A sporty hard top with patio doors?

Well, I don't know what you construe as being rude but there you are.... it is a very simple point, not everyone is going to agree as to what their ideal configuration is, and it is apparent that not towing the line according to a small number of posters here is considered to be worthy of derision.
 
Adrianwool said:
I do like you Mike full of your own shhh ant be a minute. It must provide you with great comfort to always be in the right
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Come on Adrian, it's only a difference of opinion, not something to get worked up about. Sorry if I offended you in some way
 
Deleted User said:
Agreed. Most flybridge boats do have the disadvantage that people passing between f/b and saloon are out of sight but there is a solution. Get a f/b boat with internal stairs. One of the reasons we bought our existing boat. At sea we lock the patio doors and restrict movement to/from the f/b via the internal stairs
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I agree that's a solution, but it's only a partial solution. Unless physically restrained, which would now lead to riot and mutiny on baord, my kids would still be up and down the internal stairs whilst on the move, so the scope for them to be knocked off their feet half way up and injured hasn't gone. Also, with them up on the FB I'd be forever on edge in case they lent too far over the coaming at just the wrong moment.... Why is it that FB coamings are so low?

When they're older, quite a bit older, an FB may well be on the shopping list, but with an FB off the list an HT is a much better bet in the UK than an open boat IMHO.
 
Deleted User said:
Ah yes but Mochi now offer that one with a flybridge now so they've seen sense:)

800px-Yacht_Mochi_Craft_Dolphin_64_.jpg
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One must admit that the flybridge version look somehow more complete. And I am not saying that just cos I prefer flybridge boats before anyone starts, it just does IMHO
 
AdeOlly said:
I agree that's a solution, but it's only a partial solution. Unless physically restrained, which would now lead to riot and mutiny on baord, my kids would still be up and down the internal stairs whilst on the move, so the scope for them to be knocked off their feet half way up and injured hasn't gone. Also, with them up on the FB I'd be forever on edge in case they lent too far over the coaming at just the wrong moment.... Why is it that FB coamings are so low?

When they're older, quite a bit older, an FB may well be on the shopping list, but with an FB off the list an HT is a much better bet in the UK than an open boat IMHO.
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Yup, I concede an HT design may be safer with kids than a FB although, IMHO, the steep steps down to the accomodation which are generally found on sports cruisers are no less dangerous than internal flybridge steps. FWIW, my son was brought up on FB boats; in fact he first went boating at 6 weeks old and had his first face full of seawater at 4 months old, a fact which his mother has never let me forget! Yes you are right, the cockpit and FB coamings are often very low. On 2 boats I owned, I had some additional rails made up to increase the height of the coamings and filled every gap with netting; in addition, I fitted gates to stop him wondering off down the side decks. Basically I turned the cockpit into a giant play pen. I also found car seats which could be strapped easily to the lower helm; for years, he would happily spend hours on passage sitting in those seats. That had to stop when he found he could wind Daddy up by kicking the throttle levers with his feet!
I'd like to say that after all the efforts I made to keep him safe that he loves boating. In fact he doesn't. He's now 16 and refuses to join us on our boating trips unless he can bring some of his spotty mates
 
Deleted User said:
On 2 boats I owned, I had some additional rails made up to increase the height of the coamings and filled every gap with netting; in addition, I fitted gates to stop him wondering off down the side decks. Basically I turned the cockpit into a giant play pen. I also found car seats which could be strapped easily to the lower helm; for years, he would happily spend hours on passage sitting in those seats.
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Yep, I did all that as well, and the little sod still managed to fall off the flybridge at 18 mths old. We were in port (he's always strapped into the seat when underway), so it was relatively easy to jump in and get him, but I still lost a few nights sleep over that one. I suppose he could equally have fallen over the side of a sport cruiser, or the cockpit of a HT, but on balance, I have to agree that sport cruiser/HT boats are safer with kids, however much you try to make a flybridge toddler proof.
 
Nick_H said:
still managed to fall off the flybridge at 18 mths old
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Still amazed at that story Nick! Did he manage not to hit the side decks/railings? Obviously yes, or he'd still have the thwack mark today, but how come? Did he sort of inherit his dad's engineeringicity and make sure to jump off with enough horizontal component in his velocity to miss the side decks? If yes, encourgaging that he did.
 
There's a hand rail on the outside of the flybridge (coming??), and we reckon he hit that and it sort of propelled him outwards a bit past the guard rails/side decks. He had a slight bruise on his bonce which supports the theory. We were lucky there wasn't a boat moored next to us, or he'd likely have hit that or even worse, fallen between the two boats. Hopefully it's a useful reminder to people with small kids not to switch off when you reach the marina, even for a split second, and also that any amount of safety barriers, guard rails, netting etc (i'd fitted loads, as you know) don't guarantee they wont find a way through.
 
Nick_H said:
Yep, I did all that as well, and the little sod still managed to fall off the flybridge at 18 mths old. We were in port (he's always strapped into the seat when underway), so it was relatively easy to jump in and get him, but I still lost a few nights sleep over that one. I suppose he could equally have fallen over the side of a sport cruiser, or the cockpit of a HT, but on balance, I have to agree that sport cruiser/HT boats are safer with kids, however much you try to make a flybridge toddler proof.
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Bloody hell, Nick H, that sends a chill down my spine never mind yours. I suppose it goes to the old discussion about how much you protect your kids from every risk and how much you let them find the limits for themselves. I guess a totally risk averse parent would say that you shouldn't take kids boating at all. It's an unnecessary pursuit so why introduce the risk into your kids' lives? My stepdaughter and her boyfriend are about to sail away in their 38ft yacht for a long term cruise, possibly lasting months, with a 2yr old and a 4yr old on board. I don't envy them
 
Deleted User said:
Bloody hell, Nick H, that sends a chill down my spine never mind yours. I suppose it goes to the old discussion about how much you protect your kids from every risk and how much you let them find the limits for themselves. I guess a totally risk averse parent would say that you shouldn't take kids boating at all. It's an unnecessary pursuit so why introduce the risk into your kids' lives? My stepdaughter and her boyfriend are about to sail away in their 38ft yacht for a long term cruise, possibly lasting months, with a 2yr old and a 4yr old on board. I don't envy them
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Its not just boats though is it?
I dont think I grew up under some some reckless parenting at all, but we were always up trees, falling off things, crashing our bikes, etc.
Nowadays though, it seems to me many parents do everything possible to ensure little Jimmy, or even quite large Jimmy (no , not that one ;), doesnt have any accidents/take any risks, ever. Mind you, many adults seem amazingly averse to risk, it seems to me anyway.
 
gjgm said:
Its not just boats though is it?
I dont think I grew up under some some reckless parenting at all, but we were always up trees, falling off things, crashing our bikes, etc.
Nowadays though, it seems to me many parents do everything possible to ensure little Jimmy, or even quite large Jimmy (no , not that one ;), doesnt have any accidents/take any risks, ever. Mind you, many adults seem amazingly averse to risk, it seems to me anyway.
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Yup, but the risks are different these days. As a kid, I used to bike everywhere; I didn't think anything of cycling on my own into the centre of London from my home in NW London, day or night, just for the hell of it. I wouldn't dream of allowing my son to do the same but he is exposed to risks such as gang culture, knives, drugs and STD's which just weren't around in my youth. It's a different world out there now. Kids don't hurt themselves falling out of a tree anymore but they pop pills in clubs and carry knives
 
hlb said:
Silly sod, you want the patio doors, with nowt up top, are you going to have a golf range up there.:confused:
Fly bridge boats are mostly on shafts and are far better for long distance, or copeing with difficult weather. A hard top seems strange to me, so much space wasted. You can have a FB on drives.

I just dont understand this thing about folk wanting to be hero's under canvass, then wanting patio doors on the back and a roof:confused:

It sounds like a warped mind. All battle ships seem to have a fly bridge, most comecial ships seem to have two of them at each side.. Even submarines have a fly bridge. Life boats always have one. There hardly seems a point in not having one, less to small and it would tip over.


Think it's more about consumer profiling. A nich market. I want to be a car driver, know stuff all about boats. The boat has to behave like a car.

If the boat dont behave like a car, it needs all these things adding.
Met up with our inland lot at Glasson dock this year. The report was, MF had thrusters in every direction.:confused: MF has no thrusters at all.:confused:
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Jeepers Hayden, that's a bit harsh, he only asked a question. Did somebody hide your pipe in your slippers! :rolleyes:
 
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