wrote:

As a somewhat experienced "singlehander" [Islander 29'] I would
advise you that you can single-hand almost any boat. But there's a
couple of things that make it much simpler & safer. First of all
try to stay under about 32' feet,,,, any bigger than that and the
sail area gets too big to handle comfortably ...

Point taken.

I have been single-handing a 28 footer since 1981. Never considered a
bigger boat. A friend of mine sailed a boat just like mine for a number of
years, later deciding that 40 feet was "just right." He sold the 28 and
bought into a lovely Bristol 40 (and I mean lovely). Then the boat sat for
a very long time, other than when he could round up crew (not often).

The boat is now on the market and my friend is looking for something under
30
feet. Unfortunately his is not a rare case.

--
Good luck and good sailing.
s/v Kerry Deare of Barnegat
http://kerrydeare.home.comcast.net/

what are you sailing (or did I miss it in your text )? Nice boat!!

wrote:
what are you sailing (or did I miss it in your text )? Nice boat!!

If directed at me, I am owned by a Cape Dory 28.

--
Good luck and good sailing.
s/v Kerry Deare of Barnegat
http://kerrydeare.home.comcast.net/

"Armond Perretta" wrote in message
...
wrote:
what are you sailing (or did I miss it in your text )? Nice boat!!

If directed at me, I am owned by a Cape Dory 28.

--
Good luck and good sailing.
s/v Kerry Deare of Barnegat
http://kerrydeare.home.comcast.net/

Probably takes good care of you though. g

Lots of good comments here, BUT...

I'll return to shilling for Freedom by opining that absolute length
alone is not a decisive factor. For instance, under power in tight
quarters, I'd rather dock any 35 ft. fin keeler than a sub-30 ft. full
keeler.

Under sail, general handling while raising and lowering sails,
switching to engine, anchoring, mooring, etc. my experience has been
that a Freedom 36 (or 38) is infinitely easier to singlehand than any
"standard" Marconi-rig sub-30 footer. And yes that includes
singlehanding a tri-radial 'chute, which I wouldn't even try on most
keelboats.

And going to 40 ft., I'll remind y'all that Garry Hoyt singlehanded his
*engineless* prototype Freedom 40 all around the Caribbean, winning
races against full crews, and anchoring and docking in notoriously
crowded harbors.

And the Freedom 44 is essentially the same setup as the 40. So, AFAIC,
we're up to 44 feet and still comfortably singlehanding. With the right
boat.

Frank

Frank wrote:

Under sail, general handling while raising and lowering sails,
switching to engine, anchoring, mooring, etc. my experience has been
that a Freedom 36 (or 38) is infinitely easier to singlehand than
any "standard" Marconi-rig sub-30 footer. And yes that includes
singlehanding a tri-radial 'chute, which I wouldn't even try on most
keelboats.

I think that, once again, "it depends." I single hand a 28 foot sloop and
routinely set a conventional tri-radial spinnaker without mishap. I'm no
athlete or "diehard" racer, but I like to keep the boat moving, and that's
what's required. However once you get up near 40 feet, a tri-radial can get
to be a lot of cloth very quickly. In addition the average bloke will
usually decide it's just too much trouble in many cases, and resort to
fossil fuels. Among the cruising people I've known, laziness is often
considered a virtue.

And going to 40 ft., I'll remind y'all that Garry Hoyt singlehanded
his *engineless* prototype Freedom 40 all around the Caribbean,
winning races against full crews, and anchoring and docking in
notoriously crowded harbors ... And the Freedom 44 is essentially the
same setup as the 40. So, AFAIC, we're up to 44 feet and still comfortably
singlehanding. With the right boat.

There are individual cases on both ends that support whatever argument is in
need of support. Michael Ritchie sailed "Jester" all over the place, and
someone or other sailed "Mediteranee" (sp?) to those same places. "Jester"
was about 26 feet, and the other multi-masted monster was ten times her
length. Length alone is not a limiting factor, but for average folks it's a
reasonable indicator.

I think the main factor for practical people is that while length increases
linearly, related items do not. Volume, weight, equipment size, and cost
definitely do not stay within the bounds as length increases. And in my
experience it's usually the smaller boats that leave the mooring regularly,
while the larger boats are waiting either for crew, or for refrigeration
spares and parts.

--
Good luck and good sailing.
s/v Kerry Deare of Barnegat
http://kerrydeare.home.comcast.net/