Helia 44 - Med mooring

[Haywoods]

Hi guys

We are thinking about upgrading our lagoon 380 to a new Helia 44. We spend a lot of time in the Med and our 380 is great for Med mooring as we can clearly see both transoms as we reverse up to a town quay.

My question is this... with the bucket type helm seat on the Helia, what is the visibility like to the stern when reversing up to a town quay. I need to see both transoms and also communicate with somebody on the quay who is going to catch our ropes.

From the pictures, it looks as if you could stand in front of the engine controls, facing backwards and drive the boat in towards the quay - is this how it is normally done.

many thanks is anticipation !!

[Cotemar]

Haywoods,

You can find everything about FP Helia 44 here .

Fountaine Pajot - Cruisers & Sailing Forums

A few of us drive the Helia 44 from in front of the controls.
For med mooring it may be better to drive from the seat, so you can still see your anchor mans hand signals without turning around.
To see the port sugar scoop some owners just look at the reflection in the slider window. You could also add a mirror to give you a clearer perspective.

We use a GoPro Hero Session 5 mounted on a suction and an iPad at the helm for bringing up the anchor from the helm and for seeing the port stern scoop when backing up.

We also use this GoPro/iPad system up on the mast when navigating in thin water to see ahead.

[yeloya]

This is a common problem with almost every cat even with smaller ones like a Lipari... I manoeuvred almost every make and model, the best I've seen was Orana and Outremer 51. On Helia, I handle the anchor from the helm and my wife stands on the port side aft with a line on her hand yelling me the distance to the pantoon..
I couldn't find yet any better way


Cheers


Yeloya

[Barra]

Originally Posted by yeloya

This is a common problem with almost every cat even with smaller ones like a Lipari... I manoeuvred almost every make and model, the best I've seen was Orana and Outremer 51. On Helia, I handle the anchor from the helm and my wife stands on the port side aft with a line on her hand yelling me the distance to the pantoon..
I couldn't find yet any better way


Cheers


Yeloya

Listen to this guy! Ive only seen one better operator in action on a cat in tight spaces and that was the head of Catana deliveries and he was a bit specialised.

Still shake my head at how you reverse parked us alongside the end berth at Albatross with taught lazy lines on one side, a Helia in front and a Lipari to the rear. Oh and a 20 plus knot cross breeze if you dont mind

[Palarran]

Originally Posted by Barra

Listen to this guy! Ive only seen one better operator in action on a cat in tight spaces and that was the head of Catana deliveries and he was a bit specialised.

Still shake my head at how you reverse parked us alongside the end berth at Albatross with taught lazy lines on one side, a Helia in front and a Lipari to the rear. Oh and a 20 plus knot cross breeze if you dont mind

Yah, I have to agree, Atila's one heck of a pilot. Cracked me up when I first met him and he took control of my helm without asking. The second time I said, "Do you mind, because I can do it"? Funny.

Best operator I've ever seen was at the Sunsail/Moorings base on St. Maarten. He actually pulled Palarran out of her slip on our departure for the crossing. I was amazed he threaded that needle that day and told him so. His reply, "For a second, I didn't think we would make it either". It was a tight squeeze in a heavily packed marina with 30 knot side wind.

[Rapanui]

I seem to remember that Monte fitted an extra set of engine remotes in the cockpit near the stern. Then you can pilot in and handle the stern lines while the crew do the lazy lines. Rudders are little use especially with props aft of rudders anyway while reversing.

[downunder]

Originally Posted by Rapanui

I seem to remember that Monte fitted an extra set of engine remotes in the cockpit near the stern. Then you can pilot in and handle the stern lines while the crew do the lazy lines. Rudders are little use especially with props aft of rudders anyway while reversing.

Lagoon 440 set up for med mooring.