Reggie Smithers wrote:
DSK wrote:
Harry Krause wrote:
Five sailors would be a reasonable and safe crew, with each person
standing a six hour watch and another person "up" to spell the
watchstander and help out with any sudden adjustments of sails. It
could be done with a smaller crew, but then the voyage becomes more
of a challenge and less of a pleasure


I think the exact opposite myself.

Wayne.B wrote:
It could be done with 5, but 6 is a better number on a 40 footer in my
experience.

I'd rather have 4 or even 3, provided that they're good sailors. A 40
footer is about as roomy as a cheap hotel room, and people invariably
bring too much "stuff." The cabin becomes a crowded hovel and sleep is
almost impossible. Unless all are seasoned sailors, at least half will
be useless for watchstanding either due to seasickness or lack of
comprehension or both.

Racing is different, it's assumed that all the sailors have at least the
basic skills & also (very important) the motivation to keep the boat
sailing properly.

... Typically we would stand three 4 hour watches at night
and two 6 hour watches during the day. Three people on watch gives
you enough to rotate jobs, cook, cleanup, get weather reports,
navigate, etc.


Only done this once, but the best watch system I know of (given a good
autopilot) is 3 hour watches, each person on watch alone but the 1st and
last hours overlap the next persons watch. Gives enough sleep, enough
company, some time for 'housekeeping.' If you have 4 or more people, the
captain doesn't have to stand a watch (but is usually up at least 20
hours a day at sea anyway).

I *really* dislike having a boat that is so crowded you have to shove
bodies out of the way to get anywhere or do anything. Most people feel
differently, maybe there's a herd instinct at work?


With the boat set up properly, experienced people and a good auto
pilot, you could make a reasonable argument for a crew of two but that
is really stretching things very thin.

Agreed- but that's the way most cruising couples do it... and also,
passagemaking is a relatively rare thing. Even the people who cruise
around the world spend far more time sailing in sheltered waters than
open sea.

As for the original poster, get a clue. Interfering in-laws are the
subject of millions of jokes, for a good reason. It's like back-seat
driving. The problem here is not that sailing to Hawaii is dangerous,
nor that a 40 foot boat is too small... it's been done in 15 foot
sailboats... but that your son-in-law doesn't know how to sail. His idea
of buying a boat and just going is stupid, like not knowing a thing
about flying and deciding you want to buy a plane and pilot it across
the country. He needs to gain some experience first. Aside from that, he
won't have spent $200K on a boat and decide after a few days that he
doesn't like it after all.

Fresh Breezes- Doug King

Doug,
Besides the tight quarters you have with more than 4 in a 40' boat, if
you have 6 people you end up hot bunking it. I just don't want to sleep
in someone else's drool and sweat. ; )

I find the 3 hour watch very easy.



--
Reggie

That's almost as bad as a warm toilet seat!!!!