What makes the ideal size of sailboat for your voyage? What type of monohull is best for a circumnavigation? Which equipment on your sailboat for one person, a couple, or a family? There are several factors to take into account to choose the best liveaboard sailboat: the members of your crew, naturally, but also your way of life at your stopovers, engaging in water sports, etc… And of course, considering a blue water cruising yacht means looking at storage requirements as well. Let’s have a look at six questions you should ask yourself when deciding on the size of your blue water cruising yacht.

In order to buy the best liveaboard sailing yacht according to your needs, you will need to think about your blue water cruising plans: circumnavigation, Atlantic crossing, months of sailing in the Caribbeans or in colder waters, etc. Allures aluminium centreboard sailboats, for example, are ideal monohulls under 55ft for all types of sailing around the world.

Are you sailing on your own or as a couple? Then, two double berths should be enough for you. The Allures 40.9, our 40ft sailboat, has two cabins and a technical room. The Allures 45.9, our 45ft monohull, also offers this configuration.

If you’re undertaking longer passages as a family for example, with three or four people, you could consider using the saloon as an extra berth. Or you could opt for a liveaboard sailboat with three separate cabins. The Allures 45.9 also exists in this configuration, but at the expense of the technical space.

Our largest centreboarder, the Allures 51.9, a 52ft sailboat, while having a technical compartment, has three cabins as standard: an owner’s cabin at the stern, which occupies the entire width of the boat, and a double cabin and a corridor with bunk beds forward.

When you are blue water cruising, it’s great to be able to entertain friends and family at stopovers. Whether it’s friends, children, grandchildren, the best liveaboard sailboat needs to be able to welcome your loved ones comfortably.

So, you might want to ask yourself whether you’re willing to share your bathroom, for example, or whether you’d prefer your guests to have their own. The Allures 40.9 and 45.9 offer several layout options, so you can choose your ideal configuration. But choices often have to be made…

While the Allures 40.9 and 45.9 allow owners to welcome another couple aboard, yet retaining a technical compartment, the Allures 51.9 can accommodate four additional people. The forward section of this larger monohull can be dedicated to a couple with children or grandchildren. And they will have their own bathroom, with separate shower. Easy to handle, the Allures 51.9 is therefore the ideal blue water liveaboard sailboat for couples sailing alone who will be receiving lots of friends and family at stopovers.

During you sailing journey, you’re going to be away for a long time, with one isolated anchorage after another and often avoiding marinas: you need to be able to store food, water, and fuel easily on your liveaboard sailing yacht. Check the number, size, and accessibility of storage spaces.

On our various Allures models ranging from 40ft to 52ft sailboats, in the galley, near the saloon or in the cabins, there are plenty of storage spaces available. Naturally, the larger the boat and the more people it can accommodate, the greater the volume.

For many people, stopovers during blue water sailing also mean taking part in water sports: kitesurfing, paddle-boarding, or windsurfing. When looking for the best liveaboard sailboat for your project, you’ll need to consider the more “technical” and easily accessible storage options. And if you’re a scuba diver, think about where you can stow your tanks without having to carry them too far. As well as a space for the compressor!

The Allures 40.9 and 45.9 sailing yachts, in their two-cabin configurations, have a large technical compartment, accessible both from the inside and from the cockpit! The Allures 51.9 has a huge lazarette at the stern, beneath a wide platform, with direct access to the sea via the platform.

Back to the crew question: how many people will be handling the boat? Under way? In port? At anchor? Whatever the answer, Allures Yachting’s offer is simple: all our aluminium centreboard sailboats are easily handled by two people.

Ergonomic cockpits are found aboard all three models, and all the lines are led to winches positioned near the steering wheels and are thus designed for short-handed crews. Depending on the size of the sailing boat and your physical potential, you can choose electric winches, bow thrusters or stern thrusters to make your boating even easier.

All Allures liveaboard sailboats have very well-balanced hulls, with twin rudders, and are also very stable and seaworthy, so are perfectly managed by the autopilot.

To sum it up, your sailing project, the size of your crew, the capacity to accommodate family and friends during stopovers, the storage available for resources, water sports activities at anchor, and the manoeuvrability – these are the main questions to consider when defining the best liveaboard sailboat for blue water cruising. And depending on your answers, there will always be an Allures to meet your requirements. Don’t hesitate to let us know us about your project via the contact form!