Do small boats still do more ??

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Years ago Yachting Monthly did a survey of yachts in clubs / marinas etc. and found that .... using the Mag title .... "Small boats go further"

They found a couple of students with a small 20ft motor boat going round the UK coast ... stopping here and there ... working a bit behind bars etc. earning enough to feed and also to fuel the boat.

A couple with a 23ft sail boat regulars to Ch. Isles ...

Many examples of small boats and major point made - often without big planing or set-up ... fuel up, climb on and go ...

BUT then came the big boys ..... boats that rareley moved ... needing 2, 3 or 4 to handle it ... the organising crew and gear on board ... etc.

I think the same still applies ... go into some of the grotty little yards full of small ( 16 - 28ft ) boats and they are often letting go for a few days or of for a day sail ... Then go round to MDL or similar to the big boys ... you may find them having G&T's on board etc. - but the lack of movement of boats is striking ....

Do people also think that size of boat has any corelation with the advise and cost of solutions to some problems and questions on the forum ?? That sometimes bigger boat people lose sight of the smaller boats limitations / needs ?

Do you think that snobbery does appear as boat size increases ?? Is it just MOBO or Raggie or both ??

C'mon what does the panel think ?? I have my own views - as most have ... but will hold back till I see what others say ... interesting ... !!

/forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif
 
I find it's mainly the medium 35ft'ish, that actually go anywhere. The bigger ones seem to scared and are afraid of getting there boats dirty and hate anything to do with rafts. Cant blame the little ones for not venturing far though!!
 
In my case small boats definitely don't go further. Having gone back to a 24 ft boat after years of owning bigger boats, then chartering even bigger ones, I find I use the boat mostly as a day boat. The longest single sail was from Felixstowe Ferry to Ramsgate as part of getting the boat around the coast.

But I do feel able to just untie and go for a day or evening sail which I did on Tuesday night after work - sailing around in light winds, hot sunshine then moonlight before getting in the car and going home. I'm not saying I definitely wouldn't have done that in a bigger boat but I somehow never got round to it.

It's great to have a dinghy with a lid on and a spinnaker you can pull about under load by yourself, and I'd forgotten how quickly you can hoist a little mainsail.

Having said all that about daysailing, when I was in my 20s I sailed the same type of 24 footer across the Channel a few times and even had a six week honeymoon down to Les Sable d'Olonne and back. Now I would only sleep aboard if I absolutely had to.

Maybe it's down to the attidude behind buying a boat, rather than the boat size itself?
 
I have recently moved my 22 footer from a busy Marina to moorings at a local club. Living very close to the Marina, I spent a lot of time observing other boats and there coming and goings. Many of the 40ft + yachts have yet to be moved this season, yet the smaller boats are in constant use.

The difference between my Yacht Club mooring and the Marina is staggering - there is ALWAYS somebody on the go at the club, whereas in the Marnia, you can go for days without seeing a soul.
 
Agree - I think optimum size for usage is up to 30'. Yes I know people will come back saying they use there 45 footer (or whatever) more than anyone they know - but we're generalising here.

However I guess it could just be that with MDL prices people can't afford to use their boat as well as berth her!!!!!
 
Maybe magazines and advertising ??

Maybe these two things have changed peoples thoughts about boats ... it seems to me that mags concentrate on the 30ft and above market with their reviews ... only occasional forays into the smaller market .......... and then it's second-hand ones ...

I think this biases the joe reading the mag ... new boats at 30ft over, s/hand under ... OK - we know its not reality except there are a load more smaller boats on market s/hand etc.

Many people would do better with a smaller boat ... but choose a bigger boat ... more to handle, have to have crew ... even if its just 1 or 2 accompanying .....

Like Music / Cars etc. - boats are advertised / pushed on market based on designers and not really the buyers ... you think it is - but thats because of all the twaddle spoken about listening to customers, introducing customers requests into models etc.

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Wee boats are definitely more fun, not least because they are more affected by conditions.

On looking at my log for this season however, I find that of my total of 734 miles to date, 458 have been on 3 trips in other peoples' boats (30' to 34') while 276 have been on umpteen trips on the good ship Silkie.
 
I think small boats do cover more distance in total, due to being easy to use - but i think (Personaly) about 35-40 foot is the optimal size, and when i change my boat i will go for somthing about 35-40....
 
From what I see in Ryde, the smaller boats fall in to one of two situations.

1) Never used at all.... broken dreams

2) Used or tinkered with regularly.

Bigger stuff... well as big as they get in Ryde and yes there are a couple, they seem to get used may be twice a year.


With regard to snobbery...

I have never encountered it when I park amungst similar boats. So for example in Bembridge with several other Westerlys and BK's. The conversation flowed.

But when I made the mistake of spending a night in East Cowes we were ignored. Yet when I had previously been to East Cowes with the sailing school we were in a nice shiny boat skippers of other big shiny boats stopped to say hello.

To further illustrate my point I spent an evening with you in Yarmouth and you weren't too proud to sit on my boat eat my food and spill red wine every where. That's what I call real friendly!!

So yes I think those of us on a budget are a friendly lot... whilst there are some others for whom the bigger the waterline the bigger the status.
 
We are certainly wearing out the anti foul on our lovely Trapper 500, all 27ft 6 inches of her. Having just returned from the West Country and 300 plus miles under our belts in 5 days. With three adults and all the assorted kit, we wished for bigger, but can we afford it and would it be as simple to sail and would we feel as safe as the Trapper makes us feel. Certainly our marina is full of boats bigger than us collecting marine samples above and below decks. Maybe yacht walking, dog walks, but more exspensive!!!
 
My usage profile is EXACTLY the same this year as last.
I have moved from a 22 footer on a swinging mooring in the Crouch, to a 35 footer on a swinging mooring in the Crouch.
We chose the 35 because we reckoned(and are right) that it takes an extra 1 minute to hoist the main on the 35 (only because you have to be head to wind because of lazyjack system), but we can do it single handed, as we have George to keep the boat on track motoring into the wind at about 1.5kts.
Our cruising area is the same, except we went across to Ostend which we didnt do last year.

Everyone is right though, the actual HOURS usage rather than the miles covered appears to decline with length. I wonder if it because the relative cost /income ratio means getting better 'bang for your buck'. It is certainly that way with me.

Taking into account my capital expenditure on the boat and moorings etc, my current cost per weekend away is at 7 grand. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

This will decrease as we are going way for the next 2 weeks on her.

Also, I am usually last out in the winter, just as they are uprooting the moorings for maintenance, so I like to have an 8 or 9 month season if possible. Perhaps I will grow indolent with time and leave my tub for long periods........


Jim
 
Is it because (preparing to duck now...) the big new boats are often (generakisation) rich persons toys, possibly just one of many and just like toys in a kid's toy box, not all of them are used. Especially if the toy is moored many miles away and needs other kids to play too. Cars are the same. How many (rich people) have several cars in the garage but don't use all of them?

Small boats however tend to be the primary source of fun for the owner and are therefore used more often...

Comments invited...
 
I think it works both ways. We get a lot of use out of our boat, out sailing most evenings as well as weekends, probably because we live next to her but she does take a bit longer to get ready than the average 35 foot boat as we don’t have the luxury of roller furling and lazy jacks etc. Long passages are out of the question most of the time, we’d probably spend longer durations at sea than we do currently if we had a bigger boat. Being Solent based, we still get the miles in, no matter what and when the weather is looking good for more than a couple of days we have even been known to fall off the end of the world and venture elsewhere.
Boat snobbery? Yup, I reckon it’s part of being in the Solent, but not entirely restricted to small boats IMHO. Down in the West Country (and other places too) it’s refreshing to see that boating is still about being out on the water, regardless of how you choose to be there.


Claire
 
Our summer cruise was cut short this year, but have sailed 943 miles so far this year of which 745 have been on our own boat (37ft). I normally reckon on 2000+ per season and certainly wouldn't do as much sailing on a smaller boat so disagree about smaller boats doing more. I don't particularly enjoy day sails, preferrring to go somewhere.

As for snobbery, we've fortunately encountered very little whether bigger or smaller boats. On the rare occasion when we have, it's been unpleasant people and I cannot say it's been limited to any particular type or size of boat.
 
I have a couple of theories on this.....

Bigger boats are more comfortable...... You drive to the boat and find the weather not great, either little wind or too much, too cold etc. On a smaller boat you are climbing over each other and cannot get comfy, sod it, we might as well go out than sit here in discomfort..........bigger boat, put heater on, watch television or snooze in the cockpit etc.

Most people, in smaller boats are newer to the sport / hobby and will damn well use the boat regardless. Those who have traded up will have (without patronisation) been there done that and the idea of watching the boom swing or the sails 'crack' all day is just too much and sit it out. Quite happy to sail for relaxation and when the conditions are good.

Or 3, on the lines of hlb, Not wishing to break anything as the costs of upkeep are higher will not venture into conditions now that they did when they had their 22 footer on the mooring.


Just some thoughts..........
 
We spend, usually, 2 days a week on board winter and summer, but never go day sailing, as we too prefer to go somewhere and get nothing much out of sailing around in circles all day (got over the novelty of just having rope pulling and tweaking to do many years ago).

It was interesting when we first moved to our current marina 7 or 8 years ago we would turn up to the boat and people would ask if we were going sailing that day. "Nope" was the answer and we usually got the "Oh, not another marina sailor" look. However, then we disappeared for a few weeks, then again and again, often leaving in conditions where many are still waiting for calmer weather.

So we soon never got asked that question again, in fact quite the opposite, but I get some amusement from forum posts that basically do the same thing by thinking everyone should be out sailing around in circles if proper use is to be made of a boat.

John
 
Surely it's a case of any boat, theoretically regardless of size, which can be sailed, anchored, moored and handled single-handedly will generally be used more than those which reuire a crew. As has been said, it's often the case that younger, keener yachtsmen tend to go out more often, be more adventurous and again, generally, can only afford smaller yachts.

Having said that, I've only been out on my perfectly managable 30 footer seven days this season - but that's down to pressure of work and other obligations . . .

Virtual yachting, i.e., sitting on the khasi reading Yachting Monthly, is imho overall the most relaxing, affordable and enjoyable form of cruising!
 
Age and boat size ???

I don't actually agree with the younger person only affording smaller boats ...

OK - I'm not saying that they don't ...... but what I do see is plenty of older persons with small boats ... maybe its the grwoing up with small boats and tinkering etc. that they enjoy ... bit like the garden shed bit ... warmer, nicer to tinker in house ... but shed is like own domain !!

I see many younger sailing bigger boats - whether as crew or invites ... cannot say ... but not so many as owners of the sub 28ft'r ...

The age of boat I would say is more tied to age groups rather than other way round ...
 
25 years ago, and our first yacht was a 21' Snapdragon, we sailed the South Coast from Littlehampton to Weymouth for 4 years with 2 daughters 2 and 4 years old. I took it across the Channel several times with a lads crew, and I believe we learnt an awful lot about the craft of sailing. Our next boat was a Heavenly Twin 26' catamaran, we sailed the Channel regularly and every year had 3 weeks in N France and Brittany as a family, and that was the best sailing we have ever done. We now have a 37' Prout Snowgoose, old but a beautiful boat, our daughters have grown up and have their own itinery although they do still sail with us, so it's normally just the 2 of us for holidays. Ironic really, the increased costs etc do make me wonder at the sense of it, but, it has always been our dream to own a Snowgoose, and it will be our retirement boat in a couple of years, we hope. I have just heard from the new owner of our old Heavenly Twin, and he states that the boat is terrific, he sails with a young family and he loves the ability to wriggle into shallow creeks and pools, he's doing what we did and enjoying it. So, small to medium is good, living aboard for longer periods we personally enjoy the bigger space, this is home from home, we don't feel the need to clock up the miles but appreciate the ability to do so if we want to. As far as sociability is concerned we don't seem to have any problem, be it Sunsail on a kids weekend or a family on hols, rafted up we seem to get along, mooring takes a little more effort but in my experience you only have to ask and most people will take a line. Knock on the hatch and wave a bottle in our face and you're welcome, look out for the brown hulled cat. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif
 
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