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.