Bigger is Better - or The Simple Life?

In general it seems there are basically two boating camps out there - and no I don't mean sail & power.
There's those who fall into the Bigger is Better camp, for whom you can never cram enough stuff onboard to keep them entertained. The thought of going to sea without airconditioning, several of the largest flat-screen tv's, an assortment of water-toys, etc, etc, is simply too abhorrent to even consider. Perhaps these people would more aptly fall into the More Stuff the Better category, for it seems that size really isn't that much of a deterrent anymore. "Yes sir, you can have bow and stern thrusters fitted to your inflatable tender. Would you like a surround sound system to go with that?"

Then there's those who hark back to simpler days. When boating was somewhat more akin to camping. Why would you want a shower - you're surrounded by the biggest bath in the world? A heater?!? Put on another jumper.

Without doubt, the former outnumber the latter - and by a growing margin. Technology is to blame of course. With efficient lightweight diesels, high-tech composites and the latest in electronics, boats can be made lighter and faster than ever before. The perfect opportunity to cram more crap aboard!

What a shame that we so rarely see boats designed to make the most of these technology advances and excell in the middle ground. Boats designed to be efficient, yet comfortable. Fast, yet economical. Clever by design......

Ok - ranting done - I'm off to by some underwater lights to string around the boat so that I can check out all the stuff that my new sonar finds!

 

I am more likely to from the simple life camp- the camping sort-
screw the TV.
but I camp pretty comfortably.
I especially like to cook great food.
And I like a comfy bed with a real DOONA, not one of those plastic sleeping bags (sleeping is generally the last thing I manage to do in those things).
I can do without the shower, but after 'bathing' in the waters down here, I would happily warm my blue toes in front of a heater. After all, camping without a fire just doesn't feel right.

That said, i will not be getting a heater. They seem to cost a fortune. And while the thought has just crossed my mind to start a thread on DIY build it yourself heater-
It would most probably turn into one of those- you will kill yourself (who cares) and others (you idiot) if you try anything of the sort....

Hans.

 

Simple life

I feel much more comfortable on a boat with as least as possible equipment on it.

Everything you load on a boats seems to break down much more soon than ashore, boating is a synonym for maintenance and repairs. Hans, if your boat has a cooker in the galley you can put an upside down ceramic flowerpot on the fire. It will radiate a lot of heat making your cabin snug.

Will, you will have to go back to the shop after you read this, last year i saw a boat in yachting world. It had a string of lights below the waterline. Each light could chance color independently.

 

Big is better until certain size. You are not building an arc but.....

I need some refine flexible stuff that can be use in different ways. I will opt also to full electric and condition when my boat would work and shine under no electric condition.

 

The experienced ocean sailors who have learnt that simple means reliable, then there's the novice who wants to live at sea as he does at home who listens to the marketers, often found living in a marina close to home in a 'performace' yacht full to the brim with fancy gadgets that he thinks he needs like fancy fwd projecting sonar .

It is interesting that the lightweight boats are least able to take all the crap (sic) without suffering from an excessive load and poor stability.

 

If you take one look at the "performance" yachts scattered around the Med, there is nothing performace about them due to the amount of comfort features on them. You end up with a 30 foot motoryacht weighing in at 15 tons with twin 700hp motors just to get it on the plane, I think most of those people would be better of buying a condo / flat, it would be better for the enviroment too.

 

overnight or live-aboard without tv? common guy's!

clarabelle cow to mini mouse:
"if it wasnt for thomas edison we be watching tv now by candlelight"

offcouse there is plasma now, but guess its pretty much a money game?

 

What I find rather interesting about those fat fancy boats, is that they are (at least in my part of Ontario) almost never used as boats. They're used for sitting around at the dock with friends. The fancy gadgets are never subjected to much more abuse than they'd take in a house, because the boat only goes past the breakwall in 2-foot chop or smaller.

I think a big part of the problem is the way marinas calculate their fees. Some go by length, thus favouring short fat boats over long skinny ones. Others go by length times beam, virtually prohibiting multihulls of any sort. There must be a better way of assessing dock fees....

Personally, my vote goes to big and simple. I like technology, but only where it makes my life easier- if it's more trouble than it's worth, ditch it. I like long, light and efficient, so I can run for ages without spending a fortune, and big enough to not be cramped when the friends visit. Flatscreen satellite TV? I go boating to get away from that stuff. Give me a VHF, charts and a GPS, and I'm happy. Although I may well end up outfitting my next boat with a heckuva lot more, I still believe in the virtue of simplicity.

 

I think there are a few necessities that make cruising with the wifee more enjoyable

 

Thanks for thinking of me, chandler and what do you think I would like?
Wilma

 

Uh oh!

 

I was serious, Will!
By the way, you could give me an answer too, what do you, men, think women find important when living aboard a boat.

 

Simple life

My girlfriend is really nice but sometimes it just makes me feel good when i go out to sail and don't have to think what she might be thinking about.

Also see:

http://boatdesign.net/forums/showpost.php?p=89476&postcount=33

Sorry if i am not beeing very nice here but this thread is about the complexity of things wanted or not on a boat.

(edit)

Please explain to me why you want us to think about what a woman wants. Would it not be more "simple" to just explain to us what you, a woman, want on a boat. By putting the question your way you are steering directly into a typical man/woman debate.

Something like:

No, serious Will, i do not think that what you are thinking about what i am thinking is correct......

 

Wilma -
Sorry - couldn't help myself...
Well, I'll go by the sort of list that my dearly beloved regards as sacred.
Warm, dry, comfortable. Not too cramped. Not too much stuff - tools or spares in the galley drawer a definite no no! A shower. A place for everything and everything in its place.
And on all these points we agree - they're hardly divorce material.
But this simply backs up the point I was (not very articulately) making with my original post. Apart from the pretty general list above, what more do you need? Is it really necessary to have a genset the size of a small power station running every appliance known to man, in order to have a comfortable week's cruising? Getting away from all the things you've just brought with you!

Azimut's 68S took the world by storm with its avante guard styling and its apartment-like interior. But how much cleverer it would be if it weighed 20 tons instead of 32.....
If it managed it's top speed of 37 knots with 1000 hp instead of 2600....
Convincing well-heeled would-be buyers that they could do without all the "must-have's" that would make this possible may prove difficult. Most don't care that they're boat consumes 350 litre per hour. It won't happen until it becomes politically incorrect to be a conspicuous consumer....

 

Thanks Will, and seaspark (ik wil niet vechten, dat kan ik thuis) I really am interested in what people think is great interior boat design and as men mainly design the boats, -there are not a lot of women replying on this site-I asked that question. I am genuinely interested in what they know about what we find important. I want to discuss with men and other sailing women what is important to live comfortably aboard. I do find this site a very technical site which is great as there is a lot for me to learn, but does any of you know if there is a site for women somewhere or should I start a thread for women about what we want on a boat. I do want to live aboard a boat and go ocean sailing, and I would love to have a think with other women and men how we could make our life on board warm, comfortbale and ergonomic. I do agree that all those floating palaces with every gadget on board is not what I am after. I don't have them at home and I still do the dishes by hand. However there are other things I consider comfortable such as a good chair, a closed in pilot house so during ocean passages I am not out in the open, normal beds I don't have to crawl in or out of when in port etc, etc. After all it is going to be my home and not a holiday batch. And as I have the time to think about the interior I might as well see if there are some innovative ideas to make life simpler and easier on board. And as a result I won't complain when sailing the oceans and neither will men.