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

[RichandHelen]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

Haven't run into the issue at all except for occasionally here on CF. Personally, I couldn't care less what other people think, most of what you've experienced is envy and ignorance.

Who wouldn't envy an Oyster 53 ?

[NevisDog]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

I'd move up to a 70ft Oyster in a heartbeat if I could find one at my target price.

Heck! With your good looks, Ken, nobody's goin' to say your boat is too big. (May take a gorilla to handle it though.)

[MV Wanderlust]

If you feel so inclined, holler back, "Perhaps it would be for you. I respect that!" What can they really say to that? LOL

But probably wisest to let it go and say nothing.

[Hobie_ind]

We found it's far more prevalent on CruisersForum than in real life, but we did experience it in real life also. One couple was quite interesting and by far the most extreme example we came across however.

Just after we bought our boat (53' Amel SuperMaramu) we met a couple who had been cruising the Caribbean for a number of years on their mid-30' boat. While aboard, he spent lots of time explaining to me where my boat was far too complex and that simpler and small was better. She was also suitably condescending about our experience with 'boats this big' and how it would probably be fine if we stayed in the Eastern Caribbean. I smiled and nodded.

A few months later, they then ended up docked just down from some friends on their Oyster 53. One day she was aboard and started carefully explaining to him all the areas of the boat that just wouldn't work for her and that it was just too big for 2 people. My friend on the Oyster finally got tired and declared "Well it worked well enough for the circumnavigation that we finished a few months ago. When you finish yours I'll consider your advice." He said future conversations were much shorter...... I don't think it bothered him.

3 years later, they're still happily moving up and down the Eastern Caribbean from St Martin to Grenada and have probably logged less than a couple thousand miles. Our friends on the Oyster have probably put on 20,000 nm of offshore sailing since, and we put in about 15,000 nm of offshore sailing. Their mid-30' boat has worked well for them apparently, our friends' Oyster is still a good match for them and we enjoyed our Amel immensely for our travels.

Everyone has an opinion, some people just strongly believe theirs is the only right one for everyone. You're not going to change that.

I've personally have found something to genuinely like about pretty much every boat I've ever been aboard. I find you get invited back for a lot more sundowners that way!

[FlightPlan]

Funny how in the Marina, the boat is huge. Then you get out to sea, it shrinks and isn't big enough.

[TJ D]

Originally Posted by FlightPlan

Funny how in the Marina, the boat is huge. Then you get out to sea, it shrinks and isn't big enough.

Man, ain't that the truth! I spend a lot of time running a 170 footer around, and there are many, many days that I wish she was more like 300'.

[Kenomac]

Originally Posted by Exile

Then again, some of the comments may in fact be sincere, in that if/when the MOD EDIT the issues with a larger boat could compound more easily if not thoroughly thought out.

Just the opposite is true, but if it will make you feel more comfortable.... sometimes I need to ask for assistance when folding the Yankee sail at the end of the season if the boat is in a slip.

[redhead]

We get it too. We just found out this summer that the 2 of us can handle her just fine. One thing that surprised me was the cost of equipment didn't rise in direct relation to size. I mean, the cost of ordering equipment for a 63' boat is not double that of equipment for a 30 footer. It's triple, or quadruple. (Totally my error, I didn't do enough research before buying).

I have found three groups who make loud remarks as they pass by:

1) OMG a pirate boat! How cool is that? (They have never been on a boat)
2) Way too big to handle, must be nuts (They own a smaller boat or are racers)
3) Wow - I would love to see the ______ (engine room, or galley, or windlass, you name it) (They are considering moving larger themselves and want details of how hard it is).

My mother told me decades ago "Happiness is the best revenge".

[Exile]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

Just the opposite is true, but if it will make you feel more comfortable.... sometimes I need to ask for assistance when folding the Yankee sail at the end of the season if the boat is in a slip.

I hear ya. I recently had to fold up my Yankee solo and it was a pita (and undoubtedly smaller than yours). Good thing I had a big green lawn space near the dock. Could be trouble offshore if the furler screwed up and I had to take it down in a blow, which is exactly why I generally limit running my 130% genoa to inland waters.

Thus far my direct experience about the bigger boat being more forgiving comports with yours. Maybe I'm just a worry-wart, or perhaps reading sailing forums and/or listening too much to the naysayers at the dock! OTOH, it has motivated me to refresh my backup plans, and to slowly build redundancy into critical systems, first & foremost the AP.

[FlightPlan]

Originally Posted by Exile

It's only huge at the marina if you screwed up your last single or short-handed docking attempt and are looking at a big yard bill. If challenged, I just tell people that I had ample crew when I left my last port of call but they all mutiny'ed en route. If you look & sound serious enough when you say it you're usually left alone after that.

Then again, some of the comments may in fact be sincere, in that if/when the SHTF the issues with a larger boat could compound more easily if not thoroughly thought out. Backup systems & redundancy are key, but thus far my personal experience comports with those who say a larger boat is actually more forgiving at sea and not less.

There are some challenges when docking but they can be minimized by:
1. Make sure the thruster and engine are working properly in forward and reverse before entering the marina complex.
2. Relay questions from the dockhands to the Captain, and relay the answers to the dockhands. Don't take orders from the dockhand.
3. Never give a dockhand a stern or bow line until the boat is in the slip. Give them the mid-ship line first and don't cleat it till the Captain says to cleat it.
4. Slow is your friend
5. You cannot push or pull a 90,000 pound boat with a dock line.
6. It's okay to let the fender get wet, we'll adjust later.
7. Don't shout, it scares the Captain.
8. Get me a beer.

Most of the large boats I looked at had redundancy and backups with the exception of bow thruster. But that's another story and thread.

[TJ D]

Originally Posted by Alita49DS

Or we live on a crowded small island with rubbish infrastructure and realise that a 55ft boat, as the person who started the thread owns, would not only be no fun in the Solent but a positive liability! This is the country where even supermarket car parks have spaces too small for modern cars. They seem to have been designed for an Austin 7.

No way would I want my 49 footer in Northern Europe but for the Med, where she is, the size is perfect.

Funny, we spent last winter in the Solent, and found that we had no trouble at all.... Cowes was a little tight, but otherwise-no problem. We didn't gunkhole from marina to marina, which we never do anyhow, but the few places we did sail to were just fine.

Of course, if you're just daysailing, 55' is a stupidly large size, but that's not what we do...

[weavis]

For those of you wondering where your post has gone to..... We have informed a thousand time not to use the F word in total or in acronyms.

Enough. Posts have been removed.

Contact me of you wish to edit your post and remove the F words... if not they stay removed. Next time is an infraction.

Read the rules.

[Pete7]

For crossing seas I can see the advantage to 50 plus feet, but your draft rules out so many great places on the N and NW European coasts which I think is a real shame. However, if it suits your requirements

Pete

[Kenomac]

Originally Posted by NevisDog

Heck! With your good looks, Ken, nobody's goin' to say your boat is too big. (May take a gorilla to handle it though.)

Thank you, you're very kind.

[TJ D]

Originally Posted by Pete7

For crossing seas I can see the advantage to 50 plus feet, but your draft rules out so many great places on the N and NW European coasts which I think is a real shame. However, if it suits your requirements

Pete

Yes, Pete, that is the worst part. We draw 3.1m/10', and we miss out on a lot because of it. We, of course, knew that this would be a drawback, and accepted it when we traded up to the new ride.

So far, the decision has been the right one for us, but it's a very valid point. But, we'll take that big bulb way down there all day long when we're offshore. The amount of righting moment we get for the weight is really pretty impressive. You just can't get there with a shallow keel without making for a very heavy boat.