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20-01-2025, 20:04
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#1
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Marine Service Provider
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: Luperon Dominican Republic
Posts: 57
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To center cockpit or not to center cockpit?
Is the center cockpit or aft cockpit just a personal preference thing or are there other implications?
I have never sailed on a center cockpit monohull.
What are the pros and cons of a center cockpit?
Is there better visibility, better climate inside due to higher cabin-height?
Is the feeling of privacy better because not every passing dinghy can see what we are up to?
Is it more annoying because the height to go below is higher, do you feel left out because your visibility to what's going on behind you and on the dock is blocked?
Is it better when there are more people because you are not all cramped together, some are aft, some are in the cockpit ...
Is there more space on deck, is the handling better?
I am asking for a caribbean sailing yacht, hot climate only.
What are your preferences, and why? Who has experienced the two?
There are probably not many built anymore these days, or am I wrong?
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20-01-2025, 21:13
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#2
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Registered User
Join Date: Aug 2017
Location: Cruising the world
Boat: Hylas 54
Posts: 432
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Re: To center cockpit or not to center cockpit?
A center cockpit allows a larger aft cabin with centerline bed and decent headroom.
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20-01-2025, 23:25
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#3
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Moderator
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Channel Islands, CA
Boat: 1962 Columbia 29 MK 1 #37
Posts: 15,328
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Re: To center cockpit or not to center cockpit?
I've sailed both, and my own preference is to have easier access to the water, so a sugar scoop is nice IMO. The Hylas 455 has that but I don't know of others. Well, it's a "swim platform."
And the Hylas 48.
__________________
DL
Pythagoras
1962 Columbia 29 MKI #37
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20-01-2025, 23:40
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#4
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Moderator
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: La Ciudad de la Misión Didacus de Alcalá en Alta California, Virreinato de Nueva España
Boat: Cal 20
Posts: 21,624
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Re: To center cockpit or not to center cockpit?
Center cockpit is wetter in a blow.
Main cabin is further forward and bouncier in rough weather sailing and at anchor.
Requires wheel steering with few exceptions.
Depending on layout may require hydraulic steering.
Harder to set up windvane self-steering.
Provides a double or larger berth usable in most weathers.
Provides more privacy for cabin than most other arrangements.
__________________
Num Me Vexo?
For all of your celestial navigation questions: https://navlist.net/
A house is but a boat so poorly built and so firmly run aground no one would think to try and refloat it.
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21-01-2025, 02:12
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#5
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Registered User
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: Baltic Sea
Boat: Amel Euros 41
Posts: 240
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Re: To center cockpit or not to center cockpit?
Center cockpit is your own little safe world on the ocean. Our cockpit is very well guarded from wind and spray as it partly covered with the hard dodger. It is long enough to be able to sleep on a cockpit bentch. It's a space where we spend quite a lot of time both on sea and in anchorage. We love it.
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21-01-2025, 02:43
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#6
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Registered User
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Back in the boat in Patagonia
Boat: Westerly Sealord
Posts: 8,427
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Re: To center cockpit or not to center cockpit?
Based on 32 years ownership - and not all centre cockpit yachts are equal - some are dogs.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Adelie
Center cockpit is wetter in a blow. No
Main cabin is further forward and bouncier in rough weather sailing and at anchor. No
Requires wheel steering with few exceptions. Yes
Depending on layout may require hydraulic steering. No
Harder to set up windvane self-steering. No
Provides a double or larger berth usable in most weathers. Yes
Provides more privacy for cabin than most other arrangements. Yes
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Have you ever owned one???
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21-01-2025, 04:17
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#7
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Registered User
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Netherlands
Boat: Stern50
Posts: 50
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Re: To center cockpit or not to center cockpit?
We designed and built our own centre cockpit.
Our main goal was to keep cockpit as low as practical in the hull to minimise the effects of roll.
We have no walk through from forward to aft cabin. The aft cabin has separate entry from deck.
The area under the cockpit is engine room only.
The bow is sharp as possible to minimise the effects of pitching in waves (like Dashew design philosophy). Therfore a large anchor locker is designed to allow for lots of stuff bringing the forward cabin more aft. In this way the cabin is still wide enough for a double full size bed.
The consequence of all is that the living space is like a 45 foot boat (albeit bit wider) whilst the hull is a 50 foot hull.
Oceangoing design for max 4 crew. Daysailing with more...
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21-01-2025, 04:40
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#8
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Moderator Emeritus

Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Lived aboard & cruised for 45 years,- now on a chair in my walk-in closet.
Boat: Morgan OI 413 1973 - Aythya
Posts: 8,506
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Re: To center cockpit or not to center cockpit?
I've spent many years aboard both. In general, I believe the advantages of the center cockpit are only met with boats at about 40' or more.
Like RonaldL, our center cockpit was without a "walk-through" and only the engine room below. This keeps the height of the cockpit a bit lower and provides a big engine access area.
We also divided our large aft cabin into port & starboard separate quarters for our two children while they remained with us aboard from birth to about eighteen years old. This cabin layout would have been more difficult without the center cockpit.
__________________
Take care and joy, Aythya crew
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21-01-2025, 05:25
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#9
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Marine Service Provider
Join Date: Jan 2019
Boat: Beneteau 432, C&C Landfall 42, Roberts Offshore 38
Posts: 7,166
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Re: To center cockpit or not to center cockpit?
I have to totally agree with Hudson. In my younger days I was enamored by a center cockpit boat, for the simple reason it just looked cool.
To that end, I built my first boat, which was a 38' center cockpit ketch, and for the most part I liked it, but as pointed out above, it is wet going to windward, but most importantly, 38' is just not sufficient length to pull it off. My boat had a walk-thru' to the aft cabin, and as I was a skinny youngster I could pass thru' with relative ease, but could not do so today.
Even 40' is pushing it for a center cockpit design, and I would increase that to 43' to make a go of it.
Following that boat , my next boat was also a center cockpit, but 43' in length, and I was surprised by the difference those few feet made.
My next boat after that also 43', but an aft cockpit, and I became a convert to the aft cockpit concept, as it is simply better use of available square footage, but more importantly, it puts you away from the spray, etc.
While this may be a personal choice for many, especially regarding interior options, one really needs to sail on both aft and center cockpits boats to appreciate the difference.
I also used to think the "open cockpit" layout seen on many modern designs was a dumb idea, but since owning an open cockpit design, I have come to love that feature.
So the bottom line is really to pick a design that suits you, not me nor anyone else and only way to really do that it, is to spend some time on both designs.
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21-01-2025, 07:13
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#10
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Registered User
Join Date: Nov 2019
Location: Gold Coast, Australia
Boat: Farr 43`
Posts: 546
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Re: To center cockpit or not to center cockpit?
Solo docking is challenging.
A center cockpit makes it more so.
Very few options for an effective plan B.
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21-01-2025, 07:35
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#11
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Marine Service Provider
Join Date: Jan 2019
Boat: Beneteau 432, C&C Landfall 42, Roberts Offshore 38
Posts: 7,166
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Re: To center cockpit or not to center cockpit?
solo docking stern first is the real challenge, but after some practice relatively straightforward
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21-01-2025, 07:43
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#12
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Registered User
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Toronto area when not travelling
Boat: Nonsuch 30
Posts: 1,732
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Re: To center cockpit or not to center cockpit?
I have considerable experience with both, with 10s of thousands of miles offshore with a 45 centre cockpit. I think both can work, but the absolute worst arrangement is an aft cockpit where they try to put in a good-sized aft cabin with headroom. We looked at a Holland-designed Swan 43 with this arrangement and it was terrible. The companionway was about six feet forward of the cockpit with a dodger at the front of the cockpit and a smaller dodger protecting the companionway. To go below you had to leave the cockpit and to forward and down, I think, nine steps.
__________________
Have taken on the restoration of the first Nonsuch, which was launched in 1978. Needs some deck work, hull compounding, and a bit of new gear.
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21-01-2025, 07:51
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#13
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Registered User
Join Date: May 2013
Location: Portland, ME
Boat: McCurdy & Rhodes 56
Posts: 260
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Re: To center cockpit or not to center cockpit?
Tradeoffs, tradeoffs. Agree with Hudson, only makes sense on larger boats although I'd say 45' or 50' and up. Some thoughts:
+ Usually better access to machinery under cockpit
+ Easier to design in shaft drive rather than saildrive
+ "Sun deck" aft while keeping cockpit shaded
+ Mainsheet can be led to aft end of boom & traveler out of cockpit
+ Aft cabin separation from rest of boat
+ Reduced pitching motion in cockpit; I will say having sailed both there is less overall motion in the cockpit with a CC design.
- No realistic tiller option
- engine exhaust back pressure - less efficiency (solved though dry exhaust setup)
- Salon area pushed forward, more motion, potential mast presence if keel stepped
- Probable increased rolling motion in cockpit
- Likely more swinging at anchor as windage is brought forward
Increased cockpit height and surrounding deck area gives more a sense of separation from the water and maybe feeling safer. You can decide if that's good or bad.
In summary, I don't really have a preference either way. The devil is in the details. I'll either like a design, build, setup and ease of maintenance or I won't.
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21-01-2025, 08:07
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#14
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Marine Service Provider
Join Date: Jan 2019
Boat: Beneteau 432, C&C Landfall 42, Roberts Offshore 38
Posts: 7,166
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Re: To center cockpit or not to center cockpit?
One advantage of the center cockpit not mentioned here is that it lends itself to a ketch rig design. Some people like this, others don't and I belong in the "like" bracket. Besides the split mast arrangement, the individual sail size is generally smaller, the masts not quite so high, etc, which makes them far more manageable.
Most center cockpit boats are invariably ketch rigged, which would be hard to pull off in an aft cockpit boat, so there is that to it.
Come to think of it, most center cockpit designs tend to be older boats, not often seen in the more modern designs, so if a center cockpit is your design preference, the likelihood is that you'll be looking at older boats.
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21-01-2025, 08:11
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#15
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Registered User
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Lakewood Ranch, FLORIDA
Boat: Alden 50, Sarasota, Florida
Posts: 3,651
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Re: To center cockpit or not to center cockpit?
I like having a “back porch”.
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