Big yacht with small crew

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milkysleep

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Hi my first post here,
me and my hubby have some experience sailing the med on charter yachts, mainly bavarias and jeanneaus in the 32-40 range. We are thinking to make the big jump to a bigger yacht but I'm wandering which is the maximum size for a yacht that can be handled by just 2 crew member (me and hubby)?? Do you have any specific type in mind??
 
Recently a 70 year old raced across the Atlantic on a 70 footer singlehanded. So if you are asking the question about size, then it comes down to your own experience. Personally having only chartered, I would advise considering the maximum size for your second yacht as you can get better experience and knowlege of what you need from a smaller boat. This will probably save you the potential of making a massive mistake due to your limited experience.
 
milkysleep said:
Hi my first post here,
me and my hubby have some experience sailing the med on charter yachts, mainly bavarias and jeanneaus in the 32-40 range. We are thinking to make the big jump to a bigger yacht but I'm wandering which is the maximum size for a yacht that can be handled by just 2 crew member (me and hubby)?? Do you have any specific type in mind??
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Before buying, charter to test your assumptions.
 
Depends on the yacht setup as TQA states. Southerly state their yachts are set up for two people and the 57rs is 58" (<18m)
 
The max size a couple can handle is really based on their abilities. Just for a point of reference, in the 1976 Ostar race Alain Colas singlehanded the 236' 4 masted schooner Club Mediterranée.

So with appropriate electrical and hydraulic assistance it's possible to singlehand just about anything you could afford to buy.
 
In practical terms i think it is around 50 feet.

At that size i find if anything breaks two of you have a chance. I can just about deal with manually handling the genny and main on and off the rig for example. More than 50 feet and you need to accept you are totally reliant on the electrics / hydraulics and nothing serious going wrong.

50 feet is a great size for two. Its really spacious, enough storage for proper long term cruising, and the size weight and inertia to feel comfortable and the ability to plug on in most conditions.
 
milkysleep said:
Hi my first post here,
me and my hubby have some experience sailing the med on charter yachts, mainly bavarias and jeanneaus in the 32-40 range. We are thinking to make the big jump to a bigger yacht but I'm wandering which is the maximum size for a yacht that can be handled by just 2 crew member (me and hubby)?? Do you have any specific type in mind??
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Probably a Dashew Sundeer/Deerfoot/Beowulf or one of the other variants of the concept ranging from 56 to about 80 ft. At sea or anchoring 2 crew no problem, though I'd want to call up for shore assistance before attempting anything but the very easiest marina berth.
 
ip485 said:
In practical terms i think it is around 50 feet.

At that size i find if anything breaks two of you have a chance. I can just about deal with manually handling the genny and main on and off the rig for example. More than 50 feet and you need to accept you are totally reliant on the electrics / hydraulics and nothing serious going wrong.

50 feet is a great size for two. Its really spacious, enough storage for proper long term cruising, and the size weight and inertia to feel comfortable and the ability to plug on in most conditions.
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Absolutely. It is manual sail movement that I find the limiting factor. When sails are bent on, it is one thing but getting them off, or changing headsails, needing two or three to move them makes it very hard work.
A lot of marinas also step up changes at 15m, and lots of other issues begin to come into play as well.
 
I have sailed a fair deal, in company, with a friend singlehanding his 47ft modern boat. In general it was fine but I had to go across to help him get the anchor once, so bear in mind the points made by TQA and ip485 about electrical systems.

In a marina he always did rather well because he was invariably given an outside, easy berth. In a smaller boat you often end up battling with dead ends, tight turns, oblique tides and narrow pontoons. At sea, all is ease.
 
I regularly sail a 45 footer singlehanded, or with my wife who is a help when docking but does not handle the sails at all. Its a good size to have and comes into its own on the odd occasions we have guests, but honestly I don't see any real reason for a couple to want anything bigger, and unless living aboard full time a 38-40 foot boat should be plenty big enough, and considerably cheaper in terms of marina bills.
 
We have a 50ft Bavaria, and my wife and I find it perfectly fine (its usually just us two on board).

There are a few techniques to learn (lassooing mooring cleat etc.), but once you have those bits mastered it's easy.
 
It does very much depend on the ability and experience of the crew.

I personally wouldn't want anything bigger than 50ft for 2 people. I would favour an aft cockpit as it is very difficult for the helmsman to be useful with the lines when driving a boat with a centre cockpit. I would also prefer to have a bow thruster if short handed.

Pete
 
On the basis that if I'm incapacitated in some way, my petite wife would have to handle the boat, we decided on a maximum size of 35 feet. We bought a 33 footer with a masthead rig on which I have to sheet in the full Genoa if there's any wind in it. We spend extended periods of time aboard, but it may be a little small for living aboard. We see lots of couples with 40-plus footers. We have no electrical aids for sheeting, sail hoisting or anchoring.
 
TQA said:
There are many couples happily cruising and circumnavigating on recent Amels which go from 53 ft to 55 ft.

They are pretty reliant on all the electric motors keeping working but is seems that mostly they do.
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Everything that runs by motor has a manual back-up. Amel refused to have hydraulics on the boat because that requires specialized knowlege to service. OTOH electric motors can be replaced nearly anywhere. If you go a little back in time there are smaller Amels than the 52' Super Maramus. It's true though that Amels were designed so that physical strength was not a requirement. Henri Amel used to go out solo in his Super Maramu when he was in his late 70's.
 
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How old are you and your wife?
How fit are you?

Buy a 52ft yacht. Bow thruster and a stern thruster too. Hydraulic/electric in mast furling and Genoa sails electric anchor.

Have fun.

Later upgrade to a 60+ and get a crew :-)
 
You don't say what kind of sailing you intend doing. If you intend to often be in marinas then the bigger the boat the more problems you may have. Bow thrusters help here and you should certainly look for those on the larger boats.

Depends also on the type of boat you want and how much you are willing to pay. I know of a 40ft Nauticat that would have more space than you are ever likely to need and could take you anywhere in the world.

I would suggest you actually look at as many boats as you can, go down below and consider whether you really need a bigger boat. The money saved buying a smaller boat can be used to make sure that you get a quality boat
 
If you need a lot of space you might think about a catamaran for Med sailing, if that's what you're planning.

Our 40 footer is easily handled by two without need for thrusters or electric winches but I understand has the same space as a 55 footer - 4 double cabins and 2 singles.

It's a different experience to monohull sailing but there are plenty of threads about that.

Richard
 
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