How large of a boat do you need to live aboard?

Living on a Boat

The proper size of a boat to live on depends on the number of people and if it's a sail boat or cruiser your interested in. Are you going off shore or staying close to home? My wife and I have lived on a sail boat and a cruiser. We found the 30ft. sail boat a dream, but a lot of work in rough seas. The positive side is the wind, it's free fuel and when everything is going your way you can't beat it. We also had a 42ft. 1947 Monk cruiser that we bought after selling the sail boat. We lived on her for three years and loved it. She was a classic piece of workmanship. Her size gave us lots of room. Her name is Chatim Eagle,42ft. long and 11ft. at the beem. She slept six comfortably and had a shower that I could move around in as I am 6'3" tall, a nice galley with a Pacific stove for heating and cooking. The Master Bedroom had a Queen size bed built in with drawers. Hot and cold fresh water on board with a 150 gallon water tank and a 10 gallon hot water tank. The boat was powered by a Isuzu motor that gave us a cruising speed of 6-7 knots. I had removed the old Chrysler gas engine which was a 1947 gas eater. Being that she was a semie displacement hull which means she was a shallow draft boat that drew only three and a half feet of water. This also means that her hull speed was 8-9 knots. Chatim Eagle had a nice flare to her bow which helped greatly to pancake the waves. She had a three station steering system. One below deck, one on deck and one on the top bridge. She was a very sea worthy vessel and we miss her. I shouldn't have sold her. One more thing, Head room. The one thing I didn't like about the sail boat was it's lack of head room. It was only 5'10" tall and at times one felt like you were living in a hole. So for me it's a cruiser, at least 35-to 50ft.

First answer by ID3479581132. Last edit by ID3479581132. Question popularity: 11 [recommend question]