Could you live aboard a 25 ft sailboat?

[bowman316]

I'm thinking about buying a sailboat in this size range. My plans are to live aboard it, either at a slip, or mooring. Eventually i might take an extended trip with it, with at least one other person. So that would mean living on the boat with 2-3 people on it.
You think 2-3 people could live comfortably on a 25 footer?

You think You could get enough water and waste storage on the boat?

 

[saildan]

Re: Could you live aboard a 25 ft sailboat?

Could you live aboard a 25 ft sailboat?
I'm thinking about buying a sailboat in this size range.
My plans are to live aboard it, either at a slip, or mooring. Eventually i might take an extended trip with it, with at least one other person. So that would mean living on the boat with 2-3 people on it. You think 2-3 people could live comfortably on a 25 footer?

What have you figured your minimum space needs to be?

What cabin layout variations have you found so far?

You think You could get enough water and waste storage on the boat?

What minimum holding capacity will meet your needs? In other words, how frequently are you willing to carry your porta-head waste tank and gray water to the dump tank ashore - or motor to the dock to pump out?

What are the rules and requirements at the marinas you are considering living at?

When you look on-line at the specification sheets for different boats in this size range, what differences in holding capacities are you finding.

 

[avenger79]

Re: Could you live aboard a 25 ft sailboat?

comfortably? no.

could it be done? possibly depending on the layout of the boat and who your mates are. that would seem a very tight space, remember with a lot of the longer boats you also get more beam, adding much more to your living space.
I've spent a considerable amount of time in a 26' camper and even that got very crowded after awhile with 2 other people.

 

[bowman316]

Re: Could you live aboard a 25 ft sailboat?

I have not seen any boats in person yet, But a 22 ft boat seems to sleep 2-3, while a 26 ft boat sleeps 5. The 26 has about a ft or 2 more beam to it.

I have always not needed much space to live. I just stay in my room most of the time, at the house here, and I don't end up moving around most of the day. just stay in one spot.
I figure of the 26 ft, 12 ft or so are devoted to bed space, so that leaves you 14 ft for the galley.
that is assuming the stern berth goes back to the transom.

 

[lowkee]

Re: Could you live aboard a 25 ft sailboat?

You must remember the shape of a boat. The only 22ft boat you will have 22ft of usable area in is a houseboat, and even then you lost 2-3' length for walk-around decking.

Based on an average 22' sailboat, you have 3-4' of cockpit, leaving the rest for livable area, which means 18-19', less the very bow (2-3'), which is too small for anything but small item storage. That leaves about 16' of technically usable are for living quarters. From that, you need a galley (3-4' minimum), head/shower (2-3' min), bed (convertible to a dining/livingroom area) (7' min). That leaves about 2-3' of storage for everything you need to live on, including clothing, waste, water, food, fuel and power. This assumes you sleep with the #2 person you live with and the #3 person is an infant which can sleep in the galley. I think the 3 person livable area on a 22' sailboat is purely theoretical and not actually possible.

Personally, I don't see a 22' sailboat as being usable for anything beyond a day cruiser and maybe a 1-2 man weekender. If you go beyond that, you are fighting space you don't have.

As for anything beyond a 22', I can't comment as I've never been aboard anything larger.

 

[saildan]

Re: Could you live aboard a 25 ft sailboat?

I figure of the 26 ft, 12 ft or so are devoted to bed space, so that leaves you 14 ft for the galley. That is assuming the stern berth goes back to the transom.

Hmmmmmmmm

Most space on a boat serves double - triple - quadruple duty.

I see you really haven't been doing much, if any, homework on the topics you ask about.

There are a number of books that cover how to determine living space and needs for live-aboard and boating ventures. Not to mention all the accounts on-line that include insight to the preparedness it takes.

Since you are proposing to take along companions on your adventure, your personal level of need and tolerance would not be as significant as the group average.

Why don't you look around at some boat specifications and do some figurin', then come back with more specific questions should one even arise at that point in your research process.

.

 

[Outsider]

Re: Could you live aboard a 25 ft sailboat?

But a 22 ft boat seems to sleep 2-3, while a 26 ft boat sleeps 5.

If they claim 2-3, it's probably 1-2. If they claim 5, plan on 3 ...

 

[saildan]

Re: Could you live aboard a 25 ft sailboat?

If they claim 2-3, it's probably 1-2. If they claim 5, plan on 3 ...

It's entertaining to go to a boat show and have a sales person demonstrate how they achieved their numbers.

​

But it sleeps 20 or more -

.

 

[tschmidty]

Re: Could you live aboard a 25 ft sailboat?

I've done a fair bit of poking as I am sure you will, but it's difficult to find a 25-26 foot boat that gives decent room. You start thinking about everything like headroom (I'm 6'3") and it starts to get real problematic.

The other thing is most marinas charge by the foot, 30 foot minimum. So really I would look at 30 foot boats if I were you. There are a ton of Catalina 30s out there which can be had fairly cheap, good headroom, etc. You'll get a lot more space and much more liveable. Search yachtworld.com and you can get an idea of what sorts of things are available and cabin layouts, etc.