One myth that actually gave us a lot of trouble with our initial decision is that the length of the boat is a big factor in handling. This has not proven to be the case and an extra metre or two can make a big difference to living conditions. Width, however, is important and we have heard of several owners who have sold 5 metre boats to purchase a 4.5 metre or less. The extra width does provide some options in how a boat is laid out or rooms are configured, but it makes for a tight squeeze in a 5.1 metre lock.
A second myth is that you can live year-round on a pleasure cruiser just as easily as on a barge. The cruisers are built to be summer boats so the systems are not as robust as one would install in a barge. They do not stand up to constant use and you may find after a couple of years you are spending a fair amount of time back at the dealers having equipment hauled out and replaced. On the bright side, these boats are generally built with ease of access in mind, unlike most barges, so it is not nearly as traumatic an experience to have the motor or water system removed.
You can apply sizing parameters to a barge, depending on how you wish to live, and for how long. It is pretty hard to apply parameters if you have elected to live on a 35 foot boat but a barge does provide some flexibility. Three basic questions can help you determine the required size:
1. How often do you expect to have guests and how many each time?
2. How many months a year do you plan on living on the barge?
3. How much convenience do you plan to build into the barge?
Most barge bedrooms are built to accommodate two people, with little room for anything but sleeping. Beds may be double but generally some form of bunk configuration is used. This means you need to have a room 5 square metres for every two guests. You will need a hallway of .8 metres to provide access and you will need a guest bathroom if you plan on having two or more guest bedrooms. A single facility is not likely to work with 6 people living on board.
If you plan to have guests stay on board fairly often and for several nights, and you want to accommodate 4 guests at a time, you will have to allocate about 15 square metres to their living space. A 25 by 4 metre ship has about 14 by 3 metres or 42 squre metres space, excluding the engine room and wheelhouse, so this will take 30% of the living area. This use of space would be better served by a hull of some 28 by 4.5 metres where the guest requirements can comprise a little over 15% of the available square metres.
If you plan to live on board 4 months a year almost any size boat will do the job. You need a sleeping area or two, a sitting area, a galley and a bathroom. If your duration on board is more like a year, all the rooms must expand in size to allow comfort. Start with the salon or living room. This is often combined with an open plan kitchen, though sometimes the kitchen or galley is located in a large wheelhouse. Either way, allow about 4 square metres for the galley including stove, fridge sink and countertop with storage below.
The salon may include a dining area, though we use the wheelhouse for this. Combined, the living/dining room will take up about 15 square metres. If you are happy with a shower rather than a bathtub, allow about 3 square metres for the owner's bathroom, otherwise allow 4 squre metres. The master bedroom will demand a further 9 square metres plus closet space. This adds up to 28 or so square metres, to which you will add the guest accommodation and hall or closure space. The 42 square metres of a 25 by 4 barge are quickly spent.
Economic use of space can result in very nice accommodation in 20 to 22 by 4 to 4.5 metres. This will require stringent allocation of space to guests, but better they are cramped for a week than you are for 52. It will also require clever use of built in closets, bathroom facilities and bedroom fittings. The wheelhouse will certainly have to do double duty as a dining or cooking area, but this is no hardship when cruising as this is the most popular room on board for most of the day.
The convenience factor relates to the space devoted to labour saving devices. If you live year-round on board you are certain to want a clothes washer. Most barges have these but do not have dryers. The difference in space is generally that the washer can be stuck in any 1.5 metre cube but the addition of the dryer means a commitment of floor space. Other devices like a good stove and perhaps a dish washer make life more pleasant, and since these are often for the benefit of a less enthusiastic member of the crew, the addition is of considerable strategic value.
As a final note on size, many barges have what we call the trawler configuration of wheelhouse. This is where the wheelhouse is the most aft construction leaving a back deck for lounging outside. Our configuration is the traditional collapsible wheelhouse with a sleeping cabin aft, but little deck space for sitting out. The trawler configuration usually has a large wheelhouse and all living accommodation is forward. For the same size boat it will have some 8 to 10 square metres less living area with the loss of the aft cabin
