Size matters in terms of Plan Bs, stowage,
fuel and
water: Small boats have a lot less, so you
may, as some have found, arrive eventually looking a little shrivelled. I would install enough ways to make
power so I could figure out my
weather routing, as the smaller boats, especially the lighter IOR-style '70s types, don't heave to so well and there's a limit to how long you can hand-steer in a blow.
In a small, snug
cabin, there's less space in which to fall and break an arm, but also less stowage for
food, spares and
safety gear.
On the other hand, there's a limit to how big a boat one can safely single-hand without first-class
gear and adaptations, which is out of range for most sailors. So the general sense seems to be that the intrepid small-boat world cruiser has to have a LOT of patience, because they are going to take longer to go point-to-point, and will require a benign
weather window in which to do it. Larger boats just go, and cats arrive first.
So if you are patient, thrifty, can live in the equivalent of one and a half tents, eat a lot of
food reconstituted from dry, and can balance on a bucket, fair winds to you! The Hiscocks, after all, took off for years in Wanderer, a 30 footer that had a
cabin that looked like the snug in a pub for Munchkins.
(Note: This is a
nine tonne 30-footer...made of
wood...so draw your own conclusions)
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