We all occasionally wish for a larger boat but would we really buy one
if we were able? I have decided "No", my 28' S2 is ideal for me. A
larger boat would have more to go wrong and require more expense. My
28 is ideal for me as she is large enough to do a lot of things but
small enough for me to easily single-hand which I do a lot. The older
I get, the happier I am to not have a larger boat. This past 6 months
is the first time I have ever had her in a marina ( I kept her at pvt
docks for years) and I have noticed what I have heard about for years,
"A boats use is inversely proportional to her length". Do others here
have a simialr experience of realizing they do not want a bigger boat?

wrote:
We all occasionally wish for a larger boat but would we really buy one
if we were able? I have decided "No", my 28' S2 is ideal for me. A
larger boat would have more to go wrong and require more expense. My
28 is ideal for me as she is large enough to do a lot of things but
small enough for me to easily single-hand which I do a lot. The older
I get, the happier I am to not have a larger boat. This past 6 months
is the first time I have ever had her in a marina ( I kept her at pvt
docks for years) and I have noticed what I have heard about for years,
"A boats use is inversely proportional to her length". Do others here
have a simialr experience of realizing they do not want a bigger boat?


I'm a minimalist. Since I want to be able to sail in numerous places,
some hundreds of miles away, my 18.5 foot mini cruiser sailboat is all I
need. If I decided to stay put within 50 nm of my home, I'd move up to
a bigger keel boat in the 21-26 foot range. Unless you plan on long
cruises, or carrying half a dozen or more crew/passengers why incur all
the extra expense?

On 31 Dec 2005 08:10:32 -0800, "
wrote:

We all occasionally wish for a larger boat but would we really buy one
if we were able? I have decided "No", my 28' S2 is ideal for me. A
larger boat would have more to go wrong and require more expense. My
28 is ideal for me as she is large enough to do a lot of things but
small enough for me to easily single-hand which I do a lot. The older
I get, the happier I am to not have a larger boat. This past 6 months
is the first time I have ever had her in a marina ( I kept her at pvt
docks for years) and I have noticed what I have heard about for years,
"A boats use is inversely proportional to her length". Do others here
have a simialr experience of realizing they do not want a bigger boat?

I go through the 'bigger boat' desires every year. After a while I convince myself
that the 21'er I've got does what I want to do just fine.

But, if Harry were to make me a super deal on that Parker, I'd give it serious
thought.

--
John H.

"Divide each difficulty into as many parts as is feasible and necessary to resolve it."
Rene Descartes

I'd love to have a 24-28' cruiser, but wouldn't want to spend the money
outfitting it with all the electronic toys I love, and I wouldn't want to
spend the money for fuel and a slip.
So, I've resigned myself to the fact that my 19' bowrider meets my needs. It
is fully outfitted and serves the family for water sports and fishing, and
puts in 16 or more hours a week on USCG Auxiliary Safety Patrols.

wrote in message
oups.com...
We all occasionally wish for a larger boat but would we really buy one
if we were able? I have decided "No", my 28' S2 is ideal for me. A
larger boat would have more to go wrong and require more expense. My
28 is ideal for me as she is large enough to do a lot of things but
small enough for me to easily single-hand which I do a lot. The older
I get, the happier I am to not have a larger boat. This past 6 months
is the first time I have ever had her in a marina ( I kept her at pvt
docks for years) and I have noticed what I have heard about for years,
"A boats use is inversely proportional to her length". Do others here
have a simialr experience of realizing they do not want a bigger boat?

wrote in message

We all occasionally wish for a larger boat but would we really buy one

Lots of folk go at a boat the same way they go at a house. They get the
largest they think they can afford. The proper attitude (in my view) with
both houses and boats is to get the smallest that will meet your
requirements. This assumes, of course, in both cases, that you are able to
remove ego from the equation. :-)

On Sat, 31 Dec 2005 12:11:42 -0500, "John Gaquin"
wrote:


wrote in message

We all occasionally wish for a larger boat but would we really buy one

Lots of folk go at a boat the same way they go at a house. They get the
largest they think they can afford. The proper attitude (in my view) with
both houses and boats is to get the smallest that will meet your
requirements. This assumes, of course, in both cases, that you are able to
remove ego from the equation. :-)


I would argue that to be an incorrect statement when it comes to
making a house purchase. Houses generally appreciate in value, so
therefore buying a more expensive house can provide an overall greater
return than a less expensive one. Therefore there is some logic to
buying a bigger house just because. I think people make the mistake
of buying too much house though and then become house poor.

wrote in message
oups.com...
We all occasionally wish for a larger boat but would we really buy one
if we were able? I have decided "No", my 28' S2 is ideal for me. A
larger boat would have more to go wrong and require more expense. My
28 is ideal for me as she is large enough to do a lot of things but
small enough for me to easily single-hand which I do a lot. The older
I get, the happier I am to not have a larger boat. This past 6 months
is the first time I have ever had her in a marina ( I kept her at pvt
docks for years) and I have noticed what I have heard about for years,
"A boats use is inversely proportional to her length". Do others here
have a simialr experience of realizing they do not want a bigger boat?


Through our years of boating we went from a 16 footer to a 21 footer to a 27
footer to a 32 footer and then back down to a 20 footer. We are perfectly
happy with the 20 foot runabout, although we do miss being able to overnight
on a boat at various ports.

wrote:
We all occasionally wish for a larger boat but would we really buy one
if we were able? I have decided "No", my 28' S2 is ideal for me. A
larger boat would have more to go wrong and require more expense. My
28 is ideal for me as she is large enough to do a lot of things but
small enough for me to easily single-hand which I do a lot. The older
I get, the happier I am to not have a larger boat. This past 6 months
is the first time I have ever had her in a marina ( I kept her at pvt
docks for years) and I have noticed what I have heard about for years,
"A boats use is inversely proportional to her length". Do others here
have a simialr experience of realizing they do not want a bigger boat?


Sort of going through that at the moment.

We love our boat, but there are a few "isms" we'd change if we could
and we think that a 40-footer would be just a bit bigger than our 36
while still retaining a manageable size.
Our boating budget is adequate, but not extravagant. It was our good
luck to realize a professional windfall recently, and we have
considered using a portion to upgrade the boat. We thought that adding
$100k to what our current boat should bring would keep our total
investment down to a reasonable total, so a new 40-footer ($350k and
up) is definitely out of consideration.

Our next problem is that our boat is reasonably unique, and we wouldn't
find the same characteristics in most available boats.

Looks like we'll spend a good chunk to repaint and refurbish
"Indulgence" and keep her at least a while longer. I've got one bid for
stripping the bottom, repainting the hull and the house, taking all the
teak down to bare wood and refinishing with a first "soak" coat, and
replacing some water-stained interior veneer that seems pretty
reasonable in the mid-30's.
With the 2-year old engine and a face lift, we'd be able to be as proud
as if we found a near bristol used boat- and just the sales commission
to sell "Indulgence" and tax on the difference for a $100k upgrade
would run about half of our cost to make the boat we like so well look
fairly new again.

I crawl through at least one larger boat, 55-70 feet, every month. Nice
to dream about, but
I think that the smallest boat one can safely enjoy in local conditions
is at least as good a choice as the largest boat one can (supposedly)
afford. :-)

wrote in message
oups.com...
We all occasionally wish for a larger boat but would we really buy one
if we were able? I have decided "No", my 28' S2 is ideal for me. A
larger boat would have more to go wrong and require more expense. My
28 is ideal for me as she is large enough to do a lot of things but
small enough for me to easily single-hand which I do a lot. The older
I get, the happier I am to not have a larger boat. This past 6 months
is the first time I have ever had her in a marina ( I kept her at pvt
docks for years) and I have noticed what I have heard about for years,
"A boats use is inversely proportional to her length". Do others here
have a simialr experience of realizing they do not want a bigger boat?


Well, let's see. I have a brand new Sea Ray 185. I think it's perfect for
my driveway, for towing, and for running around my local lakes. I will,
when I win the lottery, get a bigger boat that is better suited for visiting
the channel islands from ventura/oxnard and Catalina island from Marina Del
REy for a few days to a week at a time; still it will need to be
trailerable.

I've sailed many boats from 14 feet to 40 feet and have enjoyed each for
it's purpose, but I've settled on 30 to 32 feet as my preference for bay and
coastal sailing; that seems to be the size that is most comfortable for me
to handle short-handed. On the other hand for sailing offshore I would
probably buy a 40 footer with my lottery winnings.

Now that you've made me think about it a little bit, if I win the lottery,
I'll probably keep my little Sea Ray 185 to keep in my driveway, and buy a
Catalina 320 to keep in a southern california marina.

wrote in message
oups.com...
We all occasionally wish for a larger boat but would we really buy one
if we were able? I have decided "No", my 28' S2 is ideal for me. A
larger boat would have more to go wrong and require more expense. My
28 is ideal for me as she is large enough to do a lot of things but
small enough for me to easily single-hand which I do a lot. The older
I get, the happier I am to not have a larger boat. This past 6 months
is the first time I have ever had her in a marina ( I kept her at pvt
docks for years) and I have noticed what I have heard about for years,
"A boats use is inversely proportional to her length". Do others here
have a simialr experience of realizing they do not want a bigger boat?


I have thought of a 27' boat. Must be trailerable behind a 3/4T diesel.
One I could spend a week cruising the San Juans, or tow to Florida and spend
a couple of months in the area, with some nights in hotels. But I like my
21' alum jet boat, so would keep that.