Looking at boat sizes

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by ReadyToSail

12ridehd- Thank you, yes that is what I meant. That was my first post, and I'm new at this whole experience. I'm just starting to gather information.

We (my husband, one year old son and I), belong to a boat club in the Western NY area, where we have access to 25' boats. It's a small club with just a few boats. I would like to get on other boats (bigger ones) as well, just to check them out. That's where I'm looking for advice. The docks around us are all private, and you can't just walk around on them and stop to chat with people. How do we get in there, or meet others with larger boats so we can talk to them about their experiences?


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Security policies vary at marinas, but many have an onsite bar or one nearby where boaters hang out. Drop in and socialize a bit.

Also, as suggested, many marinas have brokers onsite. Drop in and talk about boats with them.

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by Steady Hand

In the same vein of not providing enough information, which can lead to meaningless replies...

47 x 15 x 3.5 or 7 + 50000 + 6' 3" + 62 = boat

How crazy is that?

Those numbers represent a boat, but do they fit your needs?

You may be onto something here. Another metric for categorizing boats. Calculate a single "comfort index". ;-)

[ReadyToSail]

I appreciate your ideas! Thank you.


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[Sandero]

So many variables in what informs the answer to the OP. Budget is a huge factor... usually limiting one's appetite for more.

Even the sailing location makes a huge difference. Is this for day sailing, over nighting... week end cruising and maybe some offshore passages?

How may crew will or people will typically be on the boat?

Sounds like you need to go to Annapolis or the Newport Boat show coming up this fall.

[Jim Cate]

Dissenting opinion follows:

It sounds like you are not on a huge budget, and that you want a boat large enough to live aboard for extended periods. This suggests that you will not be in the market for a new, or even fairly new boat. This being the case, I reckon that boat shows are not only not helpful, but will skew your thinking badly when you approach the boats that are realistic for your budget. Plus, you will be at the mercy of some pretty skilled sales persons who will do their best to convince you that you NEED a new boat... in fact the o ne that they are flogging! For a relatively inexperienced buyer, this can lead one far astray.

I'm not familiar with your exact area, but surely there must be a marina on lake Eire somewhere nearer than Annapolis where you can hang out and see some boats. In most areas, if one approaches an inward bound yottie at the locked gate and explains your interest in seeing and talking boats, they will let you into the sacred grounds... if you are nice about it, they may even show you their own boat. I have done so in the past, more than once...

Yes, I know that some folks salivate over boat shows, but not me... haven't been to one for gawd knows how many years. I've never seen the logic of paying a big entrance fee to let someone try to sell me something I don't want/can't afford!

Good luck with your quest!

Jim

[GILow]

Jim said what I was thinking so not more to add except to say that chartering has much the same sort of restrictions. Before we bought our current boat I really wanted to get some time on some similar medium sized heavy cruisers to see how I liked them. But all the charter companies have to offer (understandably) are shiny new modern production boats. Lovely boats, all of them, but not my budget and therefore not relevant to me.

In your situation, if I had exhausted the options of volunteering to crew at local yacht clubs (and it appears this option is not useful to you due to the restrictions on sizes around you ) I would consider trying to get some crew time with a delivery skipper doing shortish runs as near to you or as near to a cheap flight for you as you can find.

Not only will you get to see inside these boats but you will also see how the feeling of size changes drastically once the boat is under way. A friends 36 footer seemed huge to me till we started sailing, then the somewhat tender tippy go fast design made moving around a nightmare and made the boat feel like a dinghy. A superb boat but not one I would like to live on despite there being many 36 footers that feel plenty big enough.

Happy hunting.

Matt


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[FamilyVan]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

Dissenting opinion follows:

It sounds like you are not on a huge budget, and that you want a boat large enough to live aboard for extended periods. This suggests that you will not be in the market for a new, or even fairly new boat. This being the case, I reckon that boat shows are not only not helpful, but will skew your thinking badly when you approach the boats that are realistic for your budget. Plus, you will be at the mercy of some pretty skilled sales persons who will do their best to convince you that you NEED a new boat... in fact the o ne that they are flogging! For a relatively inexperienced buyer, this can lead one far astray.

I'm not familiar with your exact area, but surely there must be a marina on lake Eire somewhere nearer than Annapolis where you can hang out and see some boats. In most areas, if one approaches an inward bound yottie at the locked gate and explains your interest in seeing and talking boats, they will let you into the sacred grounds... if you are nice about it, they may even show you their own boat. I have done so in the past, more than once...

Yes, I know that some folks salivate over boat shows, but not me... haven't been to one for gawd knows how many years. I've never seen the logic of paying a big entrance fee to let someone try to sell me something I don't want/can't afford!

Good luck with your quest!

Jim

I like Jim's advice. Lake Erie is a very popular sailing destination. There are many ports on both sides of the boarder worth investigating.

Try Erie PA and Cleveland. You are in a great place to pick up old boats in fantastic condition.
Or you could take advantage of the ridiculously weak Canadian dollar and check out Port Colborne, Port Stanley, or even cross the boarder from Detroit to Windsor, lots of out of work automotive workers on the Canadian side trying to unload boats (Detroit's a dead market).

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[FamilyVan]

I wouldn't bother with Toledo either.

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[JPA Cate]

Not surprisingly, I agree with Jim, but I would like to add that the family dynamics of the OP's particular family may have a lot to do with how small a boat they can be comfortable in. Obviously, children get bigger, and require more space, so one wants to factor in that idea. We know people who have circumnavigated in a 26 foot boat (but it was just the two of them), and the sizes go up from there, for people we have met. Flickas have circumnavigated, as have Folkboats.

The smallest boat that suits the people involved should work just fine!

Ann

[FamilyVan]

I just reread your second post, western New York. There are boat shows in your area. Toronto has a decent boat show which would be a day trip from most places in Western New York. The show is in January or February, can't remember. Its lots of fun, not just for you and your wife, but for kids too.

There are tons of activities for the little ones. Waterskiing dog, fishing pond, wakeboarding displays, the kids can try wakeboarding.

There are more power boats on display than sail, but Catalina, Hunter and Beneteau all have displays up into the 40's, last year Dehler and TES had displays as well.

There is something else people won't tell you often, not on cruisers forum and definitely not boat salesmen at boat shows.

Big boats suck on the great lakes! The bigger the boat, the harder it is to find a dock. When I was in Niagara Falls it wasn't bad because there were populace regions on lake Erie and Lake Ontario near by, but a couple hundred miles east, I find it frustrating trying to find a dock, and my boats a relatively sensible 35' with 4'10" draft. This isn't a cost consideration, its a logistical consideration. I have to drive an hour and forty minutes every time I want to use my boat due to size restrictions.

I'm on a multi year waiting list to get into a marina nearby my home, I had a meeting with the marina manager yesterday and he told me "if you had a 25, I have four docks I could put you in today".

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[sailnow2011]

Originally Posted by kas_1611

RTS,

Ask yourself this question: could we live in a space 40ft by 12ft for a year?


Keiron

If your boat is 40' long and 12' wide, your living area is most likely 32' long, and 10' wide.

[tightgroup]

What we are doing is to actually talk to sailboat broker, start with a straight conversation of your needs and what you and your family are looking for. Long term live aboard, just a weekender and more importantly where you want to do your sailing.

Call a few brokers, and you can schedule a walk through tour of a few boats. The boats you like do some research , compare the different boats and understand what boat works where you want to do your sailing. In this fashion you can check out numerous boats, get to understand your needs (this can change) and what works for you.

Do not despair, there is a ton of info and willing people to help.

A good starter for me was this site Mahina

Good luck and please keep posted on your adventure,