'smaller boat can be safer in the sense that a compact cabin doesn't have a
lot of room to fall in the case of a knockdown, and usually has handholds
everywhere.'
This statement makes sense. I got involved with my 27' sailboat in 40 foot
waves. My wife and I were unable to remain inside the cabin. First thing,
the boat has to be steered up and down the crests. The boat was not the
problem. It's me that was the problem. I was throwing up most of the time
and could not hold any food or liquid. I was tied to the cockpit with a
plastic bucket between my legs. Most sailboats will survive a severe storm
it's the human that cants. I have the impression that if my boat would have
been larger I would not have been able to go up and down the 40 foot waves.
That does not mean that I do not want a larger boat!


"rhys" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 19 Mar 2004 23:41:49 -0500, Wayne.B
wrote:

On 19 Mar 2004 15:38:47 GMT, (JAXAshby) wrote:

unless, of course, you are short of bux and worrying because you spent
the wad
on a BIG boat.

================================================= =====

I have no problem with small boats but no one should ever be misled
into believing that they are adequate offshore cruisers. There's no
question that people can, and do, go offshore in small boats. That
doesn't mean it's a comfortable sail however. It's more like spending
a week in a washing machine unless you are blessed with fair weather
and down wind conditions.

Very good point. There's a lot of quite small boats that can take
horrendous storms, can go around Cape Horn, visit the Antarctic and so
on. All that's been proved by competent, if masochistic, sailors for
several decades. But "able to" and "desirable" are two different
things. If all you can afford is a small boat, and it will be 20 years
before you can get a 40 footer, by all means emulate the Pardeys and
bugger off in something safe and tiny. Don't expect to be always dry
and comfortable, and do expect to be slow if cheaper to fix and
maintain. Your nautical miles may vary.

Actually, when I think about it, a
boat has a slower roll and time to grab stuff. It's the mid-range
boats that have the worst of both worlds. I was in a Tartan 3700
recently and I thought "wow, nice boat, but in a blow iI would be like
a dried seed in an empty gourd in he perfect arm-breaking
conditions. But then, most modern saloons seem too much like living
rooms to me.

R.