Steeringposition? On a multi....

[Little Otter]

If you want a adress for the last cat pictured try googleing it you can find anything there.

[freetime]

Originally Posted by Little Otter

If you want a adress for the last cat pictured try googleing it you can find anything there.

Just a few dollars from my budget
Chris White Designs (S. Dartmouth, MA)

[schoonerdog]

It's nice to be in the cockpit helm, being able to duck when a wave comes back and not get hit, and also keeping most of your body out of the cold wind and splash, but still being out to see everything and being able to poke your head out from the side without leaving the helm and look at the main. You should also have the bimini over your head to keep out of the sun. So ideally it would be in the place it is on the PDQ 44, the St Francis, Fountaine Pajot, etc, on the bulkhead and off to the side. It's also nice from a logistical point of view, the wheel in the aft bridgedeck bulkhead typically means on the inside wall there is a large opening port or door which when you open it up shows all of your wheel steering linkages and all of your instrument and ignition wires. Very convenient.

The comments from the lagoon delivery captains were they were worried, actually a bit scared of the fly bridge helm. Communications were horrible with the people who might be sleeping on the settee (as they would be if the steering was way aft and on the outside), no one would notice if you went missing, motion would be greater because of the height. You have enough to worry about sailing the boat without having to worry about dropping several feet from the helm to the deck. Those helms have one reason, so that there are fewer lawsuits from drunken charter passangers getting their fingers caught in the control lines.

[Ex-Calif]

Originally Posted by ldrhawke

One you didn't list......Chris White's Atlantics

Very cool - But a wheeled "office chair" inside? I bet that is fun in a sea...

[ldrhawke]

Originally Posted by Ex-Calif

Very cool - But a wheeled "office chair" inside? I bet that is fun in a sea...

The chairs don't have wheels. That would be like riding a dodgem car at a carnival in a rolling seaa few owners comments on sailing an Atlantic

[freetime]

Better Chair on a 46, anyone have a price on this catamaran?

[ireaney]

For a 46 ft Cat the saloon looks very small more like a 36ft cat, I don't like the forward cockpit idea and if my only alternative was inside steering this I feel would give me limited visibility.
I think the steering position depends greatly on the area in which you are likely to be cruising and therefore the weather you are likely to endure.
For the UK and north European waters I would only like steering against the cabin bulkhead giving protection from all weathers and also giving all round visbility when docking.

[Nordic cat]

ireaney - there is also a forward helm station in the forward cockpit, so best of both worlds!

freetime: there is an Atlantic for sale here: Chris White Designs (S. Dartmouth, MA)

A much better deal than some of the roomarans we see up here in the Baltic/Scandinavia.

regards

Alan

[freetime]

Originally Posted by ireaney

For a 46 ft Cat the saloon looks very small more like a 36ft cat, I don't like the forward cockpit idea and if my only alternative was inside steering this I feel would give me limited visibility.
I think the steering position depends greatly on the area in which you are likely to be cruising and therefore the weather you are likely to endure.
For the UK and north European waters I would only like steering against the cabin bulkhead giving protection from all weathers and also giving all round visbility when docking.

First pic is between the bedrooms!

They are smaller than F-P, Lagoon and Nautitech....And pretty expensive.

[Nordic cat]

Maybe the price is higher but the performance and fun factor probably is too

Alan

[mikereed100]

Last year there was (may still be) an Atlantic 50 for sale for 200K. I was sorely tempted as I think they are beautifull boats, but I would miss being able to lounge in a protected cockpit while at anchor in temperate lattitudes.

Concerning visibility from the inside helm, I have done some agonizing about this as I designed the cabin and steering station of my own cat. "How will the visibility be if it's raining at night?" and so on. In the end I decided to go with inside steering that can also be reached from the forward cockpit. Every commercial fishing boat I have been on had inside steering and the visibility was acceptable, even in weather. For me the advantages of a steering position out of the weather and sun outweighed the disadvantages of less visibility and sensitivity to the wind.

Mike

[Aussiesuede]

While I'm definitely not a fan of the Lagoon Fly bridge helm, when well designed a fly bridge helm can be quite comfortable and safe. The airfone (basically a open air tube from the flybridge to the salon) augmented by an intercom provides safe communication. There isn't a more protected helm with optimum visibility and convenience than this design imo. All lines draw to the helm and are within arms reach...

[ireaney]

Originally Posted by Nordic cat

ireaney - there is also a forward helm station in the forward cockpit, so best of both worlds!

freetime: there is an Atlantic for sale here: Chris White Designs (S. Dartmouth, MA)

A much better deal than some of the roomarans we see up here in the Baltic/Scandinavia.

regards

Alan

Alan, I was fully aware of the forward cockpit which I stated in my comments, it is not something I would personally like and again I reiterate for a 46ft cat the saloon lacks a lot of room even compared to a 36 footer, the Lagoon 380 has a much bigger saloon by the looks of things, and before anybody says yes but the Chris White is much faster and the Lagoon 380 is slow and designed for the charter market, I also understand this.
I am also not a fan of the Lagoon flybridge layout as this loses the sociabilty angle, is exposed and also increases the centre of gravity by having to have the boom raised much higher.
I just don't like the Chris White designs - full stop.
Again the aft cockpit will be roomier, better protected, safer and more sociable if steering with friends IMO.

[joe deen]

I usually enjoy simply reading these forums more than commenting, but this time I have to join in. I am good friends with a powerboat dealer in FL and he LOVES sailboats. The main reason he sells so many trawlers to sailors is because they want to get OUT of the weather. I started reading the multihull forum because the main reason in my mind for owning a catamaran is so that you can get out of the sun and cold. My intro to cats was a lousy one. I sailed to Cat Key aboard a St.Francis 44 and almost had my teeth rattled out! Last year I crewed aboard a PDQ 44 to the BVIs and wow what a great boat! This boat needs to be on your list and buy a helm out of the weather.

[vegas]

I hear a lot of mono sailors complain about the lack of sensation when sailing a cruising cat. I think a lot of this is based on the helm being put behind the main saloon out of the wind with little visual contact with the sails. All the cruisers always talk about using the auto pilot 99% of the time. Perhaps if they sailed a boat with some sensation they would enjoy steering more.
I much prefer the Chris White or Mainecat where you feel the breeze when you want to and can escape the weather with indoor steering or a cockpit enclosure. While sitting at a mooring I love the huge visiability of these designs. When I get on your typical cruising cat cockpit I feel like I am sitting in a hole. I only wish there was more variety in open bridgedeck and forward cockpit boats.