"Capt. Rob" wrote in message

I'm afraid I can't agree and never met anyone who would. Being able to
get a reasonable night's sleep aboard is pretty important even for a
weekend cruiser. Sleep is pretty important to sail a boat safely the
next day.

I'd agree completely.

I can't imagine anyone buying a boat with such a critical
shortcoming. Of course most people aren't 6'3, so they have no problem.

That's the point. My son-in-law is 6'4", and the berths on my boat are all
about 6'3", so he isn't comfortable. But then I bought the boat before my
daughter married him, and I'm not about to trade a wonderful boat to
accommodate someone who stays aboard one or two weekends a year.

I also don't think it's asking too much for a boat to have a head with
legroom for a tall person to be able to use the toilet.

Again agreed. I once owned a boat with "standup" headroom in the head, but
that spec must have been written by the Japanese gent who built the thing.
I could stand up, but only with my head bent forward. Not pleasant. My
current boat has enough headroom for a 6 footer to stand with ample
clearance.

Sadly, too many
boats, including some highly touted models are poorly designed. If a
Catalina 350 or Beneteau 35s5 can manage to hit the right notes, I
don't see why I should accept less because a premium name is stamped
somewhere.

This is were we diverge. Boat manufacturers don't build yachts for people
who are a standard deviation or two above the norm in height. They build
for the universal "average man" of 5'7" to 6'1", roughly 160 to 200 lbs. If
your boat's berths can accommodate a 6'3" man comfortably, so much the
better. But most boats aren't built to do so. The Catalina 42, for
example, has a pullman berth which will accommodate taller people sleeping
alone (diagonally), and many newer designs from various manufacturers have
aft doubles which will do similarly. But don't plan to sleep with your
spouse in such berths if you're much over 6'. My son-in-law sleeps
diagonally in our pull-out double with our 3 y.o. grandson, and our daughter
sleeps in the single across from him.

When it comes to choosing a boat, DESIGN is where the search
begins....not subjective beauty or performance. In other words, if the
boat don't fit, I aint buying.

That may be a significant decision for you, especially with your height. I,
OTOH, look for sailing characteristics, aesthetics, quality of construction
and integrity of design first and foremost. THEN I look below, and if the
boat meets my needs there--I'm 5'11"--I'll buy it. I'm different than most
at boat shows: 99% of the people go below immediately. I spend most of my
time topside, and if the boat seems intelligently designed and well laid
out, then I'll go below. If it's an abortion topside, I'll skip the
interior. Examples of the latter were the larger Morgan Out Island series
of cruisers. They were arguably among the ugliest, poorest sailing boats of
all time. But they were amazingly commodious below, ostensibly built for
the charter trade. One acquaintance who owned a 34 OI claimed he had to
start the engine to tack in light air, and I believe him. But he was a big
dude and the berths were long and wide. You'd have loved it. g

My current boat is a classic, CCA-type boat with a fairly narrow beam and
the interior space of a smaller boat. There are many other 34' boats that
would be far larger below, but not come anywhere near her in terms of
quality, seaworthiness, seakindliness, general sailing ability, sail
handling, boat speed, etc. I routinely leave a friend's brand new Catalina
350 in my (almost indiscernible) wake on all points of sail except to
weather in under 3kts. of wind. That boat is huge below, but drags its
transom like a powerboat, leaving a wake that rocks boats in nearby marinas.
It isn't fast by any definition. You'd love it. g The point is--I'm
quite pleased with my current boat. I've sacrificed some space and perhaps
some comfort below--although it's acceptably comfortable for my wife and
me--in order to have a boat that sails beautifully, gives a very comfortable
ride in all conditions, is strong enough to take anything thrown at it, and
still draw comments of admiration from everyone who sees her. I wouldn't
exclude the 35s5 from my list if searching for another boat in that size
range (I'm not--the next boat will be 40' or longer) but it would be a
disappointment to own a boat that resembles the current genera of bleach
bottles churned out en masse these days.

Max