What's the smallest boat you could live on?
Discussion
I started out on Sailing Uma: https://www.youtube.com/c/SailingUma about a month ago
went through Sailing Zatara... and the other ones that show an idyllic life in the tropical sun...
and end up last night on NBJS (no bulls
t just sailing) https://www.youtube.com/c/ErikAanderaa a Norwegian dude who definitely isn't about snorkelling in the bahamas
All of which are making me think... living off grid on a sailboat, floating around the world could be fun. Where do I start....
great to read some posts here in this thread, thanks !
went through Sailing Zatara... and the other ones that show an idyllic life in the tropical sun...
and end up last night on NBJS (no bulls
t just sailing) https://www.youtube.com/c/ErikAanderaa a Norwegian dude who definitely isn't about snorkelling in the bahamasAll of which are making me think... living off grid on a sailboat, floating around the world could be fun. Where do I start....
great to read some posts here in this thread, thanks !
Teddy Lop said:
h0b0 said:
This is all still a fantasy at this stage. But, Lady Rachel is for sale. It’s a Lagoon 620 that has been used for charters.
example catamaran
Like you, I’m surprised at how much space there is and how every but is used. The catamarans offer much wider layouts so it is much more generous than the equivalent mono hulls. Also, they don’t rock constantly so my wife is less likely to get sea sick. I think sailors will tell you they are st to sail though. The equivalent of a motor home compared to a Porsche. But, I want some comfort.
that's interesting.example catamaran
Like you, I’m surprised at how much space there is and how every but is used. The catamarans offer much wider layouts so it is much more generous than the equivalent mono hulls. Also, they don’t rock constantly so my wife is less likely to get sea sick. I think sailors will tell you they are s
t to sail though. The equivalent of a motor home compared to a Porsche. But, I want some comfort. Is there such thing as a hybrid boat, ie single hull when moving that when parked can expand, like those coach motorhomes that wirr out in all directions?
If it was just myself and the missus, we could definitely do extended stays on a boat of this size e.g. 3,6,9 months.
The Bali had three distinct living areas so plenty of space to relax.
Found a catamaran ^^^^ to be pretty hot and stuffy in the cabins with significantly less air movement than a Monohull cabins.
Not convinced on the roll motions either - yes at anchor in a bay, pretty solid, and same when sailing, but the motion made a few huuuey when we chartered last year sailing (which itself was a fking terrible thing with zero helm feeling)
I would expand the above 'porsche to motorhome' comparison to a Static caravan.
Good for a spacious floating villa. Otherwise. less convinced.
Not convinced on the roll motions either - yes at anchor in a bay, pretty solid, and same when sailing, but the motion made a few huuuey when we chartered last year sailing (which itself was a f
king terrible thing with zero helm feeling)I would expand the above 'porsche to motorhome' comparison to a Static caravan.
Good for a spacious floating villa. Otherwise. less convinced.
A friend lived on a 32ft vessel in South Dock for 6 years. We still sailed it but it was heavier than other yachts. It felt a bit cramped with 4 on board but he lived there quite happily. He had 2 heating systems which was a smart move...... shame he only insulated the fridge in year 6 
Finding a place that will let you moor is the trick. South dock in London used to turn a blind eye. Greenhithe dock seemed to do similar
Finding a place that will let you moor is the trick. South dock in London used to turn a blind eye. Greenhithe dock seemed to do similar
PushedDover said:
Found a catamaran ^^^^ to be pretty hot and stuffy in the cabins with significantly less air movement than a Monohull cabins.
Not convinced on the roll motions either - yes at anchor in a bay, pretty solid, and same when sailing, but the motion made a few huuuey when we chartered last year sailing (which itself was a fking terrible thing with zero helm feeling)
I would expand the above 'porsche to motorhome' comparison to a Static caravan.
Good for a spacious floating villa. Otherwise. less convinced.
They move old boy...........Not convinced on the roll motions either - yes at anchor in a bay, pretty solid, and same when sailing, but the motion made a few huuuey when we chartered last year sailing (which itself was a f
king terrible thing with zero helm feeling)I would expand the above 'porsche to motorhome' comparison to a Static caravan.
Good for a spacious floating villa. Otherwise. less convinced.
I understand catamarans don’t have the same feel of sailing as mono hulls but, I don’t drive a track car around the world.
I think of catamarans like this.
h0b0 said:
Also, they don’t rock constantly so my wife is less likely to get sea sick. I think sailors will tell you they are st to sail though.
They do sail, just not very well upwind; cruisey cats tack through ~120 degrees. Speedy off the wind though. They do rock, but it's a very different, quite jerky motion compared to monohulls, some people hate it. A million years ago I helped to deliver a shiny new Fontaine Pajot to Praslin Island, which was nice. Cheap and nasty Z-spar rig though considering it was a quarter of mil of boat.t to sail though. Edited by hidetheelephants on Thursday 10th September 05:43
Sailing Kitiwake is an interesting YouTube channel
Young couple who started on a small coastal cruising cat. Doing it on a real tight budget. They switched to a 37 ft ocean crossing monohull about 18 months ago and crossed over to the Caribbean just before CV19 kicked off.
There very informative about everything ranging from cost, trials and tribulations. Like all lives boards there is quite a lot of maintenance which they do most of themselves.
He works doing boat maintenance and video editing while she works doing something like web development.
Young couple who started on a small coastal cruising cat. Doing it on a real tight budget. They switched to a 37 ft ocean crossing monohull about 18 months ago and crossed over to the Caribbean just before CV19 kicked off.
There very informative about everything ranging from cost, trials and tribulations. Like all lives boards there is quite a lot of maintenance which they do most of themselves.
He works doing boat maintenance and video editing while she works doing something like web development.
hidetheelephants said:
h0b0 said:
Also, they don’t rock constantly so my wife is less likely to get sea sick. I think sailors will tell you they are st to sail though.
They do sail, just not very well upwind; cruisey cats tack through ~120 degrees. Speedy off the wind though. They do rock, but it's a very different, quite jerky motion compared to monohulls, some people hate it. A million years ago I helped to deliver a shiny new Fontaine Pajot to Praslin Island, which was nice. Cheap and nasty Z-spar rig though considering it was a quarter of mil of boat.t to sail though. Edited by hidetheelephants on Thursday 10th September 05:43
however when the sea picks up, yes they tend to stay more horizontal, but the motion can be jerky, and you can get a lot of slamming as the bridge underneath slaps teh waves passing through.
for gentle tradewinds passage making they sail great, they don't like going uphill though, but do tend to have twin engines so you just power through (see para above for consequences however)
Beach cats like Nacra's are awesome fun, seriously quick and raced very competitively, but thats a different thing.
personally i am a mono fan, but if i had the budget and was going to be predominantly cruising the tropics, i would be seriously tempted by one of these ....
https://www.gunboat.com/
MB140 said:
Sailing Kitiwake is an interesting YouTube channel
Young couple who started on a small coastal cruising cat. Doing it on a real tight budget. They switched to a 37 ft ocean crossing monohull about 18 months ago and crossed over to the Caribbean just before CV19 kicked off.
There very informative about everything ranging from cost, trials and tribulations. Like all lives boards there is quite a lot of maintenance which they do most of themselves.
He works doing boat maintenance and video editing while she works doing something like web development.
Oh and for me it would be a Southerly 38, the one with the island bed under the cockpit floor. Young couple who started on a small coastal cruising cat. Doing it on a real tight budget. They switched to a 37 ft ocean crossing monohull about 18 months ago and crossed over to the Caribbean just before CV19 kicked off.
There very informative about everything ranging from cost, trials and tribulations. Like all lives boards there is quite a lot of maintenance which they do most of themselves.
He works doing boat maintenance and video editing while she works doing something like web development.
Something very similar to this one (Ruby Rose) which I follow on YouTube.
http://yachtrubyrose.com/tour-southerly38/
Edited by MB140 on Thursday 10th September 18:48
XJSJohn said:
personally i am a mono fan, but if i had the budget and was going to be predominantly cruising the tropics, i would be seriously tempted by one of these ....
https://www.gunboat.com/
A bit bargey; when it comes to catamerangues I'm a light displacement fundamentalist and worshiper at the altar of Kurt Hughes, after a mildly traumatic delivery trip on wildly overladen Prout with silly bulbous bows I concluded that displacement and catamaran should not coincide.https://www.gunboat.com/
hidetheelephants said:
XJSJohn said:
personally i am a mono fan, but if i had the budget and was going to be predominantly cruising the tropics, i would be seriously tempted by one of these ....
https://www.gunboat.com/
A bit bargey; when it comes to catamerangues I'm a light displacement fundamentalist and worshiper at the altar of Kurt Hughes, after a mildly traumatic delivery trip on wildly overladen Prout with silly bulbous bows I concluded that displacement and catamaran should not coincide.https://www.gunboat.com/
hence their ability to hit 30kts looking like a caravan.
given the choice, i am a Mono fan too ... but there are some smart multi's out there too for the right application (but they aren't cheap)
XJSJohn said:
hidetheelephants said:
XJSJohn said:
personally i am a mono fan, but if i had the budget and was going to be predominantly cruising the tropics, i would be seriously tempted by one of these ....
https://www.gunboat.com/
A bit bargey; when it comes to catamerangues I'm a light displacement fundamentalist and worshiper at the altar of Kurt Hughes, after a mildly traumatic delivery trip on wildly overladen Prout with silly bulbous bows I concluded that displacement and catamaran should not coincide.https://www.gunboat.com/
hence their ability to hit 30kts looking like a caravan.
given the choice, i am a Mono fan too ... but there are some smart multi's out there too for the right application (but they aren't cheap)
Brother D said:
XJSJohn said:
hidetheelephants said:
XJSJohn said:
personally i am a mono fan, but if i had the budget and was going to be predominantly cruising the tropics, i would be seriously tempted by one of these ....
https://www.gunboat.com/
A bit bargey; when it comes to catamerangues I'm a light displacement fundamentalist and worshiper at the altar of Kurt Hughes, after a mildly traumatic delivery trip on wildly overladen Prout with silly bulbous bows I concluded that displacement and catamaran should not coincide.https://www.gunboat.com/
hence their ability to hit 30kts looking like a caravan.
given the choice, i am a Mono fan too ... but there are some smart multi's out there too for the right application (but they aren't cheap)
i don't think their original chapter 11 was to do with any accident, just the rather bespoke nature of the original companies order book being unsustainable. (they farmed the design and test process out to a firm of architects, and built individual boats in the early days rather than a range of "standard" hulls with fit-out options. )
As always, it's a question of compromise. I have a Bavaria 32 (actually 34 feet long) and for me and the Mrs she is perfectly comfy for living on for a few weeks at a time, and you kind of shrink or grow in the way that you live, to fit the space so there's no reason it could not be a very extended period. Decent sized forecabin up front, spacious saloon, reasonable sized galley, loo/shower and a large stern cabin for stuff. With a decent fridge and warm air heating she's very comfy. There's solar and (as soon as I've finished fitting it) wind power, modern instruments throughout and she's easy to sail single handed, with a colossal cockpit locker for gear stowage.
The main challenge is tankage...120l of water soon disappears, and if I was going long distance I'd get a second large tank fitted in the bow. And gas...the only "safe" place for a spare bottle is in the anchor locker which is a bit of a pain. You'd also need to think about laundry too.
Modern boats around 33' have more space and volume than older boats of around 45'. A mate of mine has a Bavaria 49 and it is bloody enormous below.
Every cubic foot of space on a yacht is used as efficiently as possible...you get home after an extended period on board and realise how incredibly inefficient on space a house actually is!
The main challenge is tankage...120l of water soon disappears, and if I was going long distance I'd get a second large tank fitted in the bow. And gas...the only "safe" place for a spare bottle is in the anchor locker which is a bit of a pain. You'd also need to think about laundry too.
Modern boats around 33' have more space and volume than older boats of around 45'. A mate of mine has a Bavaria 49 and it is bloody enormous below.
Every cubic foot of space on a yacht is used as efficiently as possible...you get home after an extended period on board and realise how incredibly inefficient on space a house actually is!
Hard-Drive said:
As always, it's a question of compromise. I have a Bavaria 32 (actually 34 feet long) and for me and the Mrs she is perfectly comfy for living on for a few weeks at a time, and you kind of shrink or grow in the way that you live, to fit the space so there's no reason it could not be a very extended period. Decent sized forecabin up front, spacious saloon, reasonable sized galley, loo/shower and a large stern cabin for stuff. With a decent fridge and warm air heating she's very comfy. There's solar and (as soon as I've finished fitting it) wind power, modern instruments throughout and she's easy to sail single handed, with a colossal cockpit locker for gear stowage.
The main challenge is tankage...120l of water soon disappears, and if I was going long distance I'd get a second large tank fitted in the bow. And gas...the only "safe" place for a spare bottle is in the anchor locker which is a bit of a pain. You'd also need to think about laundry too.
Modern boats around 33' have more space and volume than older boats of around 45'. A mate of mine has a Bavaria 49 and it is bloody enormous below.
Every cubic foot of space on a yacht is used as efficiently as possible...you get home after an extended period on board and realise how incredibly inefficient on space a house actually is!
49 -55ft for me please. Proper size beds and headroom, and Heads / Showers....The main challenge is tankage...120l of water soon disappears, and if I was going long distance I'd get a second large tank fitted in the bow. And gas...the only "safe" place for a spare bottle is in the anchor locker which is a bit of a pain. You'd also need to think about laundry too.
Modern boats around 33' have more space and volume than older boats of around 45'. A mate of mine has a Bavaria 49 and it is bloody enormous below.
Every cubic foot of space on a yacht is used as efficiently as possible...you get home after an extended period on board and realise how incredibly inefficient on space a house actually is!
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