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Top 10 Sailboats Easiest & Best to Single Hand

211K views 65 replies 43 participants last post by  boss 
#1 ·
Hello Sailor's
There are some great sailors on this site. In your opinion. What sailboats would you consider to fall into a top 10 category for easiest and best to single hand sail in a coastal environment. This would also include the possibly of living aboard? ( length 30 to 38 foot ) Use Up and Down the East Coast, Bahamas
Thanks
Diceman
 
#2 ·
Top 10 Sailboats Easiest & Best to Single Hand

Have to look at the Freedom sailboats for ease of handling and roominess. Have a 38 that we just love. Very stiff. Don't look at reefing until 24+ knots.
 
#3 ·
In this size range you have two real options. The first is a cat rigged boat like the nunsuch, everything else you just have to set the boat up to do it. No boat out of the factory is set for single handed sailing.

To be honest the only boat I know of in the 40ish foot range that was designed to be singlehanded is the Open 40, and they are NOT the boat for a beginner.
 
#25 ·
In this size range you have two real options. The first is a cat rigged boat like the nunsuch, everything else you just have to set the boat up to do it. No boat out of the factory is set for single handed sailing.
catrigged are very nice for singlehanded. Only one sail to worry about. If you were looking for a sloop, I would suggest something with a self tending jib

most any boat can be set up for singlehanding.
 
#6 ·
I don't know what you mean in that last post? You want us to put down what we think are the top ten? Very few have sailed on ten different boats solo so how the hell would they know? You will just get drivel.

Beneteau 393 I have done about 15,000 miles solo and I prefer to handle her myself.
I would prefer best as solo Jeanneau 54
Beneteau 54
Beneteau 50
Jeanneau 49
Beneteau 473 47 footer....
Beneteau 46
Beneteau 423

In that order. But if money was no object I would solo an Oyster 57, but I would have a cleaning crew at each port!

Basically, get the biggest boat you can. And only buy a "proper" boat, a modern, production boat, cheap, reliable, roomy etc.
 
#38 ·
......I would prefer best as solo Jeanneau 54......
Just seeing this old post for the first time. I'm inspired.... :)

Actually, while I've never actually been alone aboard at sea, I've often been in the cockpit singlehanding her. Primaries are easily accessible from the helm. The AP auto-tack, actually works very well. Offshore, she's a breeze. We each took single watches overnight this past summer.

Ironically, even when my wife is in the cockpit helping, if anything goes wrong, I'm all but singlehanding anyway. She would admit, she become a set of eyes. I put the boat on Auto and go fix the problem. She monitors and watches for traffic. Indeed, she is more capable than that, but it's what happens when she gives up.
 
#7 ·
Thanks Stumble & RonRelyea MarkofSeaLife

MarkofSeaLife- Your right I should not have put the 10 in the post. Just should have said "What boat do you think would work the best for---".

I have thought about staying in the 32 to 34 foot range. I do like the roominess of the Morgan 382. Draft I'm sure is a issue to be concerned about. I have a wife that will be going most of the time but not helping much in the sailing department except at the helm a little.
I did take some lengthily sail lessons out of Maryland (not the 4 day deal) Up and including ASA 105 over the past two years and spend some time on Chesapeake Bay 30 to 46 foot boats. This by any means does not classify me as a sailor. Far from it. If I had not spent the money and taken the time to try to learn the right way to go at sailing I would have found my self in big trouble. Not to say I will not encounter lots of problems just that I will be better prepared for them now.
My asking for suggestion's on a boat came along because there are so many boat's to choose for sailing. All have a job to do just that some do a better job then others at a certain thing. I thought this site with it's long list of season sailors could offer some great advise on what boat's would work best. No need to reinvent the wheel.
Thanks
Diceman
 
#9 · (Edited)
If you really plan on single-handing in coastal conditions, I would suggest that you look for moderate to light displacement for the length boat since they have more easily driven hulls that can get by with less sail area. I also recommend a fractionally rigged sloop since the have smaller headsails and so are easier to tack and trim shorthanded, although they are scarer in that size range. Most Fracs also have enough rig flex that you can avoid reefing or sail changes across a wider range of conditions.

I would suggest something like a J-34c, Express 34, or a Farr 1020 (I routinely single-hand the 38 foot version of this boat). All are pretty handy to sail since they are easily driven hulls and can sail with minimally overlapping headsails, without giving up sailing ability.

Jeff
 
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#10 ·
Hmmm interesting question.

Easiest will be small but 'BEST' ? may be quite large.

I am a full time liveaboard and single hand about 50% of the time in fairly coastal conditions although the passage I am doing tomorrow is one of the rougher ones St Vincent up to St Lucia with a known acceleration zone and rough sea spot to the north of St Vincent.

My boat is a fairly light 44ft cutter with roller furling on the headsail only. I would say that having a roller furler on the staysail as well would make things easier and as I get older [ 65 now ] I might add this. I have slab reefing on the main and would not change this. Mainsail hoist and reefing lines are not lead aft.

With good forecasting I rarely need to reef on passage and the strongest conditions I would choose to sail in require that I use the first reef on the main and staysail only. 30 knots gusting 35.

When conditions are rough and seas are short [ the dreaded Caribbean two step ] my old lady maintains way much better than a 32 footer. So maybe this is best?

BTW she is a New Bombay Trading Company Explorer 44 and very definitely NOT FOR SALE OR HIRE.
 
#14 ·
posted by MarkofSeaLife :"Very few have sailed on ten different boats solo so how the hell would they know? You will just get drivel."

he has a point, but even with this in mind, many sailors know what it takes to single hand even though they have limited experience on many different boats. Take my Tartan 37 for example, I single hand it often and know what it takes. It really is set up fairly well, although one point of contention is that you have to leave the helm to adjust the main at the companionway. Not bad if you have a decent autopilot or if you lock the helm down for a moment but it would be nicer to be able to reach it from the helm. Otherwise, I would say not a problem. The draft is sweet at 4'-2" (centerboard model) and stable enough to take offshore (48% ballast/disp) 272 disp/length ratio, 16.1 sail area/disp.
 
#15 ·
I would have a good look at Nonsuch. For one person a 30 is more than adequate. Because of the beam it has the attributes of a much larger boat. There are two interior arrangements that are very different - Classic and Ultra. The latter are typically more expensive.
 
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#17 ·
To echo what others have mentioned, "easiest and best" I believe come with experience and familiarity, regardless of the boat. I am pretty comfortable single handing my own boat. But stepping aboard the exact same make and model boat, yet setup differently for the skipper's preferences, I am flat out lost.

This statement will likely draw scorn but, for older boats (like mine) that still have all the halyards at the mast, I've come to the conclusion that an autopilot will be easier to fit and more useful for singlehanding than retrofitting the onslaught of deck organizers, blocks, stoppers, and cabin top winches to run everything aft to the cockpit. I've made the decision to stick with hank on sails and keep a modest inventory to change the headsails to conditions as I sail mostly on the bay. Your preferences for furling or non-furling and local waters will dictate how the boat is rigged. I'm definitely in the "less is more" category, which seems to be against modern thinking.

cheers,
-Ike

s/v Skol
Berkeley, CA
 
#18 ·
Agreed that for your two stated criteria the Nonsuch is way ahead. It has much more beam (and carries that beam far forward) than marconi rigs. If you haven't been below on one, you'll be impressed with the room. It does feel like a house. It is also set up for easy sail handling right out of the box. Short tacking up a channel? No headsail, no problems!

If you go with a marconi rig I'd say that what you are looking for is what Jeff H suggested. The lighter the boat, the less sail area you need to handle and the lighter and easier those sails are to handle. So you want something lightweight.

You probably also want roller furling headsail(s) and a roller furling main. The furling mains have some disadvantages, but for single handing, they can't be beat. Easy to put away, hoist or reef. Lines should obviously be led aft and as many as possible should be within reach of the helm(s). You'll want an autopilot and/or tiller lock and you might also want a saysail boom for your headsail so you don't have to mess with it when tacking or jybing.

Island Packets are famous for always having staysail booms....

MedSailor
 
#22 ·
Your question is a lot more like "How long is a piece of string?" than you probably realize. I'll let others chime in with more nuanced answers, but to answer your question directly, I'd say 1-3 years if you were FULL TIME dedicated to it, and 3-7 as a part time proposition depending on your effort and study, 6-15 as a background thing that you didn't devote a lot of time to, but did devote some.

BTW I'm assuming that you mean singlehanded since that's the title of this thread. Cut the times by 30-50% if you are taking COMPETENT crew with you.

Medsailor
 
#24 ·
When it comes to single handed operation, everybody seems to be talking about boat size and rigging. Single handed operation on open water is possible on nearly any size boat in open water, but if you want to single hand docking then you should look to some other factors:
  • Amount of freeboard
  • Keel configuration - as it impacts turning and sideslip
  • Propellor. Some give miserable reverse, others have good thrust in reverse

Essentially you want the boat to be strongly influenced by steering and engine (fwd and reverse), and less influenced by cross winds. Full keel does not want to turn and wing keel doesn't mind going sideways. Fin keel, low freeboard, and Maxprop or similar will keep you in control. Bow thruster is possible, but not needed unless other factors are working against you.

GJ
 
#27 ·
I would have to give a nod to Greg's recommendation along with several others. Nansuch. Of all the boats I have delivered a 32 & a 36 they were like sailing a dingy. Only used a wench handle for the last 1' of the main halyard, adjusting the boom for draft. 98% of the time the main sheet was pulled by hand and if needed the mainsheet wench could be reached while holding on the wheel. I just couldn't get over that massive tree just aft of the bow. Freedom might be similar.

climbing down the lazaret you could walk around the engine. Huge area, would hold almost as much stuff as my garage.

Drawbacks they seem to hold there value and can be pricey.
 
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