Members' Online Book: How To Buy a Cruising Boat, Chapter 25 of 27

Q&A, What’s the Maximum Sailboat Size For a Couple?

Published Jul 29, 2016 44 comments Updated February 12, 2019
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Phyllis working the toughest job on "Morgan's Cloud".

What is the largest sailboat two people can comfortably handle?

If your reaction to that question was:

Wow, lots of variables...there's no right answer...it depends;

you and I think alike. That was my initial reaction too when asked the question by Steve and Cindy, new sailors, aspiring cruisers, and new members here at Attainable Adventure Cruising.

But then I thought about it some...and then some more...and it struck me that there's a simple answer:

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Meet the Author

John

John was born and brought up in Bermuda and started sailing as a child, racing locally and offshore before turning to cruising. He has sailed over 100,000 miles, most of it on his McCurdy & Rhodes 56, Morgan's Cloud, including eight ocean races to Bermuda, culminating in winning his class twice in the Newport Bermuda Race. He has skippered a series of voyages in the North Atlantic, the majority of which have been to the high latitudes. John has been helping others go voyaging by sharing his experience for twenty years, first in yachting magazines and, for the last 12 years, as co-editor/publisher of AAC.

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Nothing on this website or in direct communications received from us, or in our articles in the media, should be construed to mean or imply that offshore voyaging is anything other than potentially hazardous. Dangers such as, but not limited to, extreme weather, cold, ice, lack of help or assistance, gear failure, grounding, and falling overboard could injure or kill you and wreck your boat.

Decisions such as, but not limited to, heading offshore, where you go, and how you equip your boat, are yours and yours alone. The information on this web site is based on what has worked for the authors in the past, but that does not mean it will work for you, or that it is the best, or even a good way for you to do things.