Ocean Crossing - How Small Is Too Small ?

[cburger]

In 1965 Robert Many crossed the Atlantic in his 13.5 foot sailboat "Tinkerbelle"

Tinkerbelle

[capn_billl]

Smaller than a 27' will be a little crowded to live on for a month.

[salticrak]

Does size matter? Well this question has a long history in many pursuits,my answer is you be the judge...

[atoll]

here is a blog from a guy living on a 21 ft corribee for the last 3 years in the uk dunno if hes crossed any oceans,but adds perspective... and has a nice style of writing,plus corribees's have crossed ocean's in the past,worth a look
OnKudu

[mitiempo]

Here's a better site about the same design. Roger Taylor's Ming Ming
Introduction to the junk-rigged Corribee Mingming

[David_Old_Jersey]

Originally Posted by atoll

here is a blog from a guy living on a 21 ft corribee for the last 3 years in the uk dunno if hes crossed any oceans,but adds perspective... and has a nice style of writing,plus corribees's have crossed ocean's in the past,worth a look
OnKudu

hadn't visited that blog for a few years - he's been selling the boat for at least 2 years .......a £1,500 ono boat back then, despite the oodles of cash and time he has spent on her - I think the asking price is back up to £3,500 ...........It's an early Corribee so does not have the same look as Ellen Macarthur's former boat (and mine!) of being a scaled down "proper" yacht - plus point is a bit more room inside.............Classic case of over capitalising on the wrong boat - simply from not (yet) knowing what the right boat for him was.......... I rather suspect that at least another few feet and more than sitting headroom would be high on the wish list for the next boat............

Blog well worth a read - classic tale of bloke with a big idea / great plans (liveaboard and sail) but hamstrung continuously from having started from a low knowledge base and being broke, and doesn't really seem to have been able to break out of that cycle . I am sure if he was doing the same thing again would be done very differently - if only he had been on CF first .

[atoll]

its that learning curve thing again! but good real life lessons there,rather than a boring "i'm so clever "diatribe on a design.

[hooligan6a]

A few years ago i met Shane Action who circumnavigated in Shrimpy an 18 foot boat. I
think he had a girlfriend with him for a while.

[AussieGeoff]

This might be of interest.

Small family going from England To New Zealand in 'Dolphin of Leith'.
Dolphin of Leith & The Big Adventure - Info | Facebook

107 year old Gaff rigged cutter. Guessing she's around 30'.

AussieGeoff

[HopCar]

I think any argument that there is a boat that is too small to cross an ocean has been disproved many times by the people who set records for smallest boat crossings. If the design is right, then the size is determined by how uncomfortable you are willing to be. I met Hugo Vihlen one time. He didn't seem crazy but this is a man who crossed the Atlantic twice in boats shorter than he was tall. He had April Fool in his back yard at the time and he gave me a tour. It looked safe but really uncomfortable!

[Triton106]

I understand the question is not about which particular design but about the size in general. However, it is kind hard to answer the question about the size without referring to the design and many of the responses have referred to the design.

For me personally, I would be very happy, comfortable, and secure in a Vertue 25. A Laurent Giles design that have made many circumnavigations and several have gone around the Horn. The only problem is that they are very hard to find in the U.S. Most of them are in the U.K.

[capn_billl]

Originally Posted by Triton106

I understand the question is not about which particular design but about the size in general. However, it is kind hard to answer the question about the size without referring to the design and many of the responses have referred to the design.

For me personally, I would be very happy, comfortable, and secure in a Vertue 25. A Laurent Giles design that have made many circumnavigations and several have gone around the Horn. The only problem is that they are very hard to find in the U.S. Most of them are in the U.K.

I'm willing to push the line, just to be there, but this is probably the smallest boat I would be willing to cross the COLREGS line in.

[Lundtose]

There is a Swedish man called yrvind that has been sailing around the world several times. During 2011 he sailed from Sweden to caribien. Check out his story on www.yrvind.com

[donradcliffe]

I met a Swede coming up the red sea on a 28 ft boat. "Too Small" is what the Thai girl told him.

I also met a Frenchman with 2 little girls who was crossing the Panama Canal on a 24 boat with no engine. His wife had left him there and gone back to Paris.

[lateral]

Originally Posted by donradcliffe

I met a Swede coming up the red sea on a 28 ft boat. "Too Small" is what the Thai girl told him.

I also met a Frenchman with 2 little girls who was crossing the Panama Canal on a 24 boat with no engine. His wife had left him there and gone back to Paris.

Trite, but trew.