Do Bigger Boats Make Bad Weather More Bearable

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alec

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Would be interested to know if people who have moved up to bigger boats find things more manageable, and, possibly use the boat more often when bad weather comes along.

Or is the design of the boat more of a factor ?


Regards,
 
IMHO, yes. And that is a result of my experiences in my boat - 28 tons of long keel cutter rigged ketch with a 158hp engine!

However, the downside is near bankruptcy!!
 
Not always. I recall crossing the North Channel from Gigha to Bangor quite a few years ago. We were in the smallest boat, 27 ft, along with club boats at 34, 35, 36, 37 and 50 ft. The 50 footer rolled like a pig in swells on the beam, whereas we were relatively stable. We were the last boat in port, as expected, but we were the only one on which nobody was seasick.
 
In my experience bigger boats are not neccessarilly more comfortable underway in large seas but they generally go faster so you get there quicker and once tied up in a harbour/marina bigger most definitely means comfier.
 
Have sailed in 48' and 35' and my own boat is 27'.

Definitely have shorter journeys in the larger boats, so less likely to be 'out there' for so long and I feel that the ride is less tiresome in the bigger boats, when it blows up a bit.

But on the other hand, rig size is important too and with just me and my wife as crew, too big would be very concerning.

Our budget obviously seems to be around the 27' mark anyway, so for us, it's academic.
 
Yes -- conditions that are scary on a 30, bearable on a 36 are no big deal on a 47. This is based on having in been same said conditions lutiple times on all three sizes. Independent of the boat speed arguement [which is true] if your out in 25 knots on a 30-36 ft boat you are well reefed down and hanging on to a degree. On a 47 you may be reefed a hair but rolling along like a freight train. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
I think they do. Moved up from a Snapdragon 747 this year to an LM 30. We were chased back into the Solent from the Scillies by a Force 8 and enjoyed it all the way. I think I would have run for harbour in the Snappie. The LM wheel house also makes a big difference. We don't mind rain squalls and I'm sure we are less tired at the end of a tough day.
 
Not sure if we are talking mobos or yachts, but I cruised with a friend during the summer. I have a 37ft mobo and he a 48ft mobo.
We crossed the channel from Weymouth to Guernsey in a hell of a blow, it grew steadily worse and must have been blowing 6-7 by the time we reached the channel isles. His boat rode the waves very well, but we really got tossed around and we were very pleased to get into port. I think the hull length had a good deal to do with the comfort of his ride. I have a s.d. hull and he has a planning hull. I always thought in heavy seas my boat would ride the waves better, but not so at all!
It must be hull length that gave him a more stable ride!

Barry
 
Yes, I dont get slammed around so much, and SWMBO feels much safer.
Our previous 22ft was very exciting in a 6, taking green ones over the front, but the 35ft just strides away with a reef in.
I had an Evolution 25 that bobbed like a cork and floated over the top of the bigger stuff, and was good. My mate following in his Westerly Griffon got wet and ploughed through safely, but on a 20 mile hike up the coast, I got there, showered and in the bar before he showed up.

It is also a lot about how confident you are, and the boat can add to that (maybe rightly or wrongly).
 
No one has mentioned the fact that on small (Under 3 to 5 ton) boats pulling in a sail is made a little easier as you can pull the boat to the sail, however this gets a lot harder when you get too heavy for this.

Avagoodnewyear......
 
For my guess I would say that it is sheer mass ie inertia that makes a boat more stable in rough water. A small boat will react to every little wave while a heavier boat will tend to sit and possibly take the waves on board. Of course things like free board and hull shape do matter.

"more manageable" can mean easier (slower motion) or can mean drier or possibly less work to helm and handle sails.

Have you ever noticed how boats shrink when you put them in water? Mine is a monster on a trailer on the road but put it in it s element and it is a tiny toy boat that certainly bounces around in any sort of small waves. and with little inertia it stops when it hits a wave when beating into the wind and wave. But certainly big means big money in an exponential manner. olewill
 
A freind of mine asked me to act as mate on the delivery trip of his Square rigged topsail schooner. 98 ft and 90 tons but i was still sick in some enormous channel rollers. The sensations of hour after hour surfing down the rollers, wing on wing with no2 and no 3 jibs set, compression gs at the bottom, the lift and almost weightless conditions as a following swell rolled under was simply too much for my stomach.

As we went out HMS Ocean was coming in to shelter
 
Not necessarily more bareable. I depends on the design and more importantly the confidence you have in it. Which means there are some 30 foot boats I'd happily cross the atlantic in, and some 50 foot boats I would go aboard in a marina.
 
Yes a confident Skipper, a good helm and right amount of sail out can make a Big! differnce! THe weakest thing on a boat is the crew!
Recently on a 42 ft (heavier keel version) Bavaria in the solent we had over 38knts gusting across the bow with only two reefs in (had problem) was very uncomfortable even for the solent and were doing the 'getting nowhere fast beats', so, we turned round, as flogging the preverbreal, as didn't need to be out there.
I did the biscay through mostly F8 and big climbing swells, and was glad to be on a 58 ft nicholson , didnt stop me from bruising my ribs when thrown about down below and may not have been so smooth on a (much malined) 42ft Lighter Bavaria which may have slammed and rounded up more,
If however, I was on a smaller heavier bottomed long keeled vessel the ride would be completly differnt and less prone to falling off the top of the waves like the biggers boats ... e.t.c. blah blah ....any way what do i know i'm just a beginner /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
agree with comments below,and wd add that bigger boats can be faster to move around - especially if you can actually break into a trot/run along the side decks.

Bigger boats should and i think do move less in big seas, although it can be more daunting as the distance "all the way up/down there to bows" is of course that much further...
 
11 years ago I went up in boat length by 35% at a cost of 120%. I also went from a tubby bilge keeler to a thin well overhanged long keeler.

Apart from a bit more room , cottage comfort etc, the idea was to get to places a little quicker and with a less jerkier and slamming ride. Overall, I think the move was a good one but the ride in the heavier stuff was not THAT much better. I reckon small boats ( under about 50 feet say ) are still small boats when it comes to bad weather.

Interestingly, I have been out on bigger boats over the years, say Thames Barge and the like, but apart from the gear and the history, they have done very little for me. Even my mate’s 50 footer as well. The problem is the ride – or the lack of it. Unless there is a fair bit of wind it’s like being on a log , very little movement. Just not getting the full monty of the sailing experience – you know, the less is more approach.
 
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