Boat Size For Single Handle Sailing

[thomm225]

Mr. OP the problem here is that you are somewhat putting the horse before the cart.

You are in Arizona so you probably don't know yet whether or not you are prone to seasickness. Seasickness can be dealt with but it is another thing that needs to be learned sort of

There's so much to learn to do what you would like to do and you have heard from some folks that have I'm thinking forgotten what it's like to be a beginner at sailing ....much less a beginner at single handed sailing

When I started, I knew the three R's for coming in and that's about it. Some kid told me. I was 16 when I got my first boat.

It appears from this thread that single handing is a common thing. It is not.

We have a few in my area though and one guy that it appears he just started.

He has a 36' late model Catalina. A beautiful boat. I don't know his sailing skills but I have seen him dock the boat.

His method is to come in slow bang into the boat before his slip then turn and hit the boat just passed his slip with his stern. After that, it's back in time.

He usually gets barely in then puts the engine in neutral and attempts to pull the boat in physically after banging into the piling on his side .

This is just the tip of the iceberg.

Also if your first boat is a good boat for cruising, 32-38', you will not become a very good sailor for years because on boats that size it take like 45 seconds or more for the boat to react to your adjustments.

Best to start with a small boat to learn sailing.

Others will say sailing isn't important for cruising but if you are ever 100's of miles offshore and needing to get in without an engine because yours failed it suddenly becomes important.

It always amazes me when I see on TV etc that a sailor and his boat had to be rescued because of engine failure!!?

Again, tip of the ice berg. You cannot learn before you learn.

Like does the red marker mean stay right or left......depends on if you are coming or going and sometimes it's hard to figure .......but I'm basing this on the days before chart plotters......

And then there's being offshore (or near shore which is worse) in the dark

[Clivevon]

Hi. IMHO if you plan to sail offshore single handed there is one thing you absolutely must have on board, the lack of which will mean you are likely to get into all sorts of trouble and indeed may even put your life at risk. You absolutely must have this on your boat.

[Don C L]

Just another thing to throw in the mix. The Maltese Falcon can be singlehanded I believe,
https://www.yachtcharterfleet.com/lu...ese-falcon.htm
but reliance on mechanical advantages in powered winches and windlasses, and roller furling, as reliable as they may be, put you at the mercy of these things too. If the boat is so big that you must rely on multiple mechanical or motorized advantages, it may too big to singlehand. Simpler things are generally safer. On top of that, the less you have to do, or get out of the cockpit for, makes things safer. So there will be a balance of trade-offs. I confess I hate going up to change headsails if its windy, but on the other hand since I am used to it, and it is a simple thing to do, I can deal with the higher level of insecurity. However, if a furler jams, which, granted, is rare in modern furlers, it can be a much bigger problem. So some may prefer furlers, others may not.
Given that, something like a Nonsuch 30, theoretically, might be the perfect choice. Small enough to haul up the anchor rode by hand if needed, and fairly easy to rig the halyard and reefing lines back to cockpit (though you do still have to go forward to tie off the reef lines)... no jib (either furled or hank on, to deal with) and I'd probably switch to tiller. Anyway, just a thought

[Clivevon]

Sorry, forgot to mention what it was didn't I? It is... a skipper who knows what he is doing. I suggest that instead of focussing on what kind of boat or equipment you might need, that you focus first on what kind of skipper you will need.
Then do what you can to make sure you have that skipper on board. As you plan to sail offshore alone, that skipper will be you, so I suggest you get a few thousand sea miles in first - say, at least 1000, crewing for other people offshore while you qualify, by which time you will be in a much better position to answer your own questions about boats & gear and also to understand the answers given to you by other people & the reasons for those answers. For me, I would be looking at a sea kindly long fin 36 ft ketch, ideally with cutter rig (good luck finding one of those nowadays) with roller furling foresails, autopilot, electric windlass (with a backup plan for when it fails) & remote control, jackstays along both sidedecks, maybe granny bars at the mast, chart plotters in cockpit & below (at chart table), AIS & transponder, radar & transponder, reliable engine & electrics, & a very loud alarm clock. Also buy a one man liferaft & rig a long line so you can deploy that from the water - & carry a PLB (Personal Locator Beacon) with GPS. Don't run before you can walk.

[thomm225]

Any boat or ship can be single handed but the point is this guy is a total beginner.

He isn't Gideon Patch

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/...The_Mary_Deare

He doesn't know the first thing about sailing (or maybe even boating) and you folks are talking how easy it is to sail a 40' boat and above single handed.

You might want to think about the OP's experience and not your own. He's in Arizona now and maybe has always been so no background.

And yes he can become an offshore cruising single hander but it might be wise to explain how a person works up to that rather than which boat to buy right out the chute

It almost seems posters are more talking to other posters than the OP who it appears has never sailed

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by Clivevon

Don't run before you can walk.

What he said.

[Zzmeyer]

Don't disagree, but 60% of all new Fountain Pajot boats, the smallest of which is 40 feet are first time buyers. In San Diego, 5 of 6 Beneteau and Jeanneau over 60 feet are first time boat owners. If you watch all the sailing vlogs, they are all newbies with a hot person.

[Erik de Jong]

Originally Posted by thomm225

It almost seems posters are more talking to other posters than the OP who it appears has never sailed

The OP wants to buy a boat that can be single handed, he did not say that he wants to start single handed right from the beginning. A boat is a money pit and changing boats on a regular basis often costs a lot of money too. I know that assumptions are the mother of all f#ck-ups, but it is my assumption that he wants to buy roughly the right boat right away. In my book it is a totally legitimate question that deserves a legitimate answer. The only problem is that if you ask 100 sailors for their opinion you get 100 different opinions that are all contradicting each other.
What is better than learning to sail around the world? BTW I know 12 year olds that have single handed sailed 25' footers on over night passages without being more risky than the average 45 years old single handing.If a 12 year old kid is capable of picking it up than a grown man should be able to do that pretty quick as well. It is not that you can cause a lot of harm with a 30 or 35 foot boat.

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by Zzmeyer

Don't disagree, but 60% of all new Fountain Pajot boats, the smallest of which is 40 feet are first time buyers. In San Diego, 5 of 6 Beneteau and Jeanneau over 60 feet are first time boat owners. If you watch all the sailing vlogs, they are all newbies with a hot person.

Nice but sailing offshore single handed the hotness goes away sort of fast.

And as for others buying those type boats with their hot person that's nice, but how long do you think the sailing will last? (especially offshore) Those sales are for parking the boat and looking good in a crowd

There's not a lot of cool things going on while sailing, but there is blowing chucks (repeatedly sometimes), sweat, stinking clothes, stinking heads, smelly diesel and bilges, busted knuckles, scratches, sore bodies, and sometimes very little sleep

We have some beautiful 40' Cats and mono's at our dock and they leave the dock maybe 5X a year

[Erik de Jong]

Originally Posted by thomm225

There's not a lot of cool things going on while sailing, but there is blowing chucks (repeatedly sometimes), sweat, stinking clothes, stinking heads, smelly diesel and bilges, busted knuckles, scratches, sore bodies, and sometimes very little sleep

I'm sorry to hear that you have such a bad time when you are at sea. I don't recognize that at all. I can truly enjoy every day when at sea. If that stops I will sell my boat.

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by Erik de Jong

The OP wants to buy a boat that can be single handed, he did not say that he wants to start single handed right from the beginning. A boat is a money pit and changing boats on a regular basis often costs a lot of money too. I know that assumptions are the mother of all f#ck-ups, but it is my assumption that he wants to buy roughly the right boat right away. In my book it is a totally legitimate question that deserves a legitimate answer. The only problem is that if you ask 100 sailors for their opinion you get 100 different opinions that are all contradicting each other.
What is better than learning to sail around the world? BTW I know 12 year olds that have single handed sailed 25' footers on over night passages without being more risky than the average 45 years old single handing.If a 12 year old kid is capable of picking it up than a grown man should be able to do that pretty quick as well. It is not that you can cause a lot of harm with a 30 or 35 foot boat.

Nice.

My son was my racing crew on beach cats starting at 10 years old so if he was asked to sail a super slow monohull sailboat over night it would be quite simple to rather boring.

Get a grip.

The OP needs to start at the beginning.

Speaking of hot:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmqRx3ypWwU

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by Erik de Jong

I'm sorry to hear that you have such a bad time when you are at sea. I don't recognize that at all. I can truly enjoy every day when at sea. If that stops I will sell my boat.

I don't have a bad time at sea (most times these days) but beginners often do.

Looks like you missed the point. The OP is a beginner.

But I have dealt with seasickness. I remember doing repairs on a jammed jib furler and blowing chucks going back and forth for tools while sailing on autopilot in 20 knot winds on a reach and nearing my home creek when I first got my old slow full keel sailboat in 2011. I simply wasn't used to how a displacement hulls sailed/moved in the water especially ocean waves mixed with bay waves like we have here at the mouth of the Chesapeake

Another time when I was 10, we went into the ocean a ways after catching a bunch of Flounder in the inlet and I damn near blew chuck (s) !

As far as my sailing, I do it for the Sun high!

And the work. And the change from city/work life.

I like to sail when it's windy and rough and sail almost to exhaustion then make it back and enjoy doing nothing but what "normal" people do like watching TV.

This lasts me for a day or so while I recover then I'm ready to go again......

[Zzmeyer]

"And as for others buying those type boats with their hot person that's nice, but how long do you think the sailing will last?"
From the vlogs I've watched, a long time. Seems like they are having fun. Seriously, I believe the most important ingredient for cruising is crew competence, but I'm not convinced boat size is the determining factor in building experience.

[Celestialsailor]

To be honest, I have gone smaller. This is in some part due to my age. I went from a 34ft. sloop in my 30's to a 37ft. Tartan Blackwatch in my 40's to an Ingrid 38 (which was a freight train) in my early 50's to a Hallberg Rassy 35 in my late 50's and now in my 60's a Westsail 28 which I am outfitting. The other factor for smaller is I became disenchanted and sick and tired of the occasional a-hole crew members who felt it necessary to take over my HR35 for 10 days in the Sea of Cortez. I vowed I would rather singlehand after that. It's more enjoyable to take crew on that is totally inexperienced rather than have know-it-alls aboard.

If you are 50 or younger, a 36-40 might be a good choice. As others have pointed out, the way the boat is rigged can make it or break it for you. If you're 30 or older, maybe a 38-42 could be handled. And...if you are under 30...just get a selfie stick for the latest cell phone and make video's of you and your bikini clad honey for youtube at any anchorage...

[oslokid]

Originally Posted by boatman61

The smallest one that will afford you all the following..
1/ A good galley.
2/ Good standing headroom below deck.
3/ Bunks and settee berths that you can comfortably stretch out on full length.
4/ Good fuel (250nm) and water tankage (250L)
5/ Good storage space for clothes, food and tools/spares.
6/ A boat with the heads by the companionway if possible.
Most, if not all of these can be found in boats from 32ft to 36ft.

Some great recommendations on this thread. Eight years ago I had dreams of sailing all over and was looking for the perfect blue-water boat. Even found it. Until better half came on board. She hated it. So I got a pretty boat that, well, wasn't perfect. I reassessed my priorities and figured female companionship was more important. I also learned and began to appreciate the thought and layout of a production boat. Think carefully.
Skills are more important than the boat. Target 33-38 ft. No more. Tonnage is important. A 34 footer can be bigger than a 37. If you're doing ASA courses consider ASA 118 -docking. Figure out prop-walk and prop-wash. Learn to lasso the dock cleats. Use spring lines. Don't get off the boat until you're secured or you absolutely have to. Make sure you are in neutral (haha, how do I know). Good luck... and go for it.