Center or aft cock pits

[B23iL23]

There is a video going around of a seal that climbs onto the sugar scoop. You can see an Orca circling the boat in the background looking for dinner.



They have their uses!

Originally Posted by Dan Best

FYI Montanon,
While we were stopped in the Galapagos, the boats with sugar scoops were pretty much all fighting a constant with the (quite large) seals as they loved to hang out on those sugar scoops in groups.
- Dan

[Oceansailor]

One advantage with C/C boats in general is a BIG engine room. Plenty of room for engine, generator pumps etc...

[Montanan]

Originally Posted by Dan Best

FYI Montanon,
While we were stopped in the Galapagos, the boats with sugar scoops were pretty much all fighting a constant with the (quite large) seals as they loved to hang out on those sugar scoops in groups.
- Dan

They are sort of cute when pups and sleeping as you can pet them. Tend to be cantankerous as adults. Just be glad they weren't elephant seals.

Link to such on the Galapagos:

https://www.google.com/search?q=seal...W3Qt7gM:&vet=1


They do like to take over boats and docks that are unoccupied. Make a real mess.

[boom23]

Originally Posted by B23iL23

I've said it before...
Because modern designers have listened to owners and found out that the boats spend 5% of the time at sea and 95% of the time at anchor on on a marina. Build a boat that does the 5% ok and the 95% great.

You are describing a catamaran... I had one but now I am back to a CC monohull.

[Tillsbury]

Things I particularly disliked about my CC boat:

On passage, I'm always sleeping either in the cockpit (preferred), or a pilot berth or saloon. The only time I'm in the master cabin is at anchor, but on some CC boats the aft cabin is particularly prone to slapping noises with small wavelets. Half the time I preferred to sleep in the forward cabin as it kept me awake all night.

Things I particularly liked about my CC boat:

You're much nearer the bow, so it's easier to see what's happening up front, but you have to be careful about the stern quarters. There's a separate place to sleep/sit over the aft cabin without being in the cockpit. The passageway through to the aft cabin allowed for a proper pilot berth cabin. The aft cabin was much larger than it would have been had it been forward.

Things I dislike about my AC boat:

The master cabin is forward, so is unusable when beating in a decent sea. On the other hand, I wouldn't be sleeping in an aft cabin doing that either.

Things I particularly like about my AC boat:

Two aft cabins were required for kids -- and of course they are just as far away from the master cabin as they would be if it were the other way around. I don't understand why people are mentioning this? The forward cabin is enormous, and allows for a separate heads and shower room which would be difficult to arrange in an aft cabin. That might just be a size thing though. But most of all, the cockpit is so much bigger that there's room to get around, reach everything easily, sit or lie down without getting in the way of sailing the boat, and sleep on passage.


To me the cockpit size is the most important part of the boat, and not just for a marina queen. On the contrary -- when at anchor or in a marina we're mostly down below. When on passage most people like to be up on deck, to enjoy the sailing and particularly if they're feeling a bit queasy. So for us the cockpit size is critical, and for me especially I want to be able to stretch out fully and sleep when not on watch, so I like to have cockpit seats well over 6' long without obstructions.

Since I always moor stern-to if I can, being able to walk on to the boat without breaking step is just a bonus. Wind vanes can be mounted off-centre so that's not an issue.

[rik stoney]

Originally Posted by Chalifour

Generally speaking, CC offer greater feeling of safety and for that reason is a better blue water option. Stern cockpits usually offer more room and greater access to stern docks and for that reason is a better option to stern docking, coastal sailing and Mediterranean mooring.

I agree. With Chalfour
The center cockpit is a very safe place to be when travelling oceans.
I have a Prout snow goose catamaran.
I sailed from St Vincent Caribbean to Portsmouth uk
Last year. End of April got back end of June.
Crossing from Bermuda to the Azores.
All lines led back to the cockpit.
In the piitch black nite with no moon. Instruments lit up but cannot see your out stretched hand.
16 knots surfing down 7 metre waves.
Waves coming from more than 1 direction.
A ton of water coming over the side nearly washing you off the wheel.
There’s not a safer place to be.
Imagine been stood a foot from the back of the boat and having a ton of water against you.
I know where I want to be.
**** the looks of the boat.
Be safe.
If your doing the Med or Carib. It doesn’t matter.
All the best Rik

[billburr]

Spencer 1330!

[Jim Cate]

A point I have often made...

A huge aft cabin means a smaller saloon and galley area, and this is where one spends the majority of one's conscious hours below decks. The giant aft cabin is only used when asleep, and for sleeping one does not need all the volume.

And I have yet to be washed out of any of the aft cockpit boats I've owned or sailed on. That's a red herring if ever there was one!

Jim

[quandary]

Cc feels safer, especially for small kids. Possibly more private in stern-to moorings and marinas. Agree with the other points made. Its a compromise either way with pros and cons.

[TassieBloke]

A number of good points made already.

Just something to think about. My wife point blank refuses for us to be stern in. She loves the privacy of the cc, and once we get the clears sorted, it will be an additional area to sit. I couldn't imagine what she'd say with an aft cockpit stern in.
Sailing, she feels protected and above the zone of discomfort. We have reasonable freeboard, but it all matches the lines.

As mentioned elsewhere, we have an intellectually handicapped person with us, and for us the aft cabin is a real advantage for privacy for all of us. He needs his privacy and alone time as well, so it works for us. These are pretty unique circumstances, but you need to find what works for you & the family.

My suggestion is to walk the marinas, docks, boat shows and see for yourself. You'll get a good feel for it.

[wolfgal]

this thread is very informative!

for those who have commented, i'm curious to know:

i once read that the higher centre of gravity in some CC's (the ones in which the cockpit is high up) can make for seasickness. can anyone comment on this?


also, the extra freeboard that usually comes with the CC: this may keep one dryer while underway but does it also mean that the boat dances on the anchor more?

thank you kindly!

wolfie

[roland stockham]

Originally Posted by B23iL23

I've said it before...


Because modern designers have listened to owners and found out that the boats spend 5% of the time at sea and 95% of the time at anchor on on a marina. Build a boat that does the 5% ok and the 95% great.

Absolutely, there is nothing wrong with many modern designs. The secret is knowing what you want the boat to do and how to assess a design so you know what it is capable of. Unfortunately one place where the boat sales industry falls down. Generally brokers seem only to want to sell people a boat not the the right boat for them. My 'ideal boat' would be very different if I was island hopping the Caribbean rather than year round sailing in the Gulf of Alaska.
The other point than can get missed is that, yes many boat spent 90-95% of there time in a marina. Then 4-9% of there time at sea. Then maybe 1% sailing in inclement weather and perhaps 0.1% in storm conditions. So why even consider how the boat sails in a storm? Because if it is uncomfortable in harbour it is merely annoying, if it does not handle the storm you die.
The last point is that my boat does spent a lot of time in habour, but that is when I am not on it! If I am onboard we are at least at anchor and usually sailing.

[S/V Illusion]

Originally Posted by wolfgal

this thread is very informative!

for those who have commented, i'm curious to know:

i once read that the higher centre of gravity in some CC's (the ones in which the cockpit is high up) can make for seasickness. can anyone comment on this?


also, the extra freeboard that usually comes with the CC: this may keep one dryer while underway but does it also mean that the boat dances on the anchor more?

thank you kindly!

wolfie

As I said earlier, it all depends on the size boat. Smaller LWL center cockpit boats look like bathtubs, have a high freeboard and suffer from more movement.

Our CC suffers none of those traits simply because it is designed as a CC, not an unintended consequence of marketing to the CC lovers.

Parenthetically, we have a huge salon, huge aft cabin and room for 10+ people in the cockpit. It’s all about length, not cockpit location.

[Dan Best]

The higher above the water line you are, the more exaggerated the roll motion. In a cc, you will feel the pitching motion less, but if the boat has excessive freeboard, you'll feel the roll motion more. Also, it may not be a major thing in most conditions, but it also gives the wind and waves more square footage to work against.

I've agreed with pretty much everything said in this thread, but it was mentioned that the cockpit doesn't get used much while at anchor or in a marina. First off, while cruising, most people like us very rarely use marinas (in 4 years of cruising, we were in marinas for a total of about 2 weeks). And while anchored out, it's true that the cockpit doesn't get a lot of use during the day but ours is used pretty much every evening as we relax and enjoy the sunset. Entertaining is also almost always done in the cockpit. So while I disagree with some of the details, I fully agree with the posters conclusion that a good sized cockpit is preferable to a smaller one.

One of the advantages of a cc is that you can have a large cockpit with virtually no chance of it filling with water when conditions get rough like an aft cockpit can if you are badly pooped. Getting pooped that badly is very unlikely (in two years of cruising the Tayana, I thing we once got a couple of gallons in the cockpit and were never in danger of getting fully pooped), but it's something to think about.

[skipmac]

I owned or sailed CC boats 34, 36, 42, and 50'. Also owned or sailed aft cockpit boats 26, 36, 41, 65'. The comfort and motion of cc vs aft was never an issue. Some cc did have a higher cockpit but that is offset by the cockpit being closer to the center of motion of the boat.

The two prettiest boats I owned were the 65' aft cockpit and the 34' cc so you can't make a blanket statement that all the smaller cc boats are boxy.

Docking I prefer the cc as you are closer to the middle and can see both ends. Also very easy to run bow and stern lines to the side of the cockpit so you can dock single handed. Docking the 65' aft cockpit was a real pain since the bow was so far away and the cockpit fairly low.