen to all be the same place, but move a few cushions around and it works just as well. I could wish the head & shower were a little more convenient, but if they were I'd probably be wishing I could still float in a foot of water or pull it to a new cruising ground behind a car.

If I was going to have someone else aboard for more than the usual week or two at a time I'd probably look for a different (though not necessarily larger) arrangement that would let us get a bulkhead between us when needed.
 
#34 ·
Happened to notice this thread when I was coming onto the forum to ask for a bit of assistance. (See general questions regarding hyfield levers) Just had to put in a few cents worth. As some one mentioned here, Larry and I spent eleven years circumnavigating on board a 24'4"cutter (Seraffyn). We then spent much of the past 25 years voyaging extensively on board 29'6" Taleisin. Both boats were purpose built, very beamy engineless cutters. Some folks say Taleisin, has the living space of the average 33 footer. Were they big enough? - wouldn't have traded either for any boat we saw out there. But maybe the real question was, were they small enough. Small enough so I could sail either myself, small enough to maintain in top condition at an affordable price, small enough to easily fit into corners of marinas in crowded areas.

Just this year as we sailed through the Pacific we stopped in only two ports were there were other voyagers. During our short stays we met five couples on boats 32 feet and smaller. One couple who had just come in to a large sum of money and also were both close to six feet tall, wanted to trade up to something about 40 feet. The other couples were delighted with their boats, and extolled the advantages of the smaller size. All were out there crossing oceans, enjoying freedom sooner and at a fraction of the cost(both in cash and maintenance time) of the folks who waited until they could afford that 40 or 45 footer.

Lin Pardey
Sailing with Lin & Larry Pardey
 
#35 ·
I am shopping for a boat and really like the cape dorys and southern cross 31 and plan to liveaboard as well. I have seen and talked to so many who had bigger boats like 40ft and was tired of working all the time paying just to keep it tied to the dock and there very happy on there 31ft boats. I to wanted a 35 at first but then realized I don't need that, I would be just find on like a 31ft so that is what I'm shopping for. All you can do is go walk aboard these boats and decide for yourself. I asked the same questions when I first considerd this but the more and more I read I would rather something smaller and it's all I can afford anyway. I hope to after I buy my boat to save up and take off for a few years so around a 30ft is more of something I could afford.

Chris
 
#37 ·
Never mind dog and "the" wife overboard,if my husband had had anything remotely near YOUR attitude YOU would have been overboard and then the dog and I would have had a pretty good time.
On the serious side my point was,you do not need a big boat with all the fancy stuff to have a really great time.It all depends on your attitude.
 
#42 ·
Hynes—

I don't see what Keldee and Knothead said as any kind of attack, merely commentary on your rather obnoxious first post, which was a comment on one of Keldee's posts. Just because what Keldee chose to do doesn't suit you, doesn't make it right for you to cop an attitude.
 
#43 ·
Hynes,

I'm with SD, Keldee and Knothead on this one, YOU changed the topic with those ridiculous comments about dogs and women. I'm okay with irony and sarcasm, but that requires smileys.

Respectfully
JomsViking

Hynes-

I don't see what Keldee and Knothead said as any kind of attack, merely commentary on your rather obnoxious first post, which was a comment on one of Keldee's posts. Just because what Keldee chose to do doesn't suit you, doesn't make it right for you to cop an attitude.
 
#45 ·
I could live nicely on a 30 footer, and if alone, could be comfortable with a 22 footer. (But I've also lived out of a backpack for a months at a time.)
What you can live on depends entirely on what you consider indispensable equipment. My wife considers a television as indispensable, I may watch it two hours a month, (my record so far has been four hours one week on a mythbusters marathon) so for her I need to have room for a TV/dvd etc, and the required equipment to run it.

Make a list of what you NEED, determine what is needed to use what you need, and then figure out how much space is required for that and the required support equipment. (if you need a refrigerator, you need a power source large enough to run it, if you're happy with an icebox, you need one large enough to hold the food you need along with the ice required)
Another determining factor is how often you can re-supply, if you can restock every couple of days, you can get by with less storage space, if you can't re-supply for a week or two at a time, you need more room simply to store things.

So minimum size depends entirely on what you need.

Ken.
 
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