Rightsizing Your Boat: Enjoy More with Less
We keep telling ourselves, “It’s only two feet bigger,” as we slowly inch our way upward in our boat ownerships. And then we reach a point where we realize we really don’t need that large a boat. If it were a home, we’d call it “downsizing”: kids off to college, tired of mowing that big lawn, all the symptoms of “empty nest syndrome.” The same thing happens in boats when owners realize they don’t need all the cabins, the big cockpit, the expansive flybridge, the galley that can feed dozens. The result is what Jamie Bloomquist of Back Cove and Sabre Yachts calls “rightsizing” your boat.
“We have clients who have rightsized into a boat that fits their current boating lifestyle,” he says.
One couple, he notes, switched from their Sabre 48, on which they’d cruised far and wide, to a Back Cove 340, which still had the appointments of the larger boat, but allowed for more spontaneous evening cruises.
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Michael Johnson of Denison Yachts notes, “Justifying time on a large boat is the biggest reason I see for downsizing. They’re just not using the boat as much—there’s soccer practice, dance classes, whatever. A smaller boat makes a lot of sense.”
The late aviation author, Ernest K. Gann (High & The Mighty, etc.), had a lifetime of yachts as large as an 82-foot brigantine, but when he decided to rightsize, he told me that his only demand to yacht designer Jay Benford was, “I want a boat that drinks six, eats four, and sleeps two.” The result was his Strumpet, a lovely trawler that fulfilled those orders perfectly and relieved Gann of feeding/drinking/sleeping hordes of guests.
Yes, I admit it. Like the rest of you, I have had a serious case of “two-footitis” during my boating career, edging into ever bigger boats until “She Who Must Be Obeyed” (my wife, Rhea) and I performed a “two-footectomy” and found a boat that restored the fun of boating as a couple (with another couple occasionally).
Advantages and Impacts of Rightsizing Your Boat
So, let me enumerate the many joys of rightsizing.
First, why a smaller boat? There is the empty nesting of a smaller family that has no time to be aboard with you. Your life goals may have changed: You no longer want to see the volcanic peaks of Tahiti off the bow, and you’re happy with bareboat charters in faraway places from Greece to Thailand after a few hours in an airplane rather than weeks of cruising.
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I hate to admit it, but my knees insist I mention that age can have a compelling effect, too. Besides downsizing, there is a continual stream of lifelong sailors buying cruising trawlers because they cranked their last winch and hoisted their last sail. And, of course, finances can help with your decision.
Let’s start with cost. Chopping the boat size means you’re pushing less through the water and, even if you’re a sailor, you’ll find big savings at the fuel dock with a smaller boat. If you’re a powerboater, you may even find yourself shedding a second engine, which means smaller fuel tanks and less maintenance.
Since I mentioned it, let’s jump to maintenance. Comparing the cost of hauling a 70-footer to hauling a 40-footer is certain to be startling. How did you enjoy that French vacation with the money you saved? You’ll also find that simple maintenance chores, from varnishing a rubrail to just hosing the boat down after an outing, are like a breath of fresh air. They are no longer dreaded tasks.
Also under the maintenance heading comes reduced systems upkeep. It’s not only the number of engines that compound your costs, but the systems as well. Two generators? Three air conditioners? Yikes!
Just finding a slip can be a challenge with the larger yacht, and you don’t get a discount for length, either.
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A final challenge, says Bill Thomas of Marlow Yachts, is that some owners (mostly in hurricane zones) face the tightening of insurance that requires full-time captains on yachts longer than 70 feet.
So, let’s look at what you gain with less.
For starters, and depending on the boat you choose, you can handle it shorthanded. You don’t need an entire football team to get in or out of your slip, and many couples are finding the delights of shorthanded boating (after first agreeing on a “no-shouting” clause). Get a good pair of headset communicators, and surprise the anchorage when you drop the hook in silence.
Another surprise with a more manageable size is that you can yank on a dockline and something actually happens. Need to move the boat closer to the dock to carry groceries aboard? One hand should do it.
Smaller boats also offer opportunities you didn’t have with a larger boat. Take shallow draft, for instance. Less draft not only means you can slip into harbors formerly blocked to you with the bigger boat, but you can also anchor much closer to shore. When I started bareboating with shallow draft catamarans, I was astounded at how many Bahamian harbors suddenly opened to our explorations.
You may have a case of BTDT (“been there, done that”) after numerous trips to the Bahamas or other places. Here’s a surprise that comes with a smaller boat: You can do the Great Loop (or any of the other “loop” adventures). With a smaller boat, there is water draft (shallower harbors), and there is also “air draft” that can let you explore rivers, canals, and waterways otherwise protected by bridges.
So how can you prepare for a smaller boat?
Space is probably the most immediate impact: Everything is—smaller. It is often noticeable in the master cabin but, really, how much time are you spending in that stateroom? The galley is another space to consider, but you only need expansive counters for buffets or laying out a dozen sandwiches. No more! Make sure you have the basic appliances you need and you’re home free.
One of the shocks for a downsizer is laundry: You may no longer have a washer/dryer combo tucked away somewhere on board. Yes, at first it may seem an effort to walk up the dock to the marina laundry. But, and I tell you this firsthand, we’ve met people while standing waiting for the dryer that have remained friends for years. There is a social atmosphere to any marina laundry that makes
a washer on board convenient, but so much less fun.
Evaluate
One good idea to assuage your mind before you make the move downward is that old standby: Make a list—one column for benefits, one of disadvantages. You may find that it is a comparison that sells itself.
On the negative side, you might list that you can’t carry as many friends. On the other side, the balance sheet shows that you also aren’t feeding/drinking/sleeping them, either. Or you might find that you don’t have the range of your longer boat and, on the positive side, list all the new places that reduced draft and lower air height can take you.
Make another list of those features you don’t want to give up. A second cabin for friends or kids, a salon that can seat six for dinner, along with the galley to prepare it. A master stateroom large enough to pull on your shorts easily, and where you can walk around the berth to climb in with a modicum of modesty. Factor in range and speed, and see what you really need.
In the years since Gann gave me his secret code of 6-4-2, I’ve realized that he was right. Smaller boats can be even more fun than a larger one if you take advantage of all the benefits. Downsizing is a cruel word. Bloomquist’s “rightsizing” your boat is a far better way to look at it.
-by Chris Caswell
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