Center Cockpit vs Aft Cockpit

[MaDouleur]

If you've seen other posts of mine, I'm leaning toward purchasing a ketch for various reasons.

At the end of a movie I just watched, there's a gorgeous shot of a center cockpit ketch. It was at least 45' and my to-be-boat will be 30-something feet. The ketch in the movie looked great but it occurred to me that the center cockpit might cost a lot of cabin space.

Thoughts on the cabin space issue?

What about waves over the stern in a center cockpit versus an aft cockpit?

Thanks!

- Jake

[Steve Pope]

centre cockpit can = wet and with a small yacht definitely lost space though often allows you a very useable engine room. In some cases the space is recovered by high freeboard, and a dog house can get around the wetness. Aft cockpit is generally more sheltered from water over the bow, and lee cloths help keep any slop out etc, a good doghouse helps here as well. you can take waves over the stern but this would be in rough conditions and in reallity doesn't happen often, design can affect this with some designs lacking sufficient buoyancy, and walk through transoms, well, what better invitation can a wave have.

[David_Old_Jersey]

Originally Posted by MaDouleur

If you've seen other posts of mine, I'm leaning toward purchasing a ketch for various reasons.

At the end of a movie I just watched, there's a gorgeous shot of a center cockpit ketch. It was at least 45' and my to-be-boat will be 30-something feet. The ketch in the movie looked great but it occurred to me that the center cockpit might cost a lot of cabin space.

Thoughts on the cabin space issue?

What about waves over the stern in a center cockpit versus an aft cockpit?

Thanks!

- Jake

I went centre cockpit on a 30 footer. The waves over the stern is more a physcollogical (sp?!) thing unless a very open stern or very bad weather and a bit of bad luck. Maybe for me this was more important physcologically than for others? But I do feel very secure. Deep cockpit (and high freeboard). Engine Access is Ok rather than brilliant.

Accomadation forward is where it loses - but also gains from having a seperate (in port) sleeping area - that can be kept made up 24/7) - but it all depends on what you want / are happy with as the Saloon on mine has more than enuf for 1 or 2 - but I don't need or want much.

But having said that, another couple of feet in the cockpit would be nice and standing headroom in the Aft cabin - but not enuf reason for me to go up a couple of feet in boat size.

A lotta difference between 30 and 45 foot whether or not centre cockpit. About 15 foot for a start!

Different strokes etc etc

[GordMay]

David's 30 Ft. Seadog ?

[David_Old_Jersey]

Where did you get that from?

I only have a Fuzzy partial version:-



And a colour one (not quite to scale)

[GordMay]

SeaDog Owners Association:
SeaDog Owners Association | Home

[Morgan Paul]

Nice boat David. I saw pictures here.
Seadog 30 archive details - Yachtsnet Ltd. online UK yacht brokers - yacht brokerage and boat sales

[David_Old_Jersey]

Seadog Owners Association? Doh! - I'm a member of that

Yachtsnet - great brokers site (and cool idea to maintain an archive), must get my digital camera fired up.......

[mudnut]

I'm guessing there was a story line to that movie.Mudnut.

[MarkJ]

The thing I like about an aft cockpit is the view of the sails. Ya stand down at the wheel and there spread before ye is all your aero dynamics working together. You san see the parallel edges of you leaches. You can see the symmetry of the curves as you look fourther foward. You can put your head back on the backstay (single - not so easy on double) and see your line through the mast to the forestay and know your flex of boat, mast, shouds and stays and sails. Easy to piddle.

Sailing, to me, is about the sailing, and I love hanging out down the back lookin over my domain

You don't get the drip, drip, drip off the boom

[Joli]

But....then you can see the jib went round and it's time to replace it. Under the bimini all the sails look great

Originally Posted by MarkJ

The thing I like about an aft cockpit is the view of the sails. Ya stand down at the wheel and there spread before ye is all your aero dynamics working together. You san see the parallel edges of you leaches. You can see the symmetry of the curves as you look fourther foward. You can put your head back on the backstay (single - not so easy on double) and see your line through the mast to the forestay and know your flex of boat, mast, shouds and stays and sails. Easy to piddle.

Sailing, to me, is about the sailing, and I love hanging out down the back lookin over my domain

You don't get the drip, drip, drip off the boom

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by Joli

Under the bimini all the sails look great

Yes. Bimini's.


Hmmmmm.


I might shove it over the side but Nicolle has very fair skin. It only covers the cockpit, not the helm, but is too low.

If we do the Anitigua week together you can cut a hole in it for your head

[Joli]

Looking for a winch buddy?

I see Swagman is on the list. Sounds like a CF class could be forming?

Originally Posted by MarkJ

Yes. Bimini's.


Hmmmmm.


I might shove it over the side but Nicolle has very fair skin. It only covers the cockpit, not the helm, but is too low.

If we do the Anitigua week together you can cut a hole in it for your head

[dcstrng]

<it occurred to me that the center cockpit might cost a lot of cabin space….>

Not sure it has to totally change the amount of space, but clearly a center cockpit will dominate the landscape… For me, I’m not too taken with center cockpits until the walk-through has standing headroom, or near to it… otherwise the aft cabin becomes sort of a cave (although S2 carried it off acceptably in the 30 (or so) footer some years back, but generally I prefer the esthetics of the aft-cockpit and the fact the cockpit (usually with a width based on the human size, not vessel size anyway) takes up space in the narrow part of the boat where it is less obtrusive… what I’ve not cared for is what the center-cockpit seems to do to the lines of most boats under about 40 feet… I lived on an Irwin 42 (the trunk-cabin model, not the raised aft-deck ones like the newer ones) and thought it worked okay for that length, but the Irwin 37 with a similar arrangement to the 42 in slightly shorter vessel always looked a bit like a container ship with deck-cargo to my eyes…

[Benny]

OK - To give you as much factual info as possible on CC's - I have an Irwin 37 centre cockpit ketch. You can go to Irwin Yachts and view my model - the 37 Mk III and you can see the interior accomodations which are huge for a boat this size. It has the room of a 42 footer. I have 2 full cabins each with its own head and shower and a full galley and salon.

The centre cockpit allows for all kinds of advantages including more room down below with an aft cabin, easy engine access, higher freeboard and drier sailing, roomier cockpit as it is located in a beamier part of the boat, allows for a full cockpit enclosure that is accessible all around, a nice aft deck for lounging or sunning, very wide and uncluttered side decks, as a ketch all sails are completely visible and my bimini has a window in the top to view the leech and entire main.

Lastly it is an economically priced boat if you're looking for a good cruiser and easy to handle at 37 feet long and 11.5 feet beam and mine has a shoal draft of 4 feet.

I have sailed all my life - 52 years and have owned many aft cockpit boats and I would not go back to them unless it was a catamaran - in order to get the space both on deck and below. I believe you and your friends and family might as well be comfortable and have a spacious boat that can be enjoyed. My 37CC fits the bill nicely on all counts. It sails well too.

Good luck with your choice.