What's the perfect size

[powerskipper]

of boat for you.
10 to 20 ft are fun, but wet more a big toy.
20 to 30 ft some useful boats in this size big enough to take you places depending on the weather and sea state.
30 to 40ft nice size, will take most places you want to go and still feel like you have been at sea.
40 to 50 ft again a nice size. you can go loads of places on them and still get in any marina.
50 to 60 ft big girls, will take you anywhere that fuel and draft would allow you and they just squash the waves flat. but do require planning or booking of berths.
60ft and above well you have a load of choice, but may do a lot of anchoring.

 

[Nigelpickin]

Fifty foot for us, ( but 49 when we pull up at a marina)

 

[kcrane]

48ft, no question, oh, and 8m, again, no question

 

[aquapower]

7.5 metre, its not to big to put on my trailer, running costs are then more sensible.

 

[lisilou]

Now there's the ultimate question but...back to boats and we're quite happy with 36ft. She gets us everywhere we want to go and then some. Can stay aboard for a couple of weeks without feeling cramped. Perfect for us anyway.
L

 

[Whitelighter]

Generally i think its 3ft bigger than the one we currently have at any given time

 

[[2068]]

I think my perfect boat would be around 35 - 40ft.

 

[bumpy_the_dog]

How big does a boat have to be before a night aboard isn't significantly worse than in the very worst Travelodge?

 

[rafiki_]

Our 39 footer works for us. So much better than our 31 footer. We have all the headroom we need, both being just either side of 6' tall.

 

[PCUK]

The one that you can afford to run!

 

[Kittycarter]

Just changed to 40' from 21'. What a difference. You can take her out in more interesting sea conditions with ease increasing time at sea. Not sure I would go much bigger, not that I could afford at the minute anyway

 

[BartW]

28ft, the biggest size one can tow behind a car,

80ft the biggest size one can sail without crew, and without pro license, and about max size for a few interesting med marina's

Anything inbetween you would want to upgrade sooner or later.

 

[MapisM]

Well, to be honest, I wouldn't mind also an upgrade to a Sanlorenzo SD92....
If only it were just a matter of cherry picking what we like better!

 

[Jegs]

Depends on the proportion of bathing platform to l.o.a.

John G

 

[Momac]

Ours is 33ft , having moved up from 25ft in 2014.
I thought the 25ft boat was fine . It allowed us to explore some inland waterways. The new boat simply cannot fit under the bridges. But the chief officer wanted more space and comfort. The new boat is relatively luxurious. I don't think we could go back.
We could have gone older/bigger but I am more the happy with the present boat.
So for now 33ft is the perfectly acceptable size.

 

[darrenw]

We've just gone from an open 17ft Speedboat to a 23ft Cuddy.

All horses for courses, as we moved onto a marina and simply wanted something we could jump on and go when time & weather permited.

With the 17ft we could always squeeze into the lock and birth alongside others (someimes 3 deep) in busy marinas, but were very much at the mercy of the weather and had limited range. Hoping the 23ft will give us the best of both worlds.

 

[Uricanejack]

I guess it depends what you want to do,

Drink gin in a palace or go fishing and drink beer.

Beer and fishing for me 10 to 20. The ability to pull in to a nice beach in the middle of no where, light a camp fire and pour a nice malt. If the fish aren't biting, is a good back up plan.

 

[Johntheoil]

Having moved to the warmer waters of Malta, I think it all depends on if you are leaving or returning to your berth.
Previous boat 50ft and 22tons was a 'doddle' to take out with an eager crew of family and friends......but maybe not quite so easy to berth on the return!......med style mooring, crew somewhat 'relaxed, tired or emotional' after a long day on the water!......and of course the breeze always got up. Still it used to keep the local diver employed repairing the lazy-lines.
Now I have a nice little 34footer that I can tie up without help��

 

[Greg2]

I guess it depend in what you do i.e. inland, sea, day trips, long cruises etc.

For us our 41 footer is about right....we could do 38 but the extra room aboard is noticeable on 41 feet. We find that sea keeping is good and we can get into most marinas without too much drama so we have no reason or desire to go much bigger, even if we could afford it. I think beyond forty-ish foot you have to start thinking more carefully about where you go, where you can moor etc.

 

[rosssavage]

Had my 38' for 9 years now, and I'm really happy.

Majority is Thames based cruising, so she's big enough to spend a few weeks on with space to spare (only usually two of us), but not too big to have major issues finding somewhere to moor up. She gets under all the bridges right up to oxford too.

Conversely, when we do go coastal, she's still big enough to handle some bumpy rides without having to bolt for the nearest shelter when the weather gets up a bit.

In a rash moment I nearly bought an unloved P480 about two years ago for a knockdown price, but I'm pleased I didn't - far too big for the Thames.

If I was going entirely coastal then I would be very happy with the 50' odd of the P480. Massive difference in accommodation from the 38', and obviously better seakeeping.