I made a big mistake yesterday :( I took my wife to the Halifax Boat show and let her check out a 30' Catalina to which she said "Oh my, this is way too small"
The she went to the next boat which was a 40' Beneteau to which she says "This is a bit better, but where am I going to put all my clothes?" LOL I have my work cut out for me ;)
I guess the Hughes 25 I was looking at as a learner boat will be a solo machine :)
I think I will send her this link and see if it meets her demands...
http://www.yachtworld.com/privatelabel/listing/pl_boat_detail.jsp?currency=USD&units=Feet&id=1815714&lang=en&slim=pp237992&
LOL. Share with her that my wife and I, our two children AND a cat live on a 30 footer - a SMALL 30 footer by 'modern' standards (ie, smaller interior volume than that Catalina 30).
You might get to her to sit with you for a while browsing the boats and design data at the Sail Calculator Site (http://image-ination.com/sailcalc.html), Browse some of the boats you have seen and others as well.
Ask her to focus on the Capsize Screening Ratio and Motion Comfort Ratio as rough guidelines of seaworthiness. Look up that Benny, even the Catalina 30.
Then look up the Rhodes Meridian, the Pearson Ariel, the older mid 20-foot Cape Dory's, etc.
Get a copy of Vigor's Twenty Small Sailboats to Take You Anywhere. Study the boats listed and the similarities in those designs.
Ask the question: Why does a mid 20's sailboat desighed in the 1960's have safer design numbers and a better proven track record than a modern 40+ footer?
After some careful study of designs generally proven to be SAFE platforms, ask her quietly which she would prefer:
A bunch of clothes she won't even wear while sailing, or a boat with a better chance of staying UPRIGHT and ON TOP of the water.
Bigger is not always better.
You might also want to point out that a diverse wardrobe is probably not really necessary when out cruising, especially if you're cruising in the tropics... :)
Man, for the price of that boat my lil Vega would be showroom quality, and I would be setting sail tomorrow with a kitty big enough to not worry about coming back!
Nice looking Cat tho. Its always fun to look at the "Jones's" but I wouldn't trade it for what I have now.
LOL I will ahve to send her to the "sail naked" website to explain the much downsized wardrobes required. ;D
I just threw that Cat up there because it is ridiculously out of my price range. Of course it has a bar built in, so thats a great selling feature for my wife :o