Sailing on bigger boats

[BlueWaterMD]

I have had my boat for a few months now, and it has been great. My fiancee and I get out 1-2 times per week and are both absolutely loving it. Our 23' is perfect for the type of sailing we do. We are becoming very comfortable sailing it.

We are getting married in about a year, and were talking about a bareboat charter (probably BVI or Bahamas) for the honeymoon. I have been around the water all my life, and navigation and seamanship aren't really issues. The problem is that I have not sailed anything bigger than 25' or so. The smallest charter boat I have seen is 32' with most around 35'. If I am competent on the mid 20's boat, is it reasonable to charter a mid 30's boat without prior experience on boats that size, or is that too big of a jump? How much of a difference is this when it comes to handling the boat?

[xort]

I went from a 26' express cruiser stinkpot to a 42' CC sailboat. No lessons. This ain't brain surgery. But I did bend the bow pulpit a bit the first time I docked!!! The sailing is easy, it's getting used to maneuvering in close quarters that gets the pucker power into gear

[Giulietta]

Bigger boats are easier to handle, up to 50 feet

[sailortjk1]

Once you sail the 35 footer you will be coming home and searching yacht world for a new boat.
Sailing is sailing. For me the biggest differnece is that things take a little longer to happen. It takes a little longer to do everything. Plan accordingly and you'll be fine.

[MSN2Travelers]

We own a 26, ASA certified on a 36 and I find the sailing part easy. Like xort, I find maneuvering in close quarters to be an area of concern.

I have been on a mooring or in a slip and I lack confidence with anchoring. We are thinking about doing one of those flotilla charters in an attempt at staying out of trouble each night.

[xort]

anchoring is easy if you have the right equipment, nightmare if you don't.
what issues were you having?

[Omatako]

Riding a big bicycle is the same as riding a small bicycle.

Sailing is about the same.

[Valiente]

Originally Posted by Giulietta

Bigger boats are easier to handle, up to 50 feet

I agree. I started at 33 and went to 41 feet and have docked 45 feet. The only caveat is that you might want to see how far the boat coasts in neutral, and how easily it stops and how tight a turn you can make. Inertia has surprised many a sailor.

But this is my advice with any boat, really. Even throwing a plastic jug in the water and going at it like it's a sea wall will tell you a lot about how the boat handles under power.

[BlueWaterMD]

Thanks for the advice everyone! It was very helpful.

[Sailormon6]

If your 23 footer has an outboard motor, you won't be able to get a bigger, inboard powered boat with a fixed prop in and out of a slip without learning how to maneuver an inboard boat under power. You can turn an outboard motor and direct it's thrust, and that makes it easy to learn to use, but, you can't do that with a fixed prop inboard.

I've chartered many times, and, when the company was checking me out, I've never had a charter company ask me to demonstrate my sailing competence. What they want to know is whether you can maneuver the boat around the docks, because that's where any damage is most likely to happen. You should at least be able to rotate a fixed prop inboard boat in close quarters, and you should be able to get it in and out of a slip. If you can't demonstrate the ability to do so, I seriously doubt that the charter company will let you take the boat on your own, without a hired captain. Needless to say, a hired captain on board might put a damper on honeymoon activities. Considering the importance of the occasion of your honeymoon and your inexperience in handling a fixed prop inboard boat, I would suggest you learn how to maneuver such a boat under power before you charter one. Operating an inboard boat isn't something you can easily teach yourself.

Chapman's book on Seamanship has a section that explains how to do it. Read it, and if you understand it, and think you can do it successfully the first time without practice, go for it. Most people find it helpful to have someone demonstrate how to maneuver such a boat. I'm not so confident that you can do it. Most people can't do it. Some people have operated boats for years and still aren't very proficient at it.

If, however, your 23 footer is inboard powered, and if you can maneuver it reasonably proficiently under power, then the larger size of the charter boat shouldn't be a particular concern. Just take it slow and easy around the docks.