My boat's too big... I hear it all the time.

[TJ D]

Originally Posted by Exile

Yup, ditto for me. And as TJ attests, the dark blue hull doesn't help trying to hide the scratches! But in a counterintuitive way, the size & heft of my boat usually helps here too in that it makes docking more forgiving. The boat seems more resistant to effects from wind & current, and everything seems to happen more slowly. And I've somehow adapted to all the prop walk since it's so pronounced and predictable. In fact, it's often easier to back into a slip given how quickly the stern will turn to port in reverse. But in the early days it was definitely a show for those on the dock, and all was well only if there were no big yard bills & nobody DIED.

Yeah, if you've ever seen the part in 'Captain Ron' where he comes flying into the dock, making a perfect hockey stop in a big cloud of smoke while horrified onlookers flee... That's pretty much us.

Well, not really, but we do have to come into a berth pretty hot to have any control. We've gotten used to it. Sort of. Jenny prides herself on being very relaxed and casual on the bow while everyone expects an impending disaster. I suspect that deep down, she's also horrified, but she won't admit it.

Good woman, that one.

[Jim Cate]

I suspect that deep down, she's also horrified, but she won't admit it.

sounds like good crew to me, TJ. I reckon she's a keeper!

Jim

[UNCIVILIZED]

Originally Posted by TJ D

but we do have to come into a berth pretty hot to have any control. We've gotten used to it. Sort of. Jenny prides herself on being very relaxed and casual on the bow while everyone expects an impending disaster. I suspect that deep down, she's also horrified, but she won't admit it.

Good woman, that one.

Make sure that you tell her that, in ways that she "hears" you quite well. And yes, she souds like a keeper.

[Hasbeen]

Generally I have found that the bigger the boat, the easier it is to make smooth approaches. Still don't come in too hot TJD.


I've have about 30 skippers work for me running tourists boats from about 40 Ft to 120 Ft., some that I had trained from deckhands. I used to have to try to settle overconfident young skippers as they started to believe they were invincible.


A gear linkage only fails when you are changing gears, invariably when you go from ahead to astern approaching a jetty or berth. As I used to try to impress on them there are only 2 types of skippers. Those that have gone for astern, & had that engine stay in ahead, & those who are going to have it happen to them. We averaged one a year with 8 boats running tourist day trips.


I was lucky. When I had the starboard propshaft part at a coupling, coming in to a jetty, it was in the 120 footer. It was the greater directional stability of the longer boat that allowed me to get it stopped without the greater swing a shorter boat would have produced.


The 65Ft single screw launch was real fun. She would walk 8 ft. to port sideways, if you started the swing then went hard astern. She took 3 piles out of the jetty the time the gear linkage fell off the Morse control & she had no reverse.

[daletournier]

I've also had a cable snap once, I'm quite conscious about the possibility of it happening again, "approach the dock at the speed you wish to hit it" often is a mantra that goes through my mind.

[Rorzech]

It doesn't say 55' in your profile, it only says 55. Could have been 55 meters just as easily when you're describing your boat as "Too Big". Incase you weren't aware, the rest of the world is metric. That being said, there's no such thing as a boat being too big for two people this day and age.When you go bigger ,you just grow in to it. You'll get comfortable in it no matter how big. After that it just becomes personal preference . Enjoy and don't worry about it.

[LoudMusic]

Originally Posted by Exile

You & me both, but I read some of the lyrics and think I'm ok with being out of touch.

Oh yeah for sure - I didn't say it was a GOOD song

[Rorzech]

Being a sailor we are considered to be an odd ball by societies standards. But when you're an odd ball amongst sailors then you are in another category altogether. I prefer to be the odd ball amongst the odd balls.;D So, bigger the better when it comes to boats.

[Bash]

When we bought our 41 footer, it was the largest boat we felt we could comfortably handle as a couple. We fairly soon discovered that it was an easier boat to handle than the 37-foot racer/cruiser we'd been sailing previously. After eight years on the 41, we traded it in on a 46 footer, and guess what--it's easier to sail than the 41 footer, especially in choppy seas. We'd gone from 10 ton displacement to 15 tons, and the boat had better manners.

The only time my boat is too big is on the first of the month when I have to pay the slip fee.

[TJ D]

Originally Posted by Hasbeen

Generally I have found that the bigger the boat, the easier it is to make smooth approaches. Still don't come in too hot TJD.


I've have about 30 skippers work for me running tourists boats from about 40 Ft to 120 Ft., some that I had trained from deckhands. I used to have to try to settle overconfident young skippers as they started to believe they were invincible.


A gear linkage only fails when you are changing gears, invariably when you go from ahead to astern approaching a jetty or berth. As I used to try to impress on them there are only 2 types of skippers. Those that have gone for astern, & had that engine stay in ahead, & those who are going to have it happen to them. We averaged one a year with 8 boats running tourist day trips.


I was lucky. When I had the starboard propshaft part at a coupling, coming in to a jetty, it was in the 120 footer. It was the greater directional stability of the longer boat that allowed me to get it stopped without the greater swing a shorter boat would have produced.


The 65Ft single screw launch was real fun. She would walk 8 ft. to port sideways, if you started the swing then went hard astern. She took 3 piles out of the jetty the time the gear linkage fell off the Morse control & she had no reverse.

Solid advice. We don't come in ridiculously fast, of course. The issue is that the rudders are about 10 feet apart, so there is zero interaction between them and the prop wash. Boat motion through the water is the only thing that gives us any control at all. So, it's just the nature of the boat.

It's actually the only thing about the boat that I don't like. I've gotten used to it, but there is necessarily a little more risk than on a conventional boat. It's ok-if it's too windy, we'll typically just stay out or find a 't' head or the like to lay to until things die off.

TJ

[TJ D]

Originally Posted by Rorzech

It doesn't say 55' in your profile, it only says 55. Could have been 55 meters just as easily when you're describing your boat as "Too Big". Incase you weren't aware, the rest of the world is metric. That being said, there's no such thing as a boat being too big for two people this day and age.When you go bigger ,you just grow in to it. You'll get comfortable in it no matter how big. After that it just becomes personal preference . Enjoy and don't worry about it.

Nope, definitely not 55 meters! I don't think that I'd be talking about doublehanding one of those... I'd be more concerned about whether the hired help had the brass polished adequately, and where are my Louis Vuitton house shoes, by the way? Oh, right, I left them by the caviar!

We're comfortable with the boat. It's all the other folks who drop by unsolicited to tell us that our boat's too big.

[atoll]

Originally Posted by TJ D

It's late here in Alaska, and I was just reflecting on our interactions with our fellow sailors during our latest cruise. Now, we were in Europe, where even 30 footers are commonly seen with 4-5 crew, so perhaps this explains it.

Ok, I know this has been beat to death, but I've had a heck of a run of people over the summer who have passed by our boat stop and tell us, with great certainty, that our boat is simply too big for 2 people. Maybe even dangerous!!

I'm really having a hard time getting my head around this kind of thinking. Now, I understand that back in the time of say, the Hiscocks, when sails were made of cotton, winches were crap or absent, and everything was done by brute force-things were different.

Back then, maybe a 300 square foot main was the limit.

Fast forward to 2017-the gear is SO good, SO reliable, that I find dealing with the main (nearly 900 square feet, slab reefing) on our boat no more demanding than it was on my first boat, a 36' ketch with a tiny rig. I reef off the wind with zero drama. (Hint-external tracks and lots of McLube are your friend)

This is done with all manual gear, save a single electric winch which we can live without.

I just don't get it. What the heck is the problem? Guys are singlehanding IMOCA 60's solo around the world in the southern ocean, for Pete's sake. Surely a skilled couple sailing conservatively are not reckless in a far more modest boat.

But still, they keep coming... 'Too big'-'Just a matter of time before you're overwhelmed'-'It would be like going into battle-I'd want a platoon of strong men'. Things like this.

I'm wondering if some of you on the bigger end of the spectrum hear this a lot too? I find it quite odd.

Anyway, rant over. I hope nobody thinks I'm being boastful-it's really a source of genuine curiosity for me, this theoretical size limit that so many of us seem to take as an absolute.

55ft and an electric winch ...light weight pffff!
we are 63ft,and all manual apart from the anchor

[TJ D]

Originally Posted by atoll

55ft and an electric winch ...light weight pffff!
we are 63ft,and all manual apart from the anchor

I do have to admit that the electric winch feels quite decadent at times. Everything for the main leads to this winch, and it really does turn what should be a decent workout into child's play.

I've never had one before. It's glorious.

We did a little late winter cruise of your part of the world this year, by the way. Falmouth was a great place for a visit. All of western England, for that matter.

If only the weather were a little better!

[FlightPlan]

Originally Posted by TJ D

Oftentimes, folks think I'm the hired skipper on my boat. This amuses me greatly... I don't usually tell them otherwise.

I relate to that as well. Sometimes folks make assumptions and don't want to socialize as freely. When people ask to look inside, I tell them the Owner won't like it. Once the ice is broken everything gets better.

[TJ D]

Originally Posted by UNCIVILIZED

Make sure that you tell her that, in ways that she "hears" you quite well. And yes, she souds like a keeper.

Heck, I even put it on the web for all to see!

Jenny, badass. | The new Adventures of s/v Rocket Science