Apart from purchasing the right boat for your family, choosing the correct size (length) boat is important. Unfortunately, it’s common for people to see how large or small a boat is and become intimidated, so they choose the wrong length boat for them. Hopefully, this article can help you to avoid that problem.
On average, a 20 ft length is a good boat size for a family. However, the length can vary from 15 ft to 30 ft or more depending on how many members you will take on board, boat type, and, most importantly, the boat’s purpose, fishing, cruising, water sports, or other boating-related activities.
The best way to check whether the boat fits your family or not is by taking the whole family to the boat store and climb in some different-sized boats to see how the family fits. Also, remember that people will constantly be moving around, and if you start adding people, it will get tight fast.
As a general rule, experts say that buy a boat that is 2 or 3 ft greater than your needs. Because you want boating to be fun, you will want to purchase a large enough boat to meet all your needs. But, without knowing the boat’s usage and the type of the boat, the boat’s length is a tough choice to make.
We tried our best to determine the average boat size for different family sizes. Here’s a table showing the boat length for different family sizes.
| Family Size | Manageable Boat Length | Recommended Boat Length |
| 3 | 10 ft | 12 ft and up |
| 4 | 13 ft | 15 ft and up |
| 5 | 16 ft | 18 ft and up |
| 6 | 18 ft | 20 ft and up |
| 7 | 21 ft | 22 ft and up |
| 8 | 22 ft | 24 ft and up |
| 9 | 24 ft | 25 ft and up |
| 10 | 25 ft | 26 ft and up |
| 12 | 27 ft | 28 ft and up |
Those are the average recommended boat length for that respective family size. And the values fluctuate a lot based on “boat type” and the purpose of the boat. Check the section below to know how they both play a crucial role in deciding the boat length.
What Size Boat For Family Of 4? On average, a 15 ft is a good boat size for a family of 4. However, the length can vary from 13 ft to 18 ft or more depending on the boat type and, most importantly, the boat’s purpose, fishing, cruising, water sports, or other boating-related activities.
What Size Boat For Family Of 5? On average, an 18 ft is a good boat size for a family of 5. However, the length can vary from 16 ft to 20 ft or more depending on the boat type and, most importantly, the boat’s purpose, fishing, cruising, water sports, or other boating-related activities.
We will now see how the boat length to pick will get affected by the boat’s purpose and the boat type in a detailed way.
Related Post – What Boat Length To Pick Based On Different Boating Activities? Check this article to know the detailed version of the recommended boat lengths for the corresponding boating activities.
The Essential Factors That Affect The Boat Length
Here are the essential factors that affect the boat length you pick.
The essential factors that affect the boat length are the number of people, type of the boat and the boat’s purpose, fishing, cruising, water sports, or other boating-related activities.
What Size Boat For Family Of 12? On average, a 28 ft is a good boat size for a family of 12. However, the length can vary from 20 ft to 32 ft or more depending on the boat type and, most importantly, the boat’s purpose, fishing, cruising, water sports, or other boating-related activities.
Related post – Where Are The Best Places To Buy Boats? Check this article to know all the best places to buy a used boat, both online and offline.
Boat Type
Boat Type is a vital factor that affects the boat length you may pick because all boats are not the same, and for each model, the seating capacity varies a lot. For example, sometimes 5 people can sit comfortably on a 16 ft boat, but the same 5 people might not sit comfortably on another 16 ft model boat.
For example, take the bass boat and pontoon boat. 5 people can sit on a most full-size bass boat that is around 20 to 21 feet. But the same-sized pontoon boat can hold 10 – 13 people comfortably. Here both boat lengths are the same; the only difference is with the boat type.
Typically, this is because bass boats aren’t the ones that you’re going to be using when you’re headed out tubing on the river. This is a boat that’s designed for tournaments, and with that, it’s not designed for that many people.
On the other hand, pontoon boats have more space, and their simple construction of a deck on two or three tubes gives more space. Typically, pontoon boats also have plenty of storage space under seats and floors for extra packings.
Pontoon boats have more capacity than most other recreational models. Bass boats have less capacity than most other models. Deck boats and bowriders boat comes in the middle range compared to bass boats and pontoon boats. So, the boat’s type also matters a lot.
What Size Boat For Family Of 3? On average, a 12 ft is a good boat size for a family of 3. However, the length can vary from 10 ft to 15 ft or more depending on the boat type and, most importantly, the boat’s purpose, fishing, cruising, water sports, or other boating-related activities.
What Size Boat For Family Of 6? On average, a 20 ft is a good boat size for a family of 6. However, the length can vary from 17 ft to 23 ft or more depending on the boat type and, most importantly, the boat’s purpose, fishing, cruising, water sports, or other boating-related activities.
Related Post – The Average Cost Of Maintaining A Boat Per Year. Check this article to know all the maintenances you need to do on a boat and the overall costs of those maintenances per year.
Boat’s Purpose
The boat’s purpose is another essential factor that affects the boat’s length you may pick. Without knowing the boat’s usage, the boat’s length is a tough choice to make because, for example, if you go boating only offshore, you probably should look for boats above 25+ ft to have a safe ride in choppy waters.
Conversely, a 15 ft boat would be a big wrong move for offshore purposes. Even in inland waters, if you go boating in big lakes or even in big rivers, you should probably look at a 20+ ft. So, depending on how you will use your boat choose the boat length accordingly from the list below.
- Offshore Fishing: 25 – 30 ft and up
- Inshore fishing: 10 – 20 ft and up
- Cruising: 15 – 30 ft and up
- Watersports: 15 – 25 ft
- Sailing: 25 – 30 ft and up
Related Post – What Boat Length To Pick Based On Different Boating Activities? Check this article to know the detailed version of the recommended boat lengths for the corresponding boating activities.
What Size Boat For Family Of 8? On average, a 24 ft is a good boat size for a family of 8. However, the length can vary from 20 ft to 30 ft or more depending on the boat type and, most importantly, the boat’s purpose, fishing, cruising, water sports, or other boating-related activities.
What Size Boat For Family Of 10? On average, a 25 ft is a good boat size for a family of 10. However, the length can vary from 20 ft to 30 ft or more depending on the boat type and, most importantly, the boat’s purpose, fishing, cruising, water sports, or other boating-related activities.
The Final Thoughts
A 20 ft length is a good boat size for a family on average. However, the length can vary from 15 ft to 30 ft or more depending on how many members you will take on board, boat type, and, most importantly, the boat’s purpose, fishing, cruising, water sports, or other boating-related activities.
A dealer or factory rep should be able to help you determine the right size boat for your needs and budget. However, keep in mind that to a degree, you can assume that as the length of the boat increases, the price will also increase slightly.
As a general rule, experts say that buy a boat that is 2 or 3 feet greater than your needs. Because you want boating to be fun, you will want to purchase a large enough boat to meet all your needs, accommodating occasional guests onboard as well.