1) my wife likes it. What does she like ????
I can't answer totally but the way I understand it: as we have
kids she likes a
boat the inspires
safety based on her
research. Good
rigging and reputation for
Bluewater capability. And finally a space that she can make feel like her home. Stowage is very important. She also wants to be able to carry 'stuff' enough to feel comfortable living on the boat.
3) Big enough to make sense for a cc i.e greater than 40 feet How much bigger ? We have a
Cal 2-46. I looked at the Tayana 42 too.
4) lots tankage Yes
5) strong and sea worthy A must
6) storage A must
7) pilot berths Where ? We have had to create them on our boat as this is one thing that didn't come standard, by basically turning settees into pilot berths using lee clothes. We are thinking of taking one settee
8) an large engine room!!!! (I really like this) Tell me more. The Valiant 40, Spencer 43 and
Cal 46 where all boats that had an awesome engine room you could install
equipment and even
work in! Alot of boats you have to take off the the table or the campanion way stairs. If you are
living aboard this disruption would be too much stress to add to the stress of some engine
repair.
9) set up for short handed sailing - I like a sailtrack that works effortlessly and lazy jacks with stack pack I agree
10) space for a seperate area for each of my 2 kids Understandable There many who quite rightly agree that small/simple is better ...and I agree but if you are living on board with kids things change. Also a happy wife = happy life. Although if you can go small and simple you will save a lot!!!
Wood boats are beautiful, but I do think they are more
work. I have enough on my plate.
Finally performance. This is another huge debate. I have chosen a heavy strong boat that is comfortable in most sea conditions. If the
wind is very light, we will likely have to fire up the iron genny. But in anything over 10 knots and close reach or deeper, our 16 ton 46 foot
ketch moves along really well with good speed. We burn very very little
fuel in general, but if we do have to
motor we can.
A diesel sailboat typically burns very very little
fuel.