Hi
We are planning to sell up and sail off early next year and have a BCC on our short list, and wondered what owners think about the good and difficult about long term sailing on these amazing sail boats? We especially wonder about having young children on board from continuous weeks to very long periods. We wonder, along with everything else, about how well the forecabin berth would work in practice, especially given the lack of privacy from the head.
Maybe someone has found a layout that works well with two small children. We’ve thought about turning the forward hanging lockers into a heads and shower. Has anyone tried this?
Anything anyone has to share about short/long-term living aboard would be priceless. If you think it’s important then we will too!
Lastly, doesn’t look as though there are any BCCs in the UK (where we are based), so we wondered if anyone knows of any BCCs for charter in the US? Depending on what we can find out we may be over to the US late summer to visit the factory.
It’s too cold here just now at 54? 30’ N, but hope at least some of you are enjoying your Sunday sailing!
Row
Hi!
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Sorry I am not responding to your email timely!
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The BCC should be fine for small children, including any long offshore sailing (cruising). I would install high lifelines and weave netting into all of the lifelines so they can??t fly overboard in heavy sea or an accidental jibe. All small children under about the age of 11 should always have a life jacket on. I would suggest you have special life jackets made, I created a life jacket with a water activated battery with a high intensity light glued to the top of the vest and an alarm when they go over the side I also had a strap installed so I could pluck them out with a pole and hook; finding anyone at night in a calm sea is next to impossible let alone heavy seas!
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Always consider the water with small children, this is what will kill them not the boat, the boat they will adapt to and sleep anywhere and anytime. I would think the sea birth with netting will keep them happy at sea and if really small OK at port as well, this is not a house it’s a boat and kids adapt well to their environment and sleep any place and any time. As the kids get older they sleep the same but they do need more room is all. If you are going to the tropics you can sleep out on deck most of the year, if you don’t mind being wet once and a while and at anchor a tarp solves some of this problem. I don’t know your situation but you spend almost all your time on deck in the tropics and in cold weather you spend al lot of time below. I would say if you are not cruising in the tropics I would consider a bigger boat but remember the BCC will provide safe passage and that is more important then sleeping arrangements. I think sleeping with my wife and son (1-10) in the same bed made him a better and more secure adult of which is has turned out to be. Up until the all but the last 100 years of so family members always slept together and they turned out all right!
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May the winds be favorable, Dan ?