Boat Size-to-Comfort Ratio

[Cheechako]

If I had to pick one size to meet your request I would say 30-32 ft. Sure bigger is better, but at about 30 ft (in a more modern beamy design) life seems to get more comfortable, both on the water and at the dock. at above ~35, you just start getting more cabins, 2 heads, 2 staterooms etc... At your height, you need to find the right boat though.

[sailorboy1]

...... 36'

[Hudson Force]

I do not think that a search for your ideal boat by specific length will be wise. Maybe a search within a range would leave you with more options.- say 28' to 38'? Afterall, some 28' powerboats are roomier than some 38' sailboats.

[goboatingnow]

I'm 6',3" & 1/2. Welcome to a world of short cramped bunks and cold feet !! Half the time offshore I just sleep on the saloon sole !!


Dave

[s/v Jedi]

I am 6'6" and my feet stick out a foot from the bed aboard our 64' Sundeer, yet they completely fit on the bed in our 40' motorhome. The thing is that both are advertised as having a Queen size bed. It means that interpretations of terms like that differ so much that you need to go and check with a tape measure yourself.

What I find much more important than the bed is the standing height in the galley (if you decide to cook instead of eating cold beans straight from the can like some ) I do cook and your back will break if you can't stand up in the galley.

[zeehag]

Originally Posted by Rakuflames

But that's where you are NOW and for the forseeable future, because of your job. I don't know those waters, never sailed there (boy would I love to!) While it's great to ask here, I think you should drive around your area, see what people lean toward where you are (make sure they're boats that actually *leave the dock*). You may well need a sturdier, more "blue-weather" type of boat than I do here in the relatively sedate waters of west-central and southwest Florida. Although bad weather happens everywhere, the Pacific is a MUCH bigger, and rougher, bathtub than the Gulf of Mexico is.

so you have sailed the pacific ocean,now!! awesome.

you are dead wrong about the quality of the seas in pacific..is assumed they are bigger and rougher as they are a larger body of water, however, that is not the case.

remember the pacific ocean was named by an old time explorer who saw it as a peaceful and tranquil body of water. yes it gets that way quite often. might want to sail it before commenting on it.

my formosa is perfect for all bodies of water, and i cannot wait to try more than just this pacific ocean...we have been becalmed so much it has not been funny!!! flat mirror like seas with not a wisp of a breeze. but , then , pacific gets that way. big winds do not faze my boat--is perfect for trade wind cruising, as it was designed to do .

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by zeehag

remember the pacific ocean was named by an old time explorer who saw it as a peaceful and tranquil body of water. yes it gets that way quite often. might want to sail it before commenting on it.

.

You mean Ferdinand Magellan , the worlds greatest maritime explorer , don't you. Zeehag

dave ( Magellan fanboy )

[boatman61]

Something like this would make a great starter... if you don't like it much (the life) you'll likely get your money back when you sell...
He don't mention the headroom tho'...
http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...ml#post1245574

[Travelnik]

42

The ultimate answer to life, the universe and everything!

[eyschulman]

Dean if you are sailing and spending any time on a Nomad you have my sympathy. I spent two weeks on one about 40 years ago Down-East and have used the experience ever since to point me to roomier better sailing boats. True the boat is bomb shell built and takes the ground upright(very hard to un-ground). Back to this thread-I live in Seattle NW and I think you need a motor boat with big windows to let some light in. The 9 months of rain and gloom are only enhanced by living in a cramped sailboat cave. 36-44 foot would do nicely. I know of many live aboards here happy with that size range.

[Travelnik]

Originally Posted by eyschulman

Dean if you are sailing and spending any time on a Nomad you have my sympathy. I spent two weeks on one about 40 years ago Down-East and have used the experience ever since to point me to roomier better sailing boats. True the boat is bomb shell built and takes the ground upright(very hard to un-ground). ...

Well, we've got to start with what we have. So far, it was just some local sailing, before the boat was stolen and recovered. Now, I'm fitting her out again.

If we decide to be full-time live-aboards, we will get something more spacious.

Besides, can you think of a better way to get the wife to say, "Let's get a bigger boat?"




...Now, back to our regularly scheduled programming...

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by Cheechako

If I had to pick one size to meet your request I would say 30-32 ft. Sure bigger is better, but at about 30 ft (in a more modern beamy design) life seems to get more comfortable, both on the water and at the dock. at above ~35, you just start getting more cabins, 2 heads, 2 staterooms etc... At your height, you need to find the right boat though.

I think you're going to have to go bigger than 30' to get standin' up room. Make sure EVERYTHING can be done from the cockpit if you get a "big" boat. Make sure the winches are big enough and that they work well. Have someone check all the running rigging -- halyards, etc. -- and make sure they're sized right (after two years I realized my mainsail halyard was too big, and it made it harder than necessary to raise, and MUCH harder than necessary to get down.

Make sure it has some kind of "lazy jacks" system to catch the mainsail as it falls. IMO (strong opinion) you have to be able to handle your boat yourself in an emergency (your crew could get hurt, for instance).

Take lessons, for sure, and then when you've found your boat, go out with an instructor on it and make sure you know how everything works. At the end, make that instructor sit on his hands (and zip his lips) while you do everything -- no helping, and no coaching.

Living on my boat, I have a strong bias toward putting netting up, just for the simple fact that it's easy to load your groceries or laundry aboard and not have them fall into the drink. I also think netting provides an extra measure of safety, esp. if you're going to sail the boat by yourself at all.

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

You mean Ferdinand Magellan , the worlds greatest maritime explorer , don't you. Zeehag

dave ( Magellan fanboy )

Oh dear. Zee thinks I've never seen the Pacific Northwest. That's funny, that is ...

[Capt Phil]

I beliieve the OP should get a little experience on the water before deciding. He may find that sailing ain't for him but loves the water. In that case, check out an older Chris Craft in the 35-40 foot range. More than adequate for a liveaboard of that height and if a woodie is in good shape can buy them cheap. Sailboats tend to have a little less headroom for the LOA (length over all) you are buying but if sailing every weekend and several weeks in the summer is most important something in the 32-40 foot range might be doable for you. Having lived aboard both power and sail, we found the powerboat had heaps more storage and liveable space but we always missed the sailing opportunity. Good advice here... good luck with your search. Phil

[Boulter]

Originally Posted by Bash

Sorry, at 6'3", I'm not buying the formula. And at 6'4" you'll find exponentially fewer boats that will suffice. You're not going to find many sailboats below 40' that you'll be able to stand up in, even barefoot.

Yes, at 6'4" (I used to bill myself as 6'5", but I think I am going backwards now) I in the end settled for the almost headroom of an Ontario 32. Absolute headroom is very difficult at our size and really only presents a reasonable range of choice at > 40 feet.

My unscientific guestimate is that for 30 - 40 feet LOD, less than 1% of all sailboat models ever in existence will have headroom > 6'4". The figure for 6'2" is probably > 50%, and 6'1" is probably > 80%. That marginal 2 or 3 inches just kills!

Boulter