dream big

[garyspear]

Ok,

Let me start by saying that I enjoy small easily singlehanded boats. the safety factor for the single sailor is important. However, there are a lot of threads asking "what is the smallest design that I can circumnavigate and carry my family of seven" :)

For fun lets go the other way. what is the largest design for the homebuilder that is easily sailed by a crew of one. ;) I only mean this with a little tounge-in-cheek attitude. I am truly curious about how a larger boat normally crewed by two or three might be made into a solo sailor.

[Thorne]

Are you gonna spec the hardware and materials? If you allow electric winches and hightech spars with sails inside, this boat could get BIG.

;0 )

[garyspear]

no specs. Just propose a design and setup that would be under say 20,000 u.s. or so.

[Kaa]

Are we assuming no electric winches, computer gadgetry and other similar stuff?

In this case the upper boundary is set by how much sail can one person handle. A ketch would probably provide the biggest LOA given the sail size limit.

Kaa

[Paul Pless]

A ketch would probably provide the biggest LOA given the sail size limit.or maybe a schooner...

[switters]

http://www.devlinboat.com/onyx.htm

I'll dream with ya, this is it with winches and roller furler for under20K. time is just time but I would be interested to know what others think about a 20K 28' boat just for a starting place. what is a reasonable length of boat that could be built for that much? materials are going to be a factor, so lets say ply construction for now since that is fairly available in a wide range of plans.

[Thermo]

This Wharram T30 could assuredly be singlehanded and probably built for about $20,000.

Bluewater, lots of deck space, smooth, pretty. Looking pretty good, eh?

http://www.sailing-charter-thailand.com/picturesFinal/t30/100_0351_300w.jpg

[Kaa]

Keep in mind the difference between:

-- can be sailed by a crew of one

-- can be easily sailed by a crew of one

-- can be safely sailed by a crew of one

But generally speaking, if you want a large boat to be handled by one person, I'd suggest a motorboat.

Kaa

[kc8pql]

For those of us on the far side of 50, I'll add that a lot depends on just what kind of shape you're in. I can think of a couple of boats that I singlehanded when I was in my 20's that I wouldn't want to take on today.

[garyspear]

switters,

I agree that that is a nice boat.

[Rapelapente]

With divided rig (Ketch and schooner) AND roller furler(s) AND autopilot one can single hand a really BIG boat. A friend of mine single hand a 54' ketch (Amel 54), the kind of boat with all sails on electric furlers with electric winches and bowthruster.
I can single hand my gaff schooner(43'), since the sails are rather smalls I can even set the fisherman. But I had to install a roller furler on the genoa, lowering it on the bowsprit in big swell was pretty... sketchy... And when imagining me hanged under the bowsprit in the harness was not that rassuring...The main problem are the harbor operations if there's nobody here to help you. The bowthruster helps me a lot in windy conditions. But at sea you have a lot of time to haul or lower the sails with an autopilot.

[Hwyl]

There's really not much of a limit on singlehanding.
I've singlehanded a 100' schooner. The open 60's are singlehanded.

Look at Ellen MacArthur, all five foot two of her.

The money is a constraint however

[paladin]

I did a 44 footer...no electrics circumnavigating...with toys a 156 foot schooner has been singlehanded

[Sailor]

I wouldn't sayn there's NO limit as I don't see a square rigger being sailed a la onesie but anything with fore'n aft sails should be pretty easy to rig to sail single handed. Oriol is a 92 foot ketch run by our navy. She SHOULD be able to be single handed by a skilled sailor but they rigged her to disadvantage everywhere and it now takes about a dozen people to sheet home the genoa. As was mentioned the 60s are sailed by one and they have one incredible sailplan. the trick would be to keep the SA of each sail down and that means ketch/yawl/schooner in my mind.

[johnw]

Remember Alain Colas in the OSTAR? From Wikipedia:

1976 saw the biggest edition of the race, in all senses. 125 boats entered, and the 128-foot (39 m) Vendredi Treize returned as ITT Oceanic. However, the all-time size record for the race, and probably for any single-hander, was set by Alain Colas, sailing the 236-foot (72 m) four-masted schooner Club Mediterranée.[13] Although about the same overall length as HMS Victory (which had a crew of 820),[14] this modern boat was expressly designed for easy handling.

[CharlieCobra]

I sail Oh Joy single without issue, no electrics, 38' yawl. Docking is the main issue when SH.

[Rapelapente]

[QUOTE=johnw;1924004]Remember Alain Colas in the OSTAR? From Wikipedia:
However, the all-time size record for the race, and probably for any single-hander, was set by Alain Colas, sailing the 236-foot (72 m) four-masted schooner Club Mediterranée.

For this race, Club mediterranee had been "saltellised"by a crew of 20 at least, and Alain Colas never had to lower the sails till the arrival where the crew came aboard again... How could it be possible anyway? That's not actually single handing in every days contitions. As you said, just a record.

[johnw]

[QUOTE=johnw;1924004]Remember Alain Colas in the OSTAR? From Wikipedia:
However, the all-time size record for the race, and probably for any single-hander, was set by Alain Colas, sailing the 236-foot (72 m) four-masted schooner Club Mediterranée.

For this race, Club mediterranee had been "saltellised"by a crew of 20 at least, and Alain Colas never had to lower the sails till the arrival where the crew came aboard again... How could it be possible anyway? That's not actually single handing in every days contitions. As you said, just a record.

And not a good idea. He had to sleep sometime, and how would you like to be in the path of a 236-foot schooner with the crew asleep?