Full standing headroom - seriously over-rated or essential

[dylanwinter]

I have never owned a boat with full standing headroom

although if the hatch is open they have all enjoyed the benefit of being able to accommodate the tallest crew member

It does seem to me that standing headroom comes at quite a price

price of the boat - manoueverability - view from the cockit or steep companionway steps

could you live without it?

Dylan

 

[Humblebee]

I like it, my wife and I both got sore backs moving about inside our last boat, which only had sitting headroom. Doing the cooking or cleaning the dishes while bent over isn'tt much fun.

 

[dylanwinter]

sink and cooker under the hatch

I like it, my wife and I both got sore backs moving about inside our last boat, which only had sitting headroom. Doing the cooking or cleaning the dishes while bent over isn'tt much fun.

on the slug I can stand and cook and wash up as the cooker and sink are under the hatch

if it is raining then I have an umbrella

Dylan

 

[Ex-SolentBoy]

Of course you can. You can also live without hot water, heating, clean bedding, a proper heads, TV, a wine chiller, cockpit cushions, a bow thruster, a sink, a music system and a microwave. The possible is not necessarily the desirable.

However, if you like standing up, have a bad back, dislike being in the cold and the rain then perhaps the things you mention are important.

If being on a boat is your life then anything is possible.

If being on a boat is a leisure activity then it's an individual choice. I can put up with camping for a night or two, but the novelty soon wears out for me.

 

[Ex-SolentBoy]

on the slug I can stand and cook and wash up as the cooker and sink are under the hatch

if it is raining then I have an umbrella

Dylan

Clearly you are short of friends though. Try doing all that with six on board!

 

[dylanwinter]

600

Clearly you are short of friends though. Try doing all that with six on board!

six hundred on board the slug at the last count

catering is getting really out of hand

D

 

[Cloona]

full standing headroom is a complete myth - 1 have been on 40 ft yacht (twice actually) and you might have a square yard of it in the saloon but the rest of it is stoopsville -
and one master cabin was just a big shelf - you can stand up in the cockpit or on deck on any little cruiser and generally in the companion way - what else do you need ?

mind you a hot bath would be good - or a decent jacuzzi I suppose

 

[Rum_Pirate]

It also depends on how tall or short you are.

 

[NUTMEG]

Standing...

Alex (W21) is only two foot longer then the slug, but has standing h/r in the saloon and I love it. Makes getting dressed, pulling trousers on etc much easier for us over fifties. The visability forward is trick if not sitting on a fender but not to much of a problem. Mind you, the forward double cabin berth is only useable for a couple if one of you is four foot tall.

So, no Dylan, I do not think it over rated, I love the standing headroom!

Steve

 

[SAWDOC]

It is a matter of choice. My choice in my two yacht purchases to date was to go for it. Thoroughly worthwhile requirement for me - I would not buy a boat without it.

 

[Grunter]

full standing headroom is a complete myth - 1 have been on 40 ft yacht (twice actually) and you might have a square yard of it in the saloon but the rest of it is stoopsville -
and one master cabin was just a big shelf - you can stand up in the cockpit or on deck on any little cruiser and generally in the companion way - what else do you need ?

mind you a hot bath would be good - or a decent jacuzzi I suppose

I had drawn the same conclusion as I have been looking for my first yacht, but with a rapidly shrinking budget I have been paying close attention to the interior shots and was wondering just where they took the stated headroom measurement from as its never uniform.
another measurement that can be misleading is the beam, a larger quoted beam does not always equate to greater accomodation space.

 

[blackbeard]

Can be an issue. Purely for myself, it wouldn't bother me much either way, but First Mate has a potentially bad back and left me in no doubt that any boat we might buy would have standing headroom.

 

[ffiill]

In my old 27ft 6in. wooden boat I only had full standing headroom in the dog house which stood over the cooker-Im 6'2".Rest varied around about 5'-never felt a problem.
My current boat its about same as me apart from forcabin where under the end of the coachroof its over 7 foot.-combine this with mahogany veneer lining and velvet velour upholstery and it can create a wonderful escape from what may be horrendous weather up top.
Certainly makes a good live aboard.

 

[johnalison]

I agree that it's mainly an age issue. They used to say that a cruising boat should be the length in feet of your years. We had a 26ft boat without standing room for about 14 yrs and were quite happy with it. You just got into the saloon and sat down, shuffling along if necessary. It was easy to see out of the cabin too.

 

[Poignard]

When you're stuck in some dreary anchorage for several days, with continuous rain, it's very nice to be able to stand up and stretch your legs without going out in the rain!

 

[LONG_KEELER]

Less can possibly be more with sailing, but probably does not apply to live a boards.

After cruising for more than a few days I often put a sticker down below saying Back ! . It makes me sit on the engine cover rather than stooping when cooking and washing up. Rest of the time I'm normally flat out.

 

[SAWDOC]

I had drawn the same conclusion as I have been looking for my first yacht, but with a rapidly shrinking budget I have been paying close attention to the interior shots and was wondering just where they took the stated headroom measurement from as its never uniform.
another measurement that can be misleading is the beam, a larger quoted beam does not always equate to greater accomodation space.

Boats such as an Offshore 8 mtre ( my first boat) had 6 ft headroom the length of the main cabin. I thought it was lovely.

 

[markleuty]

Just moved from a boat without full standing headroom to one with.

I like it.

Mark

 

[emandvee44]

Full Standing Headroom

We are fortunate that both of us suffer from duck's disease so our problem is that it is quite a stretch to reach the hatch handles and the deckhead light switches. However, one of our occasional crew is very tall and has to stoop to get around inside.
You can't please everyone.

Cheers,

Michael.

 

[Searush]

My first boat (W25) had 5'10" under the hatch (closed) & 5'3" in main saloon & about 4'6" forward. SWMBO is 5'2" I am 5'10" & the kids were (then) under 4'6". But kids have a habit of growing & 4 people make a small boat feel a lot smaller than one does.

Moving up to the W31 was like sailing in a ballroom, but I still spend a lot of time lying down, reading, eating or chatting when below. It's nice to not have to stoop when getting up in the morning, cooking or doing dishes, or worry about banging my head on the mast beam too.

A bigger boat would make it much harder to creep up your creeks, but as you head North the passagemaking abilities would make it easier & safer to cover the longer distances between safe havens,