Women and the 35 foot problem

I'm with Guapa here - same reasons and outcome. Single handed sailing easy - the first 100 yards and the last 100 yards need some help normally.

Good weather - sail with family

Less good weather (colder / windier) - that's what your mates are for
 
kristifercolumnbus said:
I can't believe that there are no wimen out there happy to share the experience to be had in smaller boats than 35' unless they are all a very bland superficial lot......:(
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Here I am!

I sail a 29'. It's HWMO who wants a bigger boat because he is 6'3 when he stands up straight and so after a couple of days on board he is the one who is whingeing. I did look at boats up to 33' foot (just about in the price range) but decided against them because I couldn't easily see over the coachroof and everything in a 29' fitted me anyway.

When I sail with my girlfriends (all year round - if I can find the photo of us sailing in hail looking very wet and wild with dripping noses I wil post it :p very glamorous) none of us mind the size of boat. As we are all under 5'5, headroom doesn't bother us and as none of us smell, fart, burp, snore or possess other manly undesierable habits, we don't mind about showers either! Or living in close quarters. None of the women complain about the size of the heads because we always sit down. And as we are super organised wimmin folk we bring all our food ready prepped so it just pops in the oven to heat up (lovely casseroles, hotpots, lasagnes, etc) we don't care about how many hobs there are.

I like the under 30 footers because generally I can reach everything!

I wonder how many of the SWMBO's that are referred to in the OP are long-suffering scapegoats. (just count the reports on these board that tell of damage or some mishap that start with the words - "SWMBO was at the helm...." or something) It shocks me when I see the way some skippers shout at their crew (husbands to wives) no wonder the wives come up with any old excuse to get out of it! Or need bigger boats to get out of earshot from the William Blighs of the world. "sorry Darling, what did you say? I couldn't hear from the forepeak? ;) "

Does seem to me that most people sail more harmoniously with friends rather than partners, regardless of their gender - is that cos people think they can get away with shouting at SWMBO when their friends would just tell them to feck off?
 
ChattingLil said:
Here I am!

I sail a 29'. It's HWMO who wants a bigger boat because he is 6'3 when he stands up straight and so after a couple of days on board he is the one who is whingeing. I did look at boats up to 33' foot (just about in the price range) but decided against them because I couldn't easily see over the coachroof and everything in a 29' fitted me anyway.

When I sail with my girlfriends (all year round - if I can find the photo of us sailing in hail looking very wet and wild with dripping noses I wil post it :p very glamorous) none of us mind the size of boat. As we are all under 5'5, headroom doesn't bother us and as none of us smell, fart, burp, snore or possess other manly undesierable habits, we don't mind about showers either! Or living in close quarters. None of the women complain about the size of the heads because we always sit down. And as we are super organised wimmin folk we bring all our food ready prepped so it just pops in the oven to heat up (lovely casseroles, hotpots, lasagnes, etc) we don't care about how many hobs there are.

I like the under 30 footers because generally I can reach everything!

I wonder how many of the SWMBO's that are referred to in the OP are long-suffering scapegoats. (just count the reports on these board that tell of damage or some mishap that start with the words - "SWMBO was at the helm...." or something) It shocks me when I see the way some skippers shout at their crew (husbands to wives) no wonder the wives come up with any old excuse to get out of it! Or need bigger boats to get out of earshot from the William Blighs of the world. "sorry Darling, what did you say? I couldn't hear from the forepeak? ;) "

Does seem to me that most people sail more harmoniously with friends rather than partners, regardless of their gender - is that cos people think they can get away with shouting at SWMBO when their friends would just tell them to feck off?
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Well said that lady, but the farting and snoring could become a bit of an issue as you get older!

I always understood that the length of a man's yacht was in direct proportion to length of a certain part of the owners anatomy
 
nigella said:
I always understood that the length of a man's yacht was in direct proportion to length of a certain part of the owners anatomy
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It was a man with a big yacht that told you that? the truth is that it is in converse proportion, that's why he needs such a big one.
 
What ChattingLil said - I'd never have gone out with OFG in the first place if he hadn't had a boat - and I was most put out when he sold it (29') and got a 35' one.

Whenever I see a 6' man at the helm when his petite wife heaves warps, fends off several tons of boat or even manhandles the anchor, I'm always tempted to take a photo for the ironic "Man of the Year" awards. (My brother-in-law, however, had a very small trailer-sailor on which his tiny wife had to do the anchoring, or his weight on the bow would lift the prop out of the water (so he said).)

On the nausea point, I often used to get car-sick as a child, but I can only remember being seasick once, when I was 14 years old and very frightened (with good reason); I (still) find car travel far more nerve-wracking than sailing, so I think that in my case, motion sickness has a lot to do with fear (and in my unscientific opinion, women are more easily scared than men in this type of situation). I suspect that a lot of nausea could be avoided by more understanding of how the boat works, and reefing early, or choosing a different point of sail which makes the boat heel less in bad weather, so that crew are more confident and comfortable and less scared. There's also the fact that on bigger boats, smaller people are less able to brace against the opposite side of the cockpit, leaving them feeling much less secure when it's heeling. (BTW, Quandary, that wasn't a dig at you!)
 
dont agree Dylan. I bought our 35 footer because I thought that was a good size for single handing - small enough to be easy to handle with light winch loads, big enough to be stable. had we majored on accommodation to please swmbo, then I would have kept the cat. but that was a pig to single hand.

10m is big enough accommodation wise for 2 though I would like both the shower and water tanks off a 45 footer. we managed 7 weeks on it this summer but that was 2 up - I wouldnt like to try 4 up and 6 would be laughable.

P.S. when did the militants expel you from " feminist hour"? and why? it really is a disgustingly political programme now, failing to address anything but a feminist agenda.
 
For extended cruising and bluewater sailing most modern 40-50 footers are easily crewed by a couple, never mind 35ft!

It's simple, for most folk, if they want the company of most typical SWMBO's then you must provide an environment that they are happy to share for extended periods, not just day sailing or the odd overnight. Hence the migration to larger boats.
 
As I work in marinas, I am not suprised women are not too keen on sailing. I have lost count at the amount of times my gaze is drawn towards the howling of some helm hogging husband who is barking orders at his arthritic wife to leap the 6 foot to the pontoon after his approach to the berth was ruined by the wash on the keel from a rather large mullet. :mad:


drmvaletingservices@o2.co.uk
 
DRM MARINE VALETING said:
As I work in marinas, I am not suprised women are not too keen on sailing. I have lost count at the amount of times my gaze is drawn towards the howling of some helm hogging husband who is barking orders at his arthritic wife to leap the 6 foot to the pontoon after his approach to the berth was ruined by the wash on the keel from a rather large mullet. :mad:


drmvaletingservices@o2.co.uk
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:D:D:D:D
 
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