Aft cockpit, aft cabin, Sealine

[jfm]

There's a P43AC post below which gets onto aft cockpit versus aft cabin debate. The advantages of each are obvious. In which case does the panel agree that the Sealine T46/F44 designs are jolly clever, where you have an aft cabin and an aft cockpit? OK there are a few compromises, like the "footwell" of the cockpit is sunken into the ceiling of the cabin so reduced headroom over the bed and all horizontal jogging must be done erm horizontally, and the transom gate is a series of steps up and down to get over the headroom in the cabin. But IMHO Sealine have done a fab job because both the cabin and cockpit are 90% as good as on a traditional aftcab/aftcockpit boat.

So, why dont fairline, princess et all copy? Or am I in tiny minority in liking this design? If others agree this design idea is good praps we should tell f'line et al?

And BTW as some will recall I'm not a S'line fan at all, I just think this is a good bit of design

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

Jfm, its F43 not F44 actually and I ran it's predecessor, the 410, for a season. I agree with you that this boat and the 450/T46 are a great piece of design and Sealine have'nt got as much credit as they should have done for it. I suppose their slightly downmarket image and the blobby Sealine house style has'nt helped. Lowering the cockpit over the aft cabin bed is'nt a new idea however - its been used on yachts for years.
IMHO, it works better on the 450/T46 because the head/shoulder room in the 410/F43 aft cabin is too pinched and deck storage is very limited but thats mitigated by that other good Sealine idea - storage of cockpit canopy and table in the flybridge overhang. SeaIine also did a good job on the design of the connections between the saloon/cockpit/boarding platform and flybridge as its really easy to move between these areas. BTW, I believe Sealine were the first to introduce stairs to the flybridge in place of ladders.
I guess both models have been successful for Sealine as they're both still current production.
Why dont other manufacturers copy them? I believe the aft cabin boat market is restricted to Northern Europe as nobody buys aft cabin boats in the Med so the numbers are'nt huge

 

[Guest]

I think these are great - If it wasn't for the kids the F43 would be top of my list for the next boat. Blobby design? IMHO Sealine make some of the most beautiful boats about - when comparing S34 vs Fairline T34 couldn't understand why anybody in their right mind would go for the Fairline. Victims of Fairline's marketing strategy?

 

[jfm]

Yes, sorry not very good on Sealine model numbers 43/44 etc. I always thought the med market wanted an aft cockpit so can sit out and dive off and not be perched up on a high deck, and it seems to me the T46 offers this?

But I am with Deleted User on styling, very blobby and turns me right off, older models worse than T series, but clearly opinions differ adrianD and Sealine seem to sell plenty of boats!

 

[byron]

Well Adrian they say beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I see Sealines as jelly moulds. I think the prettiest boat ever was the old Broom Crown. The Princess 435 being a close competitor (but I would say that wouldn't I).

ô¿ô
www.education-jobs.co.uk
www.alexander-advertising.co.uk

 

[Guest]

Do sealine sell much to the med? can't remeber seeing many if any, nowhere near the acreages up the thames and scoast uk.

The blobbiness shouldn't be too hard to sort, just a sharper edge here and there, not so much as sunseeker obviously will date too quickly, but just so radar arch a bit tighter looking and so on, much as sierra and modeos were deblobbed later in life. Also yukky s'linecolour schemes. Still feel that a trump card for fairline the side-on clean looks and navy blue. But good ideas, altho i didn't get further than admiring the teak, trying to find someone to say Oi is this fake teak, and then realising that the question didn't need to be asked, sort of.

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

Praps a Med vet like Matt could confirm but I think the main reason that Med boaters dont like aft cabins is that most Med berthing is stern-to and owners prefer the privacy of a forward cabin.
I believe the current blobby Sealine style originates from some 10-15 years ago when they employed an ex-car designer called Roger Tucker to do their exterior styling and at the time blobbiness was all the vogue.. At least you can say that you would'nt confuse a Sealine with any other boat in an era when a lot of boats are starting to look very similar.
Sealine do sell a lot of boats and they're clever enough to realise that SWMBO also has a big influence on the boat buying decision and, therefore, interior accomodation/ practicality sell boats just as well as having the latest hull design