It´s somehow funny but I´ve received a couple of notifications from various sailing friends in my vicinity about them actually selling or wanting to sell their sailboats. That´s nothing so unusual, you´d think, but looking closer I noticed a pattern. Maybe it is just by coincidence, or there´s really a deeper layer beneath it, but all of those handful guys texting me during the last weeks are owners of big boats. 50 feet upwards, big, luxury cruising yachts. That´s one thing. The other is a little funny occasion that has taken place during the boat show where we´ve had our Omega 42 on display, you might remember reading the article (click here if you haven´t). It´s as following:
Apparently the boat show organizers had complied with our wishes to create a sort of “Scandinavian” pontoon, bringing together all those nice Nordic brands and their fantastic boats in one spot. Omega 42 was part of the bunch, but also Linjett, Hallberg-Rassy, Najad and such. As it happens, we moored next to a Linjett 34. The smallest of their product line. You know already how much I like the work of this family owned and run shipyard, so I of course visited my neighboring friends. And here´s the thing: Roaming their “small” Linjett 34 and comparing it to our Omega 42 revealed some very interesting things. First: My “big” 42-footer conceived in the late Seventies offers the same (even less, to be honest) interior volume, as the “small” Linjett 34! So, how can we bring together these two starting points? Well, I think that there´s some kind of trend apparent, maybe fueld by the ongoing economic crisis or at least the uncertainty in our societies.
The trick about (and misconception of) small sailing yachts
Could it be that the “bigger is better”-attitude, at least for the middle class sailor, is a thing of the past? I mean, prices have soared and the former sweet spot of boating business, the 45-55 feet range has become hefty in terms of budgets needed. Maybe there´s a kind of return to a more classy approach in sailing? Up until a few years ago, entry level sized sailing yachts, let´s say 30 to 38 feet, have largely been neglected by the boatbuilders. Made to get people into sailing and have them programmed to go for the next bigger size in a matter of 3-5 years, these yachts usually had a middle quality. Many boatbuilders even completely neglected to come up with nice, high-quality sailboats for the smaller sizes. A market segment in vain. But, on the other hand, look at this Linjett 34 … I mean, that´s far from “neglected” quality, right?
I´ve photographed this used (!) Linjett 34 last winter during my visit to the Rosättra shipyard in Sweden and I was stunned. For once stunned about the absolutely fantastic state this boat presented itself. If I wouldn´t have been told that she was already in use, I´d thought she was brand new. And secondly, I mean, look at the pictures: This is pure luxury! That´s a level of interior fitting and quality of craftsmanship you wouldn´t necessarily expect in a “small” entry-level yacht. And that´s the misconception, maybe the failure of many boatbuilding companies which thought the small size range is no business or doesn´t need decent quality. The opposite is the case: Some of my friends currently seeling their +50-footers seriously consider to scale down. They won´t quit sailing – they just realized, accepted or understood that they don´t need (or cannot sustain) big boats. A yacht like the Linjett 34 fits about perfect to this “trend”.
How much space do you really need?
A small sailboat doesn´t necessarily need to be “checply” made. Have you noticed the entrance door to the Linjett 34 in the last picture? It´s a high-grade real glass suspended sliding door. Something you´d normally expect on a big boat, but not on 11 meters, right? Coming down the companionway a wonderful atmosphere awaits you inside. The boat is classy, light-suffused and clean.
Yes, it does not come with a wide saloon Discotheque dancefloor. But didn´t you hate these free spaces? Especially when at sea in a decent swell? This small 34-footer has everything you need in a saloon: Settees, large enough to fit 4 to 6 adults, a large dinner table and any amenities you wish for: Fresh air, natural light, a heating system and, very important, headroom for the taller sailors. The old saying that you need a big boat for the headroom is a thing of the past. Inside the Linjett 34 I can stand perfectly upright with my 1.86 meters. So, how much interior space do you really need?
In the end, sailing takes place up there in cockpit. Either when you are actually sailing and enjoying the hopefully nice sailing capabilities of your yacht; or when you have a good time moored in the marina or at anchor. Your wife is sunbathing, your kids enjoy some fun with the paddleboard and you open a can of ice-cold beer to watch the sun go down. Perfect. But down here? You get everything you want, even a full-fledged nav-station with a proper sized chart table.
It´s in the details: Smart solutions
The Linjett 34 is seriously not a “starter´s” boat nor a bait to lure you in, tie you to the brand and make you buy a bigger boat as soon as possible. She is a boat to stay within your family for many, many decades. That said, this boat will try to satisfy all the needs you might have as a sailor but also as an aesthetic being. Just look at the details here, for example the joinery. I´ve made already a whole article on the level of craftsmanship on display at Linjett, but here´s the outcome:
The floorboards are of course showing a continuous grain. If you look close enough, you can see this detail. It might seem picky and unimportant, but believe me, it´s a huge difference! I´ve been in so many boats where the grain structure of the furniture was chaotic – entering yachts which have woodworks in continuous grain is much more than eye-candy, it is really so much more beautiful, so much more distinct and luxurious! Brands like Solaris or Oyster Yachts, but also Faurby have understood this: Such a small detail but so much more appreciation!
Looking at the ceiling, I notice this wonderfully made padding. The ceiling panels are a different level for sure. I remember well the weeks and months it took me to manufacture those panels for my King´s Cruiser. The Linjett 34 is a whole new level: Nice white leather, not a single deviation from their no clearance-policy and absolutely tight and perfect fit. Awesome! No, this is clearly not a beginner´s boat, this is a boat the appreciates its owners, and is surely appreciated by its owners too. But the coolest detail I´ve noticed aboard the Linjett 34 is also on the floor. Look at this:
That´s one of the corners of the yacht. It not only shows how nicely even the most complex shapes have been treated to being” closed”. There is not a single place that reveals bare GRP, every corner received an Oak-cover. And more to this: The individual floorboards never touch the vertical parts of the joinery, there´s an Oak frame all around the floor which houses the boards inside. Isn´t this just revealing? It is so telling, I would say: This company values and holds dear their clients, even if they “just” buy the smallest boat of their range.
A small boat isn´t necessarily a cheap boat
Well, a comparatively small shipyard like Linjett, you might be inclined to argue, cannot afford to loose their clients in the small-size range whereas a big production brand making hundreds and hundreds of units can. You may be right for a “healthy” or booming market we´ve had up until 2 or 3 years ago. Now, with a change in customer behavior and rapidly fallen sales figures in terms of units, it´s a completely different story. Now it is perfectly possible that a client, once bound to buy the 50 footer, is going for a 35-footer instead: Either because of the price or because of the change I just described. Maybe the “need” for big boats is no more?
The bathroom of the Linjet 34 is a perfect example for the fact that “small” does by no means also have to be “cheap”: There´s an electric WC of a high quality supplier as well as again nicely crafted interior fittings. The amenities include a hot shower, automatic pumps, electrically gauged wastewater tanks and much more. Usually, bathrooms are also a place where in lower quality boats most of the “concessions” are visible. But not so here in the Linjett 34. It gets even better …
Don´t you have some inaccessible or hidden areas in you boat? And are you not regularly upset about the fact that they saved on a few milliliters of white paint to cover the bare GRP or a little cap to cover the undersides of winches and other stiff? Well, look at the picture above: Linjett is nice and beautiful, even in the remotest spots of the boats. It´s just amazing. So here we have it: A small sized boat, made to last, made to satisfy even the highest demands in terms of luxury and amenities but also in terms of craftsmanship quality.
The average sailing couple
This return to a more decent and downsized aspect of sailing may be just starting, but it is there, definitely. It makes perfectly sense to me. Most of the people owning a yacht that I know are sailing couples. That´s the majority: He and she are sailing together. Some maybe have a kid or two, but these are teenagers or already grownups, occasionally visiting. In this, how many cabins would you need, as a sailing couple? Two will do, right?
The Linjett 34 comes with the classic layout for a boat of the 10-11 meter range. A fore cabin with a V-shaped berth for two persons and a nice aft cabin, also made to fit two adults in here. The middle longitudinal bulkhead is offset a bit to enlarge the berth area in the aft cabin, vis-à-vis behind the bathroom is a large walk-in locker that is also accessible from the cockpit. The cabins are simple, yet there´s also so much dedication to make them cozy and welcoming: Just look at the white ceiling at the wall: Very costly to make, believe me.
So, two people, occasional guests. That´s mostly it. But what´s about stowage, you may ask. This is one of my favorites. I know the saying that you can´t have enough space to store stuff on sailing boats and to an extend it´s perfectly true. But people who say this are the real sailors. Those, who really go around the world, who spend many months aboard their boats or even live there for a full season or around the year. But the normal, average leisure sailor? Not at all, I´d say.
I still very vividly remember sailing the hull #001 of the then brand new Oceanis 30.1 to Sweden and how astonished I was after fitting provisions for three weeks aboard that boat. Same here on the Linjett 34, look at the picture above showing just the storage capacity of the galley. The whole boat has a lot of space where you can put all sorts of stuff – even more if you think of just two people using the boat. Plenty of stowage, no worries. But if size really doesn´t matter so much at all, what about the sailing capabilities? Doesn´t they also say that bigger boats sail so much better?
Easy to manage, fun to sail
Yes and no. “Better sailing”, what does this even mean? It´s a physical fact and undeniable that the longer the waterline becomes the faster a boat will sail. Fact. Also, the flatter and wider a hull will get, paired with a lightweight build, the sooner the boat will start to surf, “planning”, as they call it. Also a fact. But here´s the thing: Apart from real racing, be it professionally or as a Corinthians, speed is a very, very individual thing in leisure sailing. I love sailing fast myself, I really do. That is why I opted for my last boat and was shortly before signing a purchase contract for the First 36. Because I love fast sailing. But what is fast? 7 knots? 8 knots? Or must it be a two-digit number? For most sailors I know, being fast is more a feeling, not so much a number.
Sailing “fast” for them is just an abbreviation for being active on the rudder, having fun with trimming the sheets and really making some headway. If it is 7.6 knots upwind or 8.1 knots in the end doesn´t really matter. What they really want and where the big fun comes in is when they start to really appreciate a responsive, featherlight and dynamic sailboat. Easy sailing, simple sailing and quick sailing are more properties of a boat, not bare numbers. The Linjett 34 comes with a tiller, indicating the direct feel of the water rushing past the blade. It´s a fun boat!
All lines are diverted to the aft winches (Andersen of course!) and that indicates single-handed properties. Which directly translates to active and easy sailing: If you can control your boat from that one position in the cockpit, handling sheets, the trim of the sails, the tiller and its course becomes manageable – and with this, naturally, the fun starts. So, honestly, what do you want? A large, chunky yacht bristling with luxury or a mangeable, active and fun boat you can control, that rewards you with sailing joy?
The Linjett 34 offers the best of these worlds. I know that the “best boat” is always a very intimate and very, very individual decision. But this yacht clearly shows that “bigger is better” not always makes sense. That a small boat can be as luxurious as a big one. Or even better, made in a way that is of a much higher quality. People opting for yachts like this Linjett 34 clearly have a lot of money and, I suppose, already had their share or big boat-experience. It will be fun to see for which downsized yachts my friends, currently selling their big-ass boats, will decide in the end.
So: How much boat do you need?
I have laid out my own decision to really substantially grow in size in an article already. For me it was imperative to gain more personal space, dedicated cabins, a proper bathroom and a galley. In this respect, my last boat was way too small – especially for my partner. But I didn´t aim for the really big boats as well, which of course was due to my limited budget. But even if I had had the money, I wouldn´t: Because I simply don´t see the point in spending all of your money in the very boat.
Let´s have a new saying: “Go for the smallest yacht you can agree upon.” I find this much better: If you agree upon 50 feet, than be it so. But looking at buying a boat from this perspective puts necessity and practicality forward, not these old out of date mottos. The Linjett 34 is the perfect example of how “big” a small-sized boat can be. And much more, an even better showcase for luxury and craftsmanship: Which is by no means tied to the number of meters of a boat.
That said, the only thing I need to get over with now is this Omega 42 vs. Linjett 34 size-thing. But that´s what you get when you take the Seventies into the present day …
You may check out all the other Linjett related articles by clicking the hashtag #linjettyachts
Other interesting articles on this topic:
A role model blue water cruiser: Oyster´s smallest yacht
Great value for the money, lots of sailing fun: Oceanis 30.1