Sea State vs Boat Size (what are you comfortable with)

[black_sails]

Wasn't sure whether to post separate questions in singlehulls and multihulls but it all covers the same topic.


What kind of sea states and weather conditions (if something is somehow detached/not exactly mirroring the wind/waves/whatever for that sea state) do you feel comfortable handling not just in boats of different sizes, but of different designs? I'm pretty sure a 40 foot catamaran may have a different response than a 40 foot monohull, but if anyone has any experience with more 'exotic' hulls (HARTH, SLICE) primarily from Navy use I assume i'd love to hear about that too.


My preferred response would be opinions on different boat sizes you've been on and where it goes from Green to Yellow and Red. Green means feel totally safe, Yellow meaning feeling challenging/definately staying on your toes, Red meaning you feel unsafe (even if you have been out in those conditions, and think the boat would survive it again, you don't WANT to do it again unless you have to).

I am curious about responses all the way up to people circumnavigating and using the Drake Passage which i'm told will often have 25 foot waves and be a Sea State 10 and can get far worse than that! I'm sort of specifically interested in the conditions that would be above a normal gentle pleasure cruise - i'm specifically interested in circumnavigation, "expedition" type voyages towards the poles, and rougher than normal conditions found thousands of miles from land. My internal question is "how big of a boat would you want for blue water adventures" just in essay form preferably with personal experiences.