Squeezing them in...

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ossian72

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I know it is all relative... but what size small cruiser would you recommend for two adults, and three children 13, 8 and 4...

I currently squeeze us all into a pop-top VW T25 camper and will be employing similar tactics on the water ... (we get on well hahaha)

Flip-flopping between lift-keel and bilge-keeler for reasons of space below deck and intrusion...

Would love to hear your seafaring experience of the the old one liner “how many people can you fit in a ....”

Thanks!
 
Sensible minimum is about 26ft I would say.

Find an old bilge keel Jaguar 27. That'll do the job.
 
The decision on lift keel and bilge is not one for space. Lift keel if you ever want to trail it, but raising mast without crane on a 26 or 27 footer makes it a rare move only. Bilge keelers can have drying moorings and are less vulnerable to damage from rocks on the bottom than dried out lift keels, but are much harder to get on trailer. Having had a lift keeler I wouldn't bother.

Even a 26ft or 27ft will be tight if you want to do more than a few nights away, certainly don't go smaller. You can have room for crew but not for a change of clothing, and in wet weather that's an issue. Better to have an older but bigger boat as you wont be racing, provided its modern enough to have suitable layout - forepeak berths, separate heads, galley usable with crew still not all out of bunks etc.

Good luck, with your search. Jaguar 27 not bad, and there are many others out there and prices are ridiculously low. What is your budget?
 
Ossian72

Hello and welcome to the forums. There will be a lot of good advice in here. However...

Why don't you have just one thread on "which boat should I buy". You've got loads running, and people might be happier to contribute. Lots of parallel discussions about exactly the same topic and it just makes it really hard to understand where you are with your decision.

People won't waste their time contributing to a thread about cruising dayboat trailer sailors if elsewhere you've started a thread about bilge keeled inboarders, but people will be very happy to contribute to a single thread where the merits of each can be discussed.

Just my 2p worth fella! :-)
 
I suggest you look at a Parker 31 lift keel. We had great fun in one with 3 kids and two adults. Before that we had a Parker 275 but we found that a bit tippy.
 
I'm reminder of a review that said a particular boat could take two in comfort, four in discomfort and five in mortal enmity. Don't go too small. With a camper, you can go off for a walk when the desire to strangle your crew becomes overwhelming. That's a bit more difficult at sea :)
 
We cruised with two children up to teenage in a Mystere 26 past the age when boy and girl could share a cabin and met a family with the same boat who sailed with three children and a large dog. With five on a boat this size you will need two to share the fo'c's'le, one in a quarter berth and two in the saloon, either separate or in a double according to taste. Whatever the boat it is going to be cosy and the family will either end up very close or best of enemies. A cockpit tent can be a very useful addition in any small boat.

We are forever stumbling into each other with just two of us in a 34-footer, so the problem is not which boat to choose but how well the family can learn to adapt.
 
oldmanofthehills said:
Even a 26ft or 27ft will be tight if you want to do more than a few nights away, certainly don't go smaller. You can have room for crew but not for a change of clothing, and in wet weather that's an issue. Better to have an older but bigger boat as you wont be racing, provided its modern enough to have suitable layout - forepeak berths, separate heads, galley usable with crew still not all out of bunks etc.
Click to expand...

It amazes me that four non-related adults did a fortnight flotilla holiday on a 24ft Snapdragon (which I think have been mentioned in one of these numerous threads). But at least in the Med summer the need for stowage for (wet) clothing is much reduced...

Mike.
 
mjcoon said:
It amazes me that four non-related adults did a fortnight flotilla holiday on a 24ft Snapdragon (which I think have been mentioned in one of these numerous threads). But at least in the Med summer the need for stowage for (wet) clothing is much reduced...
Click to expand...

Michael Green's Coarse Cruising describes four adults (in some cases not even particularly good friends, though that might have been effect rather than cause :) ) routinely sailing from the Solent to France and the Netherlands in, I think, a 19 footer.

Different worlds :)

Pete
 
Between the ages of 6 to around 11 my family sailed a Kingfisher 20+ (20ft bilge keeler) ... I was squeezed up front with my 2 younger siblings while my parents slept in the main cabin. It worked but wasn't that comfortable - damp and cramped would be a reasonable description but we didn't care 'cos it was an adventure.

From 11 to around 18 we had an Albin Vega (27ft) with a seat back in the saloon converted to make a flip-up bed suspended from the cabin roof. My brother, sister and I slept in the main saloon (privacy became a problem), my parents up front. It sailed really well and we were so grateful to get shot of the Kingfisher - we'd grown out of it. We were still envious of the space in our friends Westerly Centaur (26ft bilge keeler), even more so when they bought a Westerly Tempest - luxury.

At 18 my parents moved up to a Finnsailer 35 which had more space than the Vega, was a bit more comfortable, (hot water, heating and enclosed wheelhouse) but no more beds.

All this time we cruised the Scottish west coast for up to 3 weeks at a time.

I have since chartered all over the place with my own family (3 sons, now grown up) and to be honest, things have moved on since I was younger and I wouldn't recommend anything less than around 27ft if you don't want a mutiny on your hands. Things like fridges, hot water, showers and a bit of personal space have become the norm now and the layout below decks will be more important than the actual length.

I now have a Bavaria 36 in the Adriatic - a totally different experience, sunshine, 3 double cabins, fridge, shower - absolute luxury in comparison to my childhood.
 
Baggywrinkle said:
the layout below decks will be more important than the actual length.
Click to expand...

Agree with this - at least within a category of similar lengths; you’re not going to get any 21-footer comparable with a 30-footer. But we had a 24-foot boat whose shape and layout made her more like a 20-footer inside, only two real (but small) settee berths plus one tiny quarter-berth. Yet there are shorter boats that will provide much more usable living space due to both hull+deck design and interior layout.

Pete
 
prv said:
Agree with this - at least within a category of similar lengths; you’re not going to get any 21-footer comparable with a 30-footer. But we had a 24-foot boat whose shape and layout made her more like a 20-footer inside, only two real (but small) settee berths plus one tiny quarter-berth. Yet there are shorter boats that will provide much more usable living space due to both hull+deck design and interior layout.

Pete
Click to expand...

I have always admired the Achilles range for actual performance but the narrow layout made the 24ft seem like a 20ft, and even the 9m/29ft seemed no more commodious and downright more awkward than the 26ft we were trading up from. So we bought a 31ft Westerly rather than the Achilles 9m and I note our slightly newer LM27 (27ft obviously) has nearly as much room as the Westerly . No doubt there are many more modern boats now
 
Size matters but isn't everything. I was surprised to find that an earlier Dehler 34 had less space inside than my then Sadler 29, not that the performances were comparable.
 
Responded on other threads as well, but on the specifics we are 2 adults and 3 x 9 year old girls in a Sun 2000. They sleep on the V-berth with infill, we sleep on the "saloon" berths.
 
Should add that I'm 6'6" and other half is 6' so we need spacious berths. I find most boats under 35 feet just seem to have berths that are too small.
 
A wise old man by the name of Searush advised me against my Sun 2000..........and suggested comfort below was more important than I thought. It all depends how good you are at only going on sunny days and camping aboard in nice weather. And how hardy/sporty/outward boundy your kids are, and importantly how happy your partner is in this scheme. My wife was much happier on the Centaur. I had to do a ton more maintenance. I enjoyed both and would prefer the Centaur for a long trip. But for messing about inside Chichester harbour and light winds the Sun 2000.
 
Thanks Iain C - fair point: I certainly don't want to irritate anyone... the advice on here has been plentiful and valuable so far, ao thanks to all. cheers
 
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