size is importent??

[Guest]

Having just read the Boat Report on the Aleutian 64, and fallen in love for the 16th time in the last six month, I got to wondering about size. How big a boat can a couple handle,i.e. no crew, asuming that they know what they are doing?

Karl

 

[Guest]

Re: size

Hopefully, 76 feet.

You don't have to carry the thing. Bigger boats sit in the water against a light wind, go where they are pointed, smaller ones less so: they skitter about a lot more. It's not true that smaller ones are "easier" - they're simply cheaper if you conclusively smash them up. Which most people don't do anyway, so they buy a little one and soon want to upgrade

There, so now there's nothing stopping you buying that 64. Where will you keep it?

 

[longjohnsilver]

Re: size

A serious question Matt, have you had a go at handling something around the size that soon will be filling your berth. If so how easy is it for 2 people to manage or do you expect to get help from the marina staff when you come in to moor up? 23m is one serious lump to handle.

 

[Guest]

Re: size

Well ah no, to be honest.

But but. The fenders are right there, in fender bins next to the rails, no poncing about lugging them around. You can actually break into a run up and down a big boat - no clambering about as on a smaller boat. The passarelle stretches at least two metres beyond the end of the boat, so you can drop off a catcher without "leaping". They have hydraulic bowthrusters. They have much proportionately much bigger marina spaces in which to manoevre before backing in - we'll have at least 45 metres fairway, whereas our 15m metre had to be spun in a 16m fairway. And there's a free skipper thrown for the first season.

Seriously, with stern-to mooring at any rate, you need one person to drive and one person to get a line on. If the wind is light or off the quay, it can be done solus - but easier with another. Just cos it's big - why would it need more? Our only man-overboard was when we had ten on board and one was jostled off "his" fender by over-enthusiastic visitor.

Last but not least, as you say, lots of willing help from the marina staff - and even (possibly) from BB volunteers (hint hint)

 

[ChrisP]

Re: size

Got to agree if al the things like weather etc. are in your favour. However having worked our way along the size scale over the years. 40 feet is bringing a few mumblings from the other half about someone sitting on the f/bridge while she runs around like a certain type of insect. This could be due to the extra length. Her age or my cockups. No can't be the last one.

 

[paulineb]

OH YES !! ....nm

.

Pauline B

 

[ChrisP]

Re: OH YES !! ....nm

I just knew it had to be you!

 

[hlb]

Re: size is not every thing??

Yes but its not just about driving it. Bigger boats are much easier to handle than little ones but. My old berth in Plymouth
was about half a mile out into the river and when the wind was blowing, the pontoons would be jumping four or five feet in the air. Consiquently after breaking more and more ropes,
they just got thicker and thicker. Cos we also moor in the most unusual places some times, the ropes also get longer and longer. So now th-wife stagers about buried under
Half a ton of rope that would happily tow the Q.E.2!!

Then theres the bigger and bigger fenders to haul about and the occasions when the wind is blowing and we have to haul the boat about on the ropes. When eight tons decides its moving the other way you cant argue much!!
So I.m quite happy with my 35 and would'nt want anything any bigger for the two of us. Besides we can still just about sneek up the little river to the fishing tackle shop and look like the Ark Royal has just come into port. Hook it into that little place by the pub. Pretend that the 20 ft yacht is ok to moor against without looking to much out of order.

Naa, size is not every thing, its how you use it!!

Haydn

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

Re: size

Depends on the boat. I know a professional skipper who is regularly hired to take out a big President motor boat about 70' long. This boat has a virtually full length deck saloon with a vast aft deck canopy. On top of the deck saloon is a huge fully enclosed flybridge
The skipper told me that despite all sorts of thrusters this thing is a nightmare to berth in any sort of crosswind due to it's tower block windage. Apparently it only ever goes out to anchor because the owner's petrified of taking it into any other port

 

[miket]

I think it depends where and how you intend to use it. (the boat)

In the Solent: We decided that over 40 feet becomes a problem if you want to frequent the smaller harbours. (Bembridge, Beaulieu, Newtown Creek, etc)

Having just returned from the Turkish coast, our skipper and crew (of 3) had a brilliant system for stern on mooring (either to a quay or to a rock/tree) which they managed very easily and competently on the 70 foot Turkish Gulet, with no bow or stern thruster, a single engine, and a very efficient hydraulic anchor winch. It was a joy to watch. I am sure that with a few marital aids (bow and stern thrusters, etc) a well rehersed twosome could cope very well.

Anyway it sounds as though Matts is looking for volunteers to crew his new boat. Try it and see. I believe he has a very big one!

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

You're right about the Solent, 40' is the optimum length. We had a 50' Princess a while back and going into Bembridge was like the QE2 docking at Southampton. We got chucked off buoys in Newtown and outside Yarmouth 'coz we were too long and it was always difficult to find visitor's berths. In the end we always aimed to arrive somewhere early in order to get a berth so anchoring at Alum Bay and sneaking into Yarmouth in the evening was out. The last straw was when Ocean Village chucked us off our berth and offered us a '12m' berth instead with the pontoon less than half the length of the boat (charging us for 16m of course). We got fed up with all this plus the 4hrs it took to clean her on a Sunday evening so we sold her
The least of our problems was handling her between the two of us

 

[longjohnsilver]

Volunteers.

If you really need to press gang volunteers then I just might be persuaded...........after all would hate to see scratch on new boat!

 

[Guest]

Thanks to you all for your replys. As it stands it will be up to Lady Luck to provide the funding. It will, for the forseable future, be magasine gazing and dreaming.
I will be contacting you all in the happy event of Lady Luck smiling, and then we can meet and see who got the biggest.
Karl