The ideal length for my sailboat

“Garcia Exploration 45”, an excellent ocean cruiser. Source: WEB Garcia Yachts.

Introduction.

In the first chapter of the on-line book ‘Buying a sailboat’ we looked at some general considerations and a list of ‘10 essential requirements for my sailboat’, which can help us to make the right choice. In the second chapter ‘Types of sail rig’ we dealt with one of these requirements.

In this new chapter we are going to deal with another of the 10 essential requirements, and that is the length of the boat. As you can already guess, there is no correct answer to the question: What is the ideal length for my sailboat? What we are going to do in this chapter is to discuss a series of factors that it is advisable to take into account, and that can condition our decision when choosing the length for a sailboat.

In some countries it is often said that every skipper has the 3-foot disease; that is, he would like to change his boat for another one with 3 feet (1 metre) more length. However, more length is not always necessary or desirable, as we will see below. As a general rule, a larger boat will improve in terms of sea-keeping and comfort, but it will be more difficult to handle and, of course, more expensive.

The factors we are going to analyse in relation to length are:

– The intended use of the boat.

– Its usual crew.

– The age and experience of the skipper and crew.

– And finally, the economic factor, which is normally the main determining factor when buying a boat.

Jeanneau Sun-Odissey 389

High performance coastal cruiser.

Source: Jeanneau Yachts WEB

The intended use of the sailboat.

Racing yachts, depending on the class in which they participate, already have their own particular rules regarding the dimensions of the boat, including the length, rigging and crew, so I will not deal with them in this chapter, which is oriented towards cruising yachts. I am only going to differentiate between a cruising sailboat whose usual use is coastal sailing and on the other hand the one designed for ocean sailing and long crossings on the high seas.

Before continuing, it is worth clarifying that displacement and hull design, which will be discussed in other chapters later on, can usually be more relevant than length in determining the seakeeping qualities of a boat; and also displacement is a better measure of the volume of the boat. A smaller sailboat, but with more displacement, may have better seakeeping qualities than a larger but lighter one.

However, as a general rule and with proper design, for a given crew, an ocean-going yacht should be longer than a coastal yacht. An ocean-going yacht will have to carry more water, more fuel, more space for food and equipment; in other words, more volume and, as a general rule, a greater length will be necessary.

In coastal sailing, moreover, excessive heel is not always necessary, and may even detract from the manoeuvrability of a yacht that docks or anchors very frequently or almost daily. For an ocean-going yacht, with the right design, a longer length (and greater displacement) will give the boat more stability and more ability to cope with adverse weather conditions, which will be the main priority.

There are great sailors who have circumnavigated the globe in relatively small yachts. For example, Joshua Slocum was the first solo sailor to sail around the world (with stopovers) in a 36-foot (11.2-metre) sailboat. Another great sailor, Vito Dumas, the ‘Knight of the Sea’ also circumnavigated the world via the Cape route in a 9.5-metre (about 32 feet) sailing yacht.

Bernard Moitisier circumnavigated the world non-stop in a 39-foot ketch, and Robin Knox Johnson in another 32-foot ketch; and there are many more examples of great sailors I could mention, also more contemporary. These boats, however, were generally heavy sailboats with a displacement-to-length ratio superior to more contemporary designs.

Without wishing to draw a dividing line, as many factors are involved, it could be said that, with a proper design, 40 feet indicates to me approximately the beginning of the length of most of today’s ocean cruising yachts. This is only an approximation, as there are many yachts over 40 feet that do not have ocean-going qualities and some (few) smaller ones that do. As I say, it is only a first approximation before moving on to the next factor we will consider.