Heavy/Severe Weather & Small Boats

[CharlieJ]

LOL- And I just LEAPED at the chance to regain my big boat :D

A 25 footer.

I'd trust her most anywhere I care to sail anymore.

[Captain Smollett]

I find it interesting to observe, too, that of the folks I've met personally that have a dogmatic "bigger is better" for "heavy weather conditions," they also seem to be the ones that think 20-30 knots of wind is "heavy weather."  (**)

Hmmm, come to think of it, they also seem to somewhat overlap with those that motor everywhere, too.

Take those very personal observations as you will ... not meant to imply scientific data sampling.

(**) This is one of the reasons I LOVE Yves Gelinas' movie so much...it is something one can point to and say, "See that boat...repeatedly in Force 7-9 and sometimes HUGE seas just eating it up?  THAT is a sea boat."

Another good example: Donna Lange quietly making way in her 28 footer while another, much larger boat was 100 or so miles away in a "killer storm" with the crew calling for rescue.

[rorik]

A neighbor down the dock from me lives with his wife on his Maple Leaf 42. They're 50'ish. Last summer they were doing their best to convince another neighbor over drinks that his ~40 boat with in mast furling and roller furling was a risk if the wind piped up and it jammed.
In a discussion with me, that same ML42 owner made mention that if I really had aspirations to go offshore on my little CD28, I'd get something bigger  - something in the mid to upper thirties  - something that had a better motion.
All of which I find amusing, because their Maple Leaf has roller furling (not the main) and the owner has said a couple of times that if his wife ever gets incapacitated, he's screwed.

And if Smollett is giving away Flickas, I'd love one. They were on my short list. Or a Dana 24. Or a Frances 26. Or, or, or.. a Cape Dory 28..... wait a minute.. darn circular logic..  ;D

[Bonzai]

Short and sweet answer....it's all in how the boat is designed/built/outfitted. Just from my few years of sailing I have already decided I would be worried,in really bad weather, on any size mass produced boat made in the last 40 yrs. As with everything else in our modern world, they are seemingly made as cheaply as possible and sold for as much as they can get. Sure, they resemble the "big boys" boats with their open transoms, super light displacements and wide, flat bottoms with attached keels and will begin to move a tiny bit sooner in light airs and turn or maneuver with less effort and possibly get you around those bouys a knot faster during those life and death club races.... all of which is important in little protected areas and lakes but detrimental to anyone who intends to REALLY travel and occasionally find themselves "in harm's way".

[geneWj]

 :)I think any well designed, purpose built boat can handle more than most skippers and crew.  True, the modern designed stock built boats are built to minimum standards, however enough see the waters to find their weaknesses and make corrections.
I really cannot speak to stock boats, never owned one or have had the desire.
ole salts view,geneWj.

[NOMN]

My Two Cents:

I think it has to do with construction quality.

Typically, smaller boats are for smaller pocketbooks. Most modern boats under 25' tend to be constructed with cheap materials to save cost, because they are c strutted for the intended purpose of being a day sailer or light cruiser up the coast (unlike most boats chosen or sailed here.. the gems we have found.)

The larger boats tend to be tailored to the 'true' cruising crowd, and their price is justified in materials, therefore the common sense of "bigger is better" is technically true.

Me personally? I would take a smaller boat in a storm anyday.

I think the boat handles the waves better by "surfing" them. Think of it like a ping-pong ball out there...

[Travelnik]

Here's a story that shows that bigger isn't always better:

http://www.globallogisticsmedia.com/articles/view/containership-breaks-in-half---update-and-images

[rorik]

LOL Comfort..... that cracks me up...  ;D