Needless to say, the answer to the question of what size yacht you need for your sailing trip depends on what will naturally be a unique set of personal circumstances around your trip. It’s probably not a question of affordability, but rather what budget you have to work with, because by the time anyone is researching specific topics like the right size of sailing boat, they know all about the associated issues around the likes of costs, etc.
So what size sailing boat is indeed best for your particular sailing trip?
Let’s hone-in on what a comfortable vessel for a sailing couple would be, working our way up and down from that point, shall we? I reckon that’ll be a great centre-point from which appropriate consideration-adjustments can be made accordingly…
So, what “issues” would arise and need to be addressed, if you were one half of a sailing couple?
The central issue of size immediately comes back to the frontlines, because it can be easy to be misled into thinking that the bigger the size is, the better. This is reinforced by how the prices of sailboats generally increase seemingly proportional to size, particularly length.
You may perhaps seek to adopt the approach of being “over-prepared” in terms of possibly making provision for any extra space you might have, which you might quite easily manage to find a use for in future. That’s not quite how it works though, when you consider the practical experiences of someone who has actually sailed.
Bigger is only better if you’re experienced enough to be able to handle maintaining control of a large vessel in what can be some very challenging open waters.
So, although they have some of the biggest and best options over at Oyster Yachts, generally sailing yacht builders like these place great importance on making the best while taking up only as much space as is needed.
So here’s what it comes down to:
For a sailing couple, the ideal sized vessel ranges from between 35 and 45 feet, with that 10ft range providing ample incremental wiggle-room to accommodate the various details that’ll be somewhat unique to personal needs. So that’s 10.5 to 14 metres, with a draft of around two metres (6’ to 8’).
This makes for somewhat of a sweet spot for sailing, taking into account external and internal conditions. This size draft covers pretty much all weather conditions, providing adequate sail surface area for light winds, while offering comfortably easy reefing when the need arises.
That 10-inch bracket is not to be taken lightly, because even half an inch outside of that range could have you telling a story of the myth of sailing comfortably, with ample room to provide for your onboard personal relations.
Otherwise that is indeed the range in which aspects such as your sense of security and safety, along with the other mentioned aspects, reside.
If your needs change or if they’re different from the get-go, as is the case with other assets, you’re not stuck with your purchased sailboat for life. You can trade-up or down as required.
