Sorry I missed the thread earlier, we haven't had a lot of good
internet coverage since leaving NZ in early May.
It's not surprising that Delos is now looking at catamarans, but are you sure it's not more to do with the fact that they're now averaging 6-7 people onboard most of the time? That's a lot for any 50'
monohull for an extended period of time. We've had 7 aboard our Super Maramu for two weeks a few times and it's a testament to the
cockpit layout (and overall layout of the boat) that we're all still good friends!
'Rolling' is more a
monohull vs
catamaran debate issue than cockpit layouts that the OP was asking about.
As Eleuthra's already stated, most Amel owners find the cockpit layout works very well and is a good compromise considering how little time the average
blue water cruiser spends at the
helm. I've heard the
docking concerns and 'but I love hand
steering in nice conditions' concerns numerous times and it's a non-issue IMO as the
dodger top folds forward and you can stand at the helm with great visibility for
docking and 'playing' at the helm. The other concern I hear regularly is 'but you can't see the
sails from the helm' with the
dodger top in place. Again, it's easy to peek out the sides or to have a transparent panel installed, but I simply usually check trim and reef standing in the
companionway looking up though the nice clear plexi windshield, so have never found it to be an issue either. Finally, the concerns about having your back to the rest of the crew while at the helm is one I've never heard before. The crew chuckled at that one when I asked if it was an issue...'No' seems to be the consensus.
Interestingly, we all find the best on-watch seat on the
boat is on the bench beside the helm, with our feet up on the helm seat. Ridiculously comfortable, good view forward and back, radar/chartplotter/wind
instruments are easily seen and monitored,
autopilot is easy to reach, drink and snacks securely sit nicely between you and the bulkhead, I can control the tunes from there with the Bluetooth
remote, the
iPad or Kindle stays nice and dry because you're tucked nicely behind and under the hard dodger/bimini away from any errant spray.............. We've got to go! When's the next crossing? I love
blue water cruising!
Again, most concerns you hear about Amels 'quirks' are from people who've never sailed one, but know all about them. It really is the oddest quirk of the design that I've never been able to understand?
All these at said, I think you'd find many of the centre cockpit designs offer similar function and protection, particularly the ones with hard dodgers. I also really liked HR's and Malo's but simply found I got the same capability for less $ with the Amel. I'm first to admit that the fit and finish of the HR's is nicer though....but there's a
price associated with it. I spent 3 weeks on a HR46 and loved it, but actually I did get tired of that big
pedestal mounted
wheel at the back of the cockpit. It seemed I was always threading my way around it? I found the same during the time I've spend aboard a Discovery 55 and an
Oyster 53 (also great boats, but a completely different
budget category). So I guess it really is 'different strokes for different folks'.
Happy hunting.....