It is not the size of your boat that matters, it is the size of your dreams
Back in the Seventies, I had the good luck to be invited to join my old friend John Kiley aboard his Tahiti ketch Josepha for a cruise from Jamaica to Tahiti via the Panama Canal. At 30 feet, the little ketch was a proper little ship. While there were a few larger yachts out cruising in the Pacific in those days, 30 feet was not considered small and there were plenty of cruisers out there in boats from 27 to 35 feet.
Today’s cruising fleet is made up of much larger boats, with 45 feet being about average, and there are many couples cruising in boats over 50 feet. There is a lot to be said for the comfort and speed of larger cruising boats. And with all of the modern sailing gear and electronics available to us, big boats are much easier to handle than they used to be. But they are also much more complicated and thus more prone to need maintenance and repairs than small, simpler boats of yore. Read more.
