Thanks for all your helpful info guys. I appreciate it very much. If all
goes well I should be in Florida around Feb with a shopping list .

I have a 2003 Beneteau 473 2 cabin and I single hand the boat all the time.
With or without non-sailing passengers. If the boat is rigged for single
handed sailing 47 feet is not difficult to hande.

I'm a liveaboard with a dog so a Beneteau 35 would be cutting it close as
far as space goes. I'd look at the Beneteau 393 before I bought the
Beneteau 35. It is only a couple of feet longer and has a much kinder
interior design for staying on board for long periods of time.

Cap'n Ric
S/V Sezaneh

Thanks for your input Ric. I must admit a 39 footer would be tempting. I'd
change one of the aft cabins into a workshop and the extra LWL would give me
more comfort.
Some of these posts have pointed out the difficulty of docking with a larger
boat but I have found Beneteaus, Hunters. etc. very manoeuvreable. No doubt
to do with the fin keel.

"Cap'n Ric" wrote in message
news:CZLeh.994$e26.857@trndny04...
I have a 2003 Beneteau 473 2 cabin and I single hand the boat all the
time.
With or without non-sailing passengers. If the boat is rigged for single
handed sailing 47 feet is not difficult to hande.

I'm a liveaboard with a dog so a Beneteau 35 would be cutting it close as
far as space goes. I'd look at the Beneteau 393 before I bought the
Beneteau 35. It is only a couple of feet longer and has a much kinder
interior design for staying on board for long periods of time.

Cap'n Ric
S/V Sezaneh

"JohnM" wrote in message
...
Thanks for your input Ric. I must admit a 39 footer would be tempting. I'd
change one of the aft cabins into a workshop and the extra LWL would give
me
more comfort.
Some of these posts have pointed out the difficulty of docking with a
larger
boat but I have found Beneteaus, Hunters. etc. very manoeuvreable. No
doubt
to do with the fin keel.


Depends on freeboard and windage, not to mention current or lack thereof.

--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com

"JohnM" wrote in message
...
Thanks for your input Ric. I must admit a 39 footer would be tempting. I'd
change one of the aft cabins into a workshop and the extra LWL would give
me
more comfort.
Some of these posts have pointed out the difficulty of docking with a
larger
boat but I have found Beneteaus, Hunters. etc. very manoeuvreable. No
doubt
to do with the fin keel.

"Cap'n Ric" wrote in message
news:CZLeh.994$e26.857@trndny04...
I have a 2003 Beneteau 473 2 cabin and I single hand the boat all the
time.
With or without non-sailing passengers. If the boat is rigged for single
handed sailing 47 feet is not difficult to hande.

I'm a liveaboard with a dog so a Beneteau 35 would be cutting it close as
far as space goes. I'd look at the Beneteau 393 before I bought the
Beneteau 35. It is only a couple of feet longer and has a much kinder
interior design for staying on board for long periods of time.

Cap'n Ric
S/V Sezaneh




One point that seems to have been overlooked (either by previous replies or
simply me, in missing it) is: "What's the largest boat you can comfortably
maintain?" Larger boat means larger sails, bigger engine, more paint, more
brightwork (possibly)...all in all, it's quite a bit easier for a
single-hander to do the maintenance on a smaller boat than a larger one.

On Mon, 11 Dec 2006 18:26:26 -0600, "KLC Lewis"
wrote:

One point that seems to have been overlooked (either by previous replies or
simply me, in missing it) is: "What's the largest boat you can comfortably
maintain?" Larger boat means larger sails, bigger engine, more paint, more
brightwork (possibly)...all in all, it's quite a bit easier for a
single-hander to do the maintenance on a smaller boat than a larger one.

That's a good point but within a range of sizes I have not found big
differences between something like a 28 and 34, and I'd certainly
prefer the 34 for a number of reasons. Better yet a 40 for two people
doing extended cruising or liveaboard.

I think the biggest difference occurs when you start adding complexity
like pressure hot water, refrigeration, generators, multiple heads,
heating, air conditioning, etc. These systems all add greatly to the
liveability of a boat but they push the maintenance costs and effort
at an exponential rate.

"Wayne.B" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 11 Dec 2006 18:26:26 -0600, "KLC Lewis"
wrote:

One point that seems to have been overlooked (either by previous replies
or
simply me, in missing it) is: "What's the largest boat you can comfortably
maintain?" Larger boat means larger sails, bigger engine, more paint, more
brightwork (possibly)...all in all, it's quite a bit easier for a
single-hander to do the maintenance on a smaller boat than a larger one.

That's a good point but within a range of sizes I have not found big
differences between something like a 28 and 34, and I'd certainly
prefer the 34 for a number of reasons. Better yet a 40 for two people
doing extended cruising or liveaboard.

I think the biggest difference occurs when you start adding complexity
like pressure hot water, refrigeration, generators, multiple heads,
heating, air conditioning, etc. These systems all add greatly to the
liveability of a boat but they push the maintenance costs and effort
at an exponential rate.


You make good points also, especially between the 28 and 34 foot range. But
as for the 40 footer, that will be an entirely different matter. Our first
boat was a CT41, our current boat a Rawson 30, both are ketch rig. The
Rawson is MUCH easier to maintain -- more than 10 extra feet of length and 2
extra feet of beam would lead one to believe. Both are William Garden
designs, with teak in the same places (wherever it would fit).

JohnM wrote:

...single handed cruising...

look first to your self-steering device
the boat should be pointed at both ends
then look at your strength: no sail bigger than
500ft^2 (uffa fox)

tom

Tom ,, after all the posts here and the usual fun arguing ( Roger and Me )
,, I got to working on my single hand sailing whatevers.

So far .. get some lines with set up for docking by myself. And I am
searching for some method of self steering. I've looked at all the usual
suspects. Monitor, Aries, etc. I also ordered and read John Lechers book
about the subject. The sheet to tiller setup. I did this last summer a
little but I will give it another go this summer.

The windvane system is more tricky. For a boat my size, 32', weight becomes
an issue. I don't want to have hundreds of LBS sitting on my stern. Heck,
my stern isn't that big.

Since I have a tiller .. that is a good thing ...... I can set up a very
simple system with a pendulum. Run lines through blocks to the tiller.

The question becomes ???????? what system.

Working on that one.

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

ps.. I won't use an electric self steerer. Don't have the power and I hate
the whole thought of them. Gotta go narural.

--
"Tom Lightbody" wrote in message
...
JohnM wrote:

...single handed cruising...

look first to your self-steering device
the boat should be pointed at both ends
then look at your strength: no sail bigger than
500ft^2 (uffa fox)

tom

NE Sailboat wrote:
The windvane system is more tricky. For a boat my size, 32', weight becomes
an issue. I don't want to have hundreds of LBS sitting on my stern.

They are nowhere near that heavy. I don't have the specs here in front
of me, but having lifted our Monitor up over the rail a couple of times,
I'd say that it's gotta be about 50 lbs., possible less. The RVG
windvane we had on our Catalina 30 (no longer made) was about the same
and didn't noticeably affect performance. It just made those long
passages MUCH more enjoyable.

Since I have a tiller...

The windvanes are great for long passages, but since you've got a
tiller, if I were you, I get myself a tiller pilot. These are cheap and
make going forward to raise sails, etc., easy. Our Catalina (which also
had a tiller) could not have been single handed without one. Within
seconds after letting go of the helm while motoring, it would be in a
tight turn, sometimes to port, sometimes to starboard. The helm was
very light, but that boat just liked to turn. Using a tiller pilot made
it a snap to single hand.