FAMILY-FRIENDLY FEATURES

What makes a family-friendly design? Here are some points to consider if you’re looking for a yacht to cruise long-term as a family:

• Ease of handling: if you’re sailing with two adults and children look for systems that allow sail handling, reefing etc to be easily done single-handed while one parent is on ‘parent duty’.

• Comfort at anchor: sailing with children you’re likely to spend more time at anchor than on long passages. Catamarans are popular for their stability.

• How many cabins (and heads) do you need? Young children may enjoy sharing, but different sleep patterns mean having a cabin each can increase family harmony. Older children and teens will want privacy and personal space. Consider ex-charter if you’re looking for four-cabin models.

• Even if your children are young enough to share, having spare room for a visiting grandparent, au pair, or additional deck crew for long passages can be valuable. • Safety is key. A secure centre cockpit or well-enclosed transom is a must for many family cruisers. Consider whether you need to retrofit lifeline netting, additional harness points, or even secure car seats or similar in the cockpit. • Cruising kids tend to spend a huge amount of time in the water, so look for safe sea access, large swim platforms etc. Space for water toys – paddleboards, kayaks etc – is also important.

• Cockpit safety: consider winch and mainsheet track placement. • For very small children, will you need to ‘childproof’ the companionway and galley? Stoves backing onto the saloon seating area are harder to secure than U-shaped galleys.

• Room for a washing machine?