Monohull sailboat size for shorthanded cruising

[Sandero]

When I took my sabbatical as were and went off cruising (alone) I had to get rid of or store all my land stuff... including my architecture practice... drawings and models etc. What a pain in the ass.... So I crammed the boat to the gunwales.... and set off in November. Got rid of all the cold weather stuff... no need for socks or sweaters, or shoes... even cold weather foulies... I was headed for the tropics.

Once there I realized how little I needed... and the less I had the less I had to care for, clean and keep track of. I still can't find things (I need) stowed in the boat... and often... buy it again... because searching becomes a waste of time.

LESS IS MORE...

The older you get, if you manage to get wiser... the fewer things you want to have... because they are like a ball and chain around you... and you can't take them with you and someone else has to deal with (or fight over).

[Terra Nova]

Originally Posted by GlobalPlayer

...While I have no problem jumping the main halyard on a 34-footer, hoisting that main sail on a 48-footer is almost impossible without electric winches (or having a mast-furling main) unless it's perfectly calm...

When you have more sailing experience you will also have fewer misconceptions, such as this. You would already know that manual winches are perfectly capable of doing this job, with or without a Winch Buddy (cordless right angle drill).

30'-35' is a good, mean range for a single-handed live-aboard cruising boat with enough space, capacity and comfort for a crew of 1 or 2. A little outside that range is OK, depending on many factors you will learn about with experience.

[Sandero]

Originally Posted by Terra Nova

When you have more sailing experience you will also have fewer misconceptions, such as this. You would already know that manual winches are perfectly capable of doing this job, with or without a Winch Buddy (cordless right angle drill).

30'-35' is a good, mean range for a single-handed live-aboard cruising boat with enough space, capacity and comfort for a crew of 1 or 2. A little outside that range is OK, depending on many factors you will learn about with experience.

Roger that... You can get a mainsail up most of the way with brute strength and then use the mechanical advantage of winch... I use a cockpit genoa winch so I can steer and keep the boat head to wind... and get the sail up all the way. Manual winching is still "work"... unlike using a Millie.

I am curious what a single person with a 48 or 55' boat hauls around the world? This size boat would seem cavernous to me.

[Don C L]

A book I read once said "If you can't raise the anchor by yourself, your boat is too big." I thought that was a pretty good yard stick. Well that might be a bit extreme, but some of these boat sizes I see folks talking about, for single/short handed, is a bit mind boggling. Must be living right if you've never had trouble reefing or anchoring when mechanical, electrical or diesel advantage abandons you.

[stillbuilding]

Originally Posted by Don C L

A book I read once said "If you can't raise the anchor by yourself, your boat is too big." I thought that was a pretty good yard stick. Well that might be a bit extreme, but some of these boat sizes I see folks talking about, for single/short handed, is a bit mind boggling. Must be living right if you've never had trouble reefing or anchoring when mechanical, electrical or diesel advantage abandons you.

Presumably the author meant pulling up the anchor directly by hand from the foredeck.👍😃

I have had the misfortune to lose the windlass and managed to haul the 200lb Bruce from 50' depth using the primary manual winch. What a pain, so not a good criteria 😜😆


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[Stumble]

Originally Posted by Don C L

A book I read once said "If you can't raise the anchor by yourself, your boat is too big." I thought that was a pretty good yard stick. Well that might be a bit extreme, but some of these boat sizes I see folks talking about, for single/short handed, is a bit mind boggling. Must be living right if you've never had trouble reefing or anchoring when mechanical, electrical or diesel advantage abandons you.

If you can lift your anchor tackle by hand (without a winch) then you don't have enough chain. The sizing rule for an anchor windlass is that it should be able to lift the anchor, and all of the chain at the same time. Doing this with 300' of chain (of any size) and a tiny anchor is pretty much impossible.

If you can't lift your anchor chain with a winch then you need bigger winches not a smaller boat.

[Don C L]

well hopefully you are only lifting 30 or 40 feet of chain and a 20 lb anchor... even if 300 feet was out.

[TeddyDiver]

Originally Posted by ALAIN97133

Personally, I would choose a 45 footer, provided EVERYTHING can fit INSIDE at Anchorage. I really don't like to see all those sailboats with their decks covered with sail-bags, water & gasoline jerrycans etc... I'm not sure I can fit the inflated dinghy with its outboard motor but I would ask my naval architect to design the SMALLEST sailboat that could have an opening transom & a dinghy locker... I've discovered that setup on Bordeaux 70 but I'm pretty sure that can be done on a much smaller centerboard sailboat with twin rudders & remember, it's not the biggest sailboat that travel the most!

1^ as he says!
I'm building a 35 footer with a dinghy locker..

[double u]

the bigger the budget-the bigger the boat, big (say 48-50')
if
1. you can afford to buy the very best equipment & have it installed by the very best
2. have everything in double (minimum) - go for extreme redundancy
3. have everything neurotically maintained & thrown out & replaced regularly or at the first suspicion
4. are able to at least do some repairs/jury rigs yourself (faults still might develop in out-of-the-way-places...)
5. you don't mind all these technicians crawling all over the boat at every stop

because: on a boat this size you will be absolutely utterly dependent upon a LOT of electric/electronic machinery: a disfunctional anchorwindlass will mean a nonstop trip to the next place where it can be repaired...

[goat]

The perfect boat size is two more feet.

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[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by double u

the bigger the budget-the bigger the boat, big (say 48-50')
if
1. you can afford to buy the very best equipment & have it installed by the very best
2. have everything in double (minimum) - go for extreme redundancy
3. have everything neurotically maintained & thrown out & replaced regularly or at the first suspicion
4. are able to at least do some repairs/jury rigs yourself (faults still might develop in out-of-the-way-places...)
5. you don't mind all these technicians crawling all over the boat at every stop

because: on a boat this size you will be absolutely utterly dependent upon a LOT of electric/electronic machinery: a disfunctional anchorwindlass will mean a nonstop trip to the next place where it can be repaired...

Must be one hell of a big difference between your stipulated 48-50 feet and out 46 feet because not one of your caveats are true for us, except that we can usually do our own repairs (your #4). Perhaps you have never actually ownded and operated a boat of this size, who knows how you derived these prejudices but they do not reflect reality.

Jim

[barnakiel]

It is not correct to say if you can lift the rode by hand you do not have enough chain.

This is nonsense. Or the boat is this big. Or the water is this deep. Etc.

But on the whole this is nonsense.

b.

[Celestialsailor]

Originally Posted by double u

the bigger the budget-the bigger the boat, big (say 48-50')
if
1. you can afford to buy the very best equipment & have it installed by the very best
2. have everything in double (minimum) - go for extreme redundancy
3. have everything neurotically maintained & thrown out & replaced regularly or at the first suspicion
4. are able to at least do some repairs/jury rigs yourself (faults still might develop in out-of-the-way-places...)
5. you don't mind all these technicians crawling all over the boat at every stop

because: on a boat this size you will be absolutely utterly dependent upon a LOT of electric/electronic machinery: a disfunctional anchorwindlass will mean a nonstop trip to the next place where it can be repaired...

Utter nonsense.

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by Celestialsailor

Utter nonsense.

Internet bandwagons need to remain at full capacity.

[Kenomac]

Originally Posted by double u

the bigger the budget-the bigger the boat, big (say 48-50')
if
1. you can afford to buy the very best equipment & have it installed by the very best
2. have everything in double (minimum) - go for extreme redundancy
3. have everything neurotically maintained & thrown out & replaced regularly or at the first suspicion
4. are able to at least do some repairs/jury rigs yourself (faults still might develop in out-of-the-way-places...)
5. you don't mind all these technicians crawling all over the boat at every stop

because: on a boat this size you will be absolutely utterly dependent upon a LOT of electric/electronic machinery: a disfunctional anchorwindlass will mean a nonstop trip to the next place where it can be repaired...

Just curious, do you own a boat? Because your post doesn't make any sense.

We do nearly everything our selves. When things break, we manage.