small yacht

[Bernadette]

as most may be aware, im selling DECATUR my 42' alden malabar II schooner and planning to build the 28' Susan design by Murray Petterson. i want to go aboard any similar type 28' to get the 'feel' of the size before proceeding too far. ive had thoughts of perhaps building up to 35' so i just wish to be sure the 28' Susan design will be right for me this time around (third time lucky!!!). can anyone help me in my quest? i live in brisbane but dont mind a long drive either north or south to look at a yacht. thanks. bernadette

[bholderman]

There is a great Susan build thread in the design section. Although not finished it should give you an idea of scale.

[Wild Dingo]

Bernadette send an email to Bill Peterson Murrays son who owns the rights to all his fathers designs he may have something that would fit better than Susan to your needs?

I cant offhand remember Bills email but either someone else will post it or pm it to you or if you can hang off till tomorrow I will get it from the shed and post it for you... either way it could be a worthwhile email eh?

Cheers!

[Bernadette]

brad, yes i am aware of the "susan" project that is being followed and posted on here. nothing beats going aboard for getting a real handle on what the vessel would be like however.

shane, i have already been in contact with mr peterson, having purchased the 'susan' plans from him some time previous. ive since contacted him for the cutter sail plans but he is not responding to my emails regarding the same despite an earlier undertaking to provide me with a copy. i do have time on my hands just for now, so im in no rush.

i like the style of the 'susan' as she is not too dissimilar to DECATUR so i suppose im looking for something along those lines but about 32 to 35' LOD. its not such a big difference the 4' or so, but until i can settle my mind that a 28' is going to be all i need, i have this desire to keep looking.

bernadette

[Wild Dingo]

No worries then Bernadette... dont know how lucky your going to be getting onboard a Susan down here but I guess if ones inclinded to spend many many days scouring all the marinas and hidden nooks and crannies along the rivers you may find one... maybe? Or something similar?
Anyway good luck with it
Shane

[Bruce Hooke]

You probably already know this, but keep in mind that displacement is really a better measure of the size of the boat than length, especially when it comes to things like interior volume (and building time and cost!). Since displacement increases as the cube of the length (assuming the proportions of the designs are similar), a 35' boat is about twice as big as a 28' boat. So, that is a BIG difference in in size. Going from 28 to 32 is about a 50% increase in size and so that 4' is actually pretty significant.

On the other side of the coin, a 35' boat is about 60% as big as a 42' boat so you are certainly stepping down a lot in size, even if you just go to a 42' boat.

It should be noted that many fiberglass yachts (and a few wooden yachts) gain interior volume by having high, lightweight topsides, which gives them more interior volume than their length would predict, so as with most comparisons when it comes to boats, you have to compare similar designs...

[Don Z.]

Hmmm... Schooner, 35 feet, cruising? Sounds like Alden's Tyhee