Center Cockpit Sailboat Safety

[SteveSadler]

I cruised a Gulfstar 50 cc for 2 years and now I own a Jeanneau 49ds aft cockpit/ swimstep. my Jeanneau is way more spacious, comfortable, convenient, livable, but I do miss my aft cabin.

[Paul L]

I doubt you can find any data to support CC being safer than aft. There are far too many other design features that affect safety that are far more important.

One feature of CC boats that I dislike is the tendency to have higher freeboard and thus greater windage and a higher center of gravity.

[Sojourner]

Originally Posted by Paul L

I doubt you can find any data to support CC being safer than aft. There are far too many other design features that affect safety that are far more important.

I don't wanna sound like a balloonhead, but I don't need data to feel safer sailing our CC than an aft cockpit. Boarding waves that would have an aft cockpit swimming butt deep don't reach us in the Amel. There is no reason to leave our cc while normal sailing or anchoring (better sometimes to do so of course, but no NEED to); everything is controlled from within the cc. If I do leave, I have to only hop back half a boat length at maximum to get back to safety, not the full length from bow to aft cockpit. Our cc is deep and dry in all weather. All things being equal, with as much downwind sailing as cruisers do, I cannot see how it WOULDNT be safer. And last thing, it FEELS safer. Which for long night shifts in bad weather is a big bonus, just by that 'feeling' of safety. Aft cockpits are great for racing, IMHO, but for liveaboard cruising done by people of average skill and bravado like us, I wouldn't trade our cc for anything.

[daletournier]

Originally Posted by Sojourner

I don't wanna sound like a balloonhead, but I don't need data to feel safer sailing our CC than an aft cockpit. Boarding waves that would have an aft cockpit swimming butt deep don't reach us in the Amel. There is no reason to leave our cc while normal sailing or anchoring (better sometimes to do so of course, but no NEED to); everything is controlled from within the cc. If I do leave, I have to only hop back half a boat length at maximum to get back to safety, not the full length from bow to aft cockpit. Our cc is deep and dry in all weather. All things being equal, with as much downwind sailing as cruisers do, I cannot see how it WOULDNT be safer. And last thing, it FEELS safer. Which for long night shifts in bad weather is a big bonus, just by that 'feeling' of safety. Aft cockpits are great for racing, IMHO, but for liveaboard cruising done by people of average skill and bravado like us, I wouldn't trade our cc for anything.

Have you done big passages in bad conditions on a equivalent sized rear cockpit boat? Until you have your feeling safer belief is untested.

I don't have a preference other than ashetically a rear cockpit boat looks better to my eye.,my own boat has a large rear cockpit, but I could and would have purchased a cc if the right boat come along.

There's always fors and againsts but I'm not sure the cc is safer belief holds true in the real world, perceived maybe.

[Paul L]

Originally Posted by Sojourner

I don't wanna sound like a balloonhead, but I don't need data to feel safer sailing our CC than an aft cockpit. Boarding waves that would have an aft cockpit swimming butt deep don't reach us in the Amel. ....

As long as you feel safer, then its an obvious choice for you. Amels make great cruising boats. So do many aft cockpit boats and most are not prone to aft boarding waves. I've got 30,000 miles on our current aft cockpit without an aft boarding wave in the cockpit. Certainly seen a lot more whitewater come over the bows with an occasional slapper on the beam.

[waterman46]

Originally Posted by fatherchronica

When we bashed back from Mexico to California we did it in the company of two full keel,center cockpit boats. We waited a bit too long to head North and were in terrible headwinds and seas for 60 hours. We listened on the radio to the other boats as they recounted having their cockpits full to the top with sea water that found it's way below in torrents. Our aft cockpit was wet with rain, but never filled with sea water.

A good dodger and full cockpit enclosure prevents anything more than a trickle of water from entering our CC in such conditions.

[S/V Illusion]

Most of the comments here seem to reflect a natural tendency bias of pride of ownership or simply rationalizing a purchase choice. Objectivity can be difficult to discern among the comments but one conclusion seems reasonable - this is just another matter of opinion issue.

In my opinion after owning many aft cockpit boats and now a CC boat, I’m convinced that progression is a good choice.

[malbert73]

CC boats seem more spacious for length as the space under cockpit is often used for galley pass through and head. But then you lose cockpit storage lockers which is my main complaint. On larger boats like a Hylas 44 I crew on there are pretty good lazarettes aft of aft berth. Smaller cc boats with aft berth to transom lose a lot of storage usually

[johnjuliano]

We have an 1975 Maxi 95, which is CC, a Pelle Pettersen design, 9.5 meters.

A few thoughts: our collective of views on boat proportions have changed. When the model was released, the designer painted a black band around the boat above the shear line to give the impression of a less tall boat, because it looked impossibly tall to the middle-1970s eye. Now we look up at every recent 30-foot sailboat.

The cockpit is huge, which has been a worry for offshore work, but we’ve found it very dry and have never taken any appreciable green water into the cockpit. It also feels very enclosed and safer than an aft - though it is probably no-safer - falling over the transom doesn’t feel possible.

Although, not a direct consequence of a center cockpit, having the engine over the keel allows for 360-degree access, which is marvelous. All of the space under the cockpit, which is normally taken by the engine is now storage.

The center cockpit eats a lot of main-cabin space, but the aft cabin makes sailing for weeks with a crew of five very doable – we’ve sailed with teenagers, who sleep late, and retired folks, who ‘‘retire’’ early. Each can do so while the daily routines of the boat continue on.

When it is just the two of us, the aft cabin is a massive place for out-of-sight storage.

Yes, an emergency tiller is a worry, since the quadrant is in the aft cabin, but it is readily accessible.

[ToneyFoster]

We live aboard a Morgan Catalina 38cc. We love this boat. We have a queen size island bed in the aft cabin, two full heads and more than ample room in both the saloon and cockpit. We have sailed the San Juan islands for 5 days with 8 on board although we did not all overnight on board. It did take a little while to get use to the fact that I have 12 feet of boat behind me when I make the turn onto our slip.
Catalina only made 60 of these boats and I try to follow boats on Yacht World to see how they fair and they don't stay on the market very long. We love our center cockpit!

[twig]

We too have a Catalina Morgan 381 cc and my only complaint is the cockpit is a little small. I added a 4x8 platform right behind cockpit and it makes a perfect place for extra passengers to lounge in the sun. The extra storage box in the aft end solves our lack of storage in cockpit. Another positive to the cc is the aft area makes a great place to fish off of. It works great for coastal cruising which is all we do on the Great Lakes. Dwight

[DMCantor]

One other con to CC: Ventilation in the aft cabin is often quite poor. Depends on the design, I guess.

[dwedeking2]

Originally Posted by DMCantor

One other con to CC: Ventilation in the aft cabin is often quite poor. Depends on the design, I guess.

Mine has a hatch which acts as a wind scoop shooting air through the aft cabin. Coupled with a companion way I get good ventilation in the aft cabin.

[LF4]

Originally Posted by twig

We too have a Catalina Morgan 381 cc and my only complaint is the cockpit is a little small. I added a 4x8 platform right behind cockpit and it makes a perfect place for extra passengers to lounge in the sun. The extra storage box in the aft end solves our lack of storage in cockpit. Another positive to the cc is the aft area makes a great place to fish off of. It works great for coastal cruising which is all we do on the Great Lakes. Dwight

Do you have pictures of the platform that you have added?

[Moody46CC]

I have owned two center cockpit boats, both Moodys. I have chartered many aft cabin boats and sailed on many as well. I think the style is a matter of preference and what one gets accustomed to. As for safety, frankly I see neither style having any great safety advantage over the other. Going on deck in crummy weather has risks that careful sailors try to ameliorate through sound safety practices. For older sailors, it is slightly easier to get back into a center cockpit boat than an aft cockpit boat, especially if the latter has a full cockpit enclosure. A matter of bending and twisting, not necessarily more dangerous, but as we age, our agility is not the same.