Bayfield 32 Is WAY Too Small !

[SS Little-Devil]

Oh my Lord. I finally got inside a Bayfield 32c yesterday and my word it's small. I would go nuts in that thing trying to live aboard. It was also pretty dirty and smelly, so that didn't help, even though he wanted "only" $25,000 for it. I definitely need something bigger. I realize that it's really only a 30' once you take the bowsprit into account but still!

Should I completely eliminate 34' and 35' footers from the watch list too or is the Bayfield 32 just particularly small for that size of boat? IOW, does 4-5 extra feet make that much of a difference? My feeling is to stick to 38'+. Wow.

[J Clark H356]

Look at a Hunter 356 - plenty of room!

[cabo_sailor]

What you might also find is that it is not just length but beam that gives that feeling of spaciousness. The older boats tend to have fairly narrow beams which increased as time went by (hmm, seems to be also true of sailors). Take the same length boat, say 30 ft and see what a difference even a couple of feet of beam make.

Rich

[cchesley]

and don't forget freeboard. The Bayfield is modelled along the more traditional designs. Low, narrower, overhangs. She's smaller than the more modern boats like a Catalina or Hunter. That's why those designs are so successful, they maximise interior volume and Admirals like em just that way (and not just a few Captains, too). There's much more to boat size than just length overall!

[tallyhorob]

also a lot of older boats were set up with tons of storage on the outer walls and the living area and walkway very small. Think of rough seas, small area is better so not to become a pinball in your own boat. Same with berths and sitting areas, Tight area = wedged in and can read etc with out holding on for dear life. New boats have taken in the point of day sailing and lots of room to move around, high free board but that means more windage so its all a try off all about what your plans are

[callmecrazy]

I find the difference between a 30 footer and a 33-34 footer is significantly noticable. But then again, i was on a catalina 309 (32') that felt bigger than anything else I've been on... The bayfield 32 is a 30 footer. I found the pearson triton (28) to be more "comfy" than most 30 footers, and it had more storage to boot... tricky how that all works....

the "feel" of the boat is the most important aspect. don't worry about numbers.

[Bloodhound]

The feeling of "size" and "space" has to do more with the volume of the hull rather than any one dimension. An extra 3 feet in length in a 30 ft boat (10%, say) translates into 30 to 35% more volume and that's what gives you what seems like so much more breathing room, i.e., a third bigger. In our case, a Westsail 32 had a vastly larger feel than a 28, and a 42 is quite enormous by comparison. All other things being equal (same "brand"), it's not the length: it's the volume. Across manufacturers of course, the variability gets much wider. Personally, I don't like coffins---I'll be in one for long enough.

[SS Little-Devil]

Okay. That all sounds good. I'll look at a few more. There's a Pearson 365 that is well rigged I'm planning to take a look at in WA that would work well, but it's sooooooo plasticy looking inside. Mostly white melamine and looks more like an RV or mobile home than a yacht. I'm still digging the Morgan and C&C 38's and plan to get inside a couple very soon and hopefully make a deal.

[Hud3]

Look at some Island Packets.

Friends of ours sold their Pearson 36 and bought an IP 32. They said it seemed to have 50% more room for living and storage. IP owners tend to take good care of their boats, so you probably wouldn't have much work to do to bring one up to snuff.

[witzgall]

We moved from a 32 footer to a 35 footer, and the difference in the two boats is astounding. The 35 footer is beamier by a foot at it's widest, and has perhaps eight inches more freeboard, which together with the three feet of length makes a HUGE difference. For an example fo a HUGE 32 footer, go check out a Westsail 32.

Boats are three dimensional things, and you have to look at all dimensions to understand their spacial characteristics.

Chris

[SkiprJohn]

You were looking at a 30 with an LOA of 32. There is a big difference in interior volume. Take a look at a Westsail 32 sometime. Lots more room.
kind regards,

[barnakiel]

LOA says nothing. Look at beam, look at hull shape, LWL ... then look inside at how well the designer used the existing space.

My boat is 26' and the space inside (small as it is) matches some 32'.

Then you will find some brand new small toys from Bene, etc.. with 3 cabin layout too!

b.

[Hydra]

If you need a single number that gives a feeling for volume, look at displacement (weight).

Remember that you will need some load-carrying ability for cruising: all the stuff you will add in the boat (sails, ground tackle, fuel, food, water...) shouldn't be so large a fraction of the "empty" weight.

Alain

[bangkaboat]

Not to stir controversy, Alain, but I'm not sure that displacement is a great indicator. When I bought my Cal 3-30, with a displacement of 10,500 , I found that it "felt like" it had much more interior volume than the Bayfield 32 with 9600lb displacement. Still, when on a friend's Baba 30(12,500 displ.), I found the interior very claustrophobic, as compared to my Cal. Beam doesn't seem to be a very good indicator either, as the Cal is just over 10', the Baba 10'3" and the Bayfield is 10'6". So much of what feels like volume is determined by interior layout that, imho, one must physically board each boat of interest to get a feel for how the volume has been utilized. As well, I have personally found that the number, size & positioning of portlights can make quite a difference in how a boat's interior volume "feels".
Mike

[Hydra]

Mike,
I agree fully with you: displacement isn't the best indicator for volume in a boat. Tonnage is a better one but is less well understood. And only *net tonnage* would be useful but it is rarely available. Gross tonnage merely represents the total volume of the boat, not the usable volume.

And I agree with you, the *feel* for volume is something different altogether. But when selecting boats based on figures, not direct inspection, it is difficult to take into account.

Alain