Is 6" too big

rubberduck

rubberduck

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Oops, meant 60' :D
Looking to upgrade to something with more livaboard space, but have been told that going from 40' to 60' can cause problems getting into marina's, which is our preference. Would mainly be used to go somewhere & use as a holiday apartment for a few weeks / months & then move on, probably only moving 2-3 times a year. Would also be using to explore locally but usually returning to temporary base. Are 60 ish foot berths generally that hard to find ?
 
rubberduck said:
Oops, meant 60' :D
Looking to upgrade to something with more livaboard space, but have been told that going from 40' to 60' can cause problems getting into marina's, which is our preference. Would mainly be used to go somewhere & use as a holiday apartment for a few weeks / months & then move on, probably only moving 2-3 times a year. Would also be using to explore locally but usually returning to temporary base. Are 60 ish foot berths generally that hard to find ?
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It can be difficult to find 50 ft moorings on east coast, you will be limited where you can take a 60 ft boat in uk marinas, I would do some research on where you plan to go, most marinas advertise their max size they will take.
 
How many of you RD? A 60 footer is gonna restrict you quite a bit marina wise not to mention the massive hike in berthing fees and fuel. Personally, 50 would be our max although tbh, whenever Chris and I look at upgrades, we find 45 will give us the perfect amount of space (model dependant of course) and facilities on board.
L
:)
 
If we are going to do this then Nicky wants Washer dryer, dishwasher etc etc. Want to keep air draft down so a flybridge is out, Absolute 56 looks favourite at the moment. Usually two of us + Gizmo, but often two sons with two girlfriends.
 
Is 60ft too big? It depends what you are used to is partly the answer but I don't know what Rubberduck's boat is a 42ft sports boat ?

How many people will normally run the boat Skipper and swmbo ?

60 ft generally is a lot of windage and a heavy lump to do anything with from a mooring point of view .

In my mind a lot of smaller ports have limited berthing for a 60 footer so you are in to phoning ahead whereas 45 footers you can turn up on spec.

If it is a couple normally running the boat plus occasional friends is that another couple or four guests.

I have a 48ft Aquastar good for two people to operate and plenty of room very easy to get off side decks onto pontoon, or stern to normally moor on a finger berth bow in though to give peace and quiet for aft cabin ( mine). But we do run with two other couples on occasions or three or four offspring friends for holidays.

If its two people you need to think how fast and safely crew can move to foredeck and the height of the foredeck over the pontoon is an issue with some modern boats where they are 6ft above the pontoon.
 
For THAT stated use 60 ft is fine imho. Sure, many marinas cannot take 60 ft esp at zero notice because they have few hammerheads, but for the use you describe you can make advance bookings and therefore put it in any cruising area. Assuming this is a UK-only discussion you can park 60 feet in Ipswich, Essex, Dover, Portsmouth, Solent, Cowes, Lymington, Poole, Torguay, Jersey, and so on. (Not that parking it will be cheap!)

If later you move it to the Med 60 feet is an excellent size and pretty much every port can handle 60 feet
 
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Bandit said:
60 ft generally is a lot of windage and a heavy lump to do anything with from a mooring point of view ....
If its two people .
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Having lived with 42, 58 then 78 feet, I have always found bigger is better in the marina. The reaction to gusts of wind is softer and of course builders tend to fit decent thrusters etc these days. Perhaps it's a matter of opinion/perception though (One of the most important techniques is to do everything slowly - it looks more graceful from the dock too. But let's not drift this thread into how to handle a boat!).

Likewise 2 people is fine as crew on 60 feet imho. I very often take the s78 out with just 2 people. You need the right control gear to make this easy/stress free, and imho engine/thruster controls in aft cockpit or on a wander lead is a huge help
 
rubberduck said:
IfNicky wants Washer dryer,
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Make sure to get a separate washer and separate drier if you are semi living an board. Preferably vented drier not condenser, and if poss get the Miele stuff with 30minute cycles. Makes turning cabins around between guests much easier. Combined washer driers take 2 hours to do half as much - they're a bit rubbish tbh

(Please forgive the private joke, but make sure also when you spec the tumble drier that its door is hinged on the correct side. You can totally ruin an otherwise great boat if you get this wrong :D )
 
It will be interesting to hear your feedback after the boat show, I think that the 56' is beautiful but it has the open cockpit/upper saloon which I feel doesn't suit the UK that well.

We have no canvass on the boat at all and it makes things so much easier, sliding patio doors to the cockpit and a more 'livable' upstairs space are well worth a look imho.

The new 48's from FL/PY do that well but are probably a little small for your ambitions, the FL 50 gt is fantastic but doesn't have the midships master or ips so did not suit us...

Even if you are looking for a boat with a little more prestige than a Prestige, I would strongly recommend jumping on the 500s or 550s for a looksee, the layout is superb and might give you some idea as to what else is out there.

fwiw we got over moving up to a 50' boat in around a day! If anything windage seems less of an issue and marinas seem to move heaven and earth to help out, (so far). Although its nothing in the grand scheme of things, marina fees seem to be disproportionally higher but such is life. It will be interesting to see how we get on in France next year but I guess we just need to plan a little further ahead with a bigger boat.

If we had the budget for a 60'er we would have bought one but I do feel the step up from 40 to 50 is pretty substantial...will see how long it lasts!





Agree with JFM re the washer/dryer although ours works very well, it is a slow cycle.
 
lisilou said:
A 60 footer is gonna restrict you quite a bit marina wise
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On this subject, and being a newbie, why don't people use ports (fishing or otherwise;throw yourself in with commercial shipping)?

I'm expecting the answers to be that "they would laugh at us", or "security isn't good enough" or "they are too rufty tufty for us, are rude and bash into our boats" or "we're not allowed" or "they are not nice enough". You never know though, it could be something else.

That would open up the cruising options (sorry if this results in a little thread drift).
 
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jfm said:
Make sure to get a separate washer and separate drier if you are semi living an board. Preferably vented drier not condenser, and if poss get the Miele stuff with 30minute cycles. Makes turning cabins around between guests much easier. Combined washer driers take 2 hours to do half as much - they're a bit rubbish tbh

(Please forgive the private joke, but make sure also when you spec the tumble drier that its door is hinged on the correct side. You can totally ruin an otherwise great boat if you get this wrong :D )
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I will bear this in mind :D
 
rubberduck said:
Thinking about it, washing machines are delivered with bolts to stop the drum getting damaged in transit. How does a machine not get damaged in a boat bouncing about ?
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Delivery means rolling the thing 180 or 360deg all over the place and the suspension for the drum cannot cope with that too well.
A boat rolling means it shifts 20-30deg at most (on a mobo!) relatively smoothly, wont top over, will it? So guess should be fine on a F8 unstabilised :p not sure about the passengers!
Also I'd avoid running it in heavy seas ;)

V.
 
rubberduck said:
Thinking about it, washing machines are delivered with bolts to stop the drum getting damaged in transit. How does a machine not get damaged in a boat bouncing about ?
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Stabs :):):) the big question is can JFM find a carbon fibre one to match the rest of the boat :D
 
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