Blue water yachts with AFT cabins.

Centre cockpit and aft cabin

The Moody 471 has a massive aft cabin with central double bed. Designed by Bill Dixon for long distance short handed cruising.
We have one built by Moody's at Swanwick in 1984. 47 feet with a build weight of 23 tonnes. When surveyed a couple of years ago the surveyor said 'they can't afford to build them like this anymore'.
The 471 is not to be confused with the Moody 47, chalk and cheese!

Layout plans here: http://www.moodyowners.net/Moody_Archives/76_plan1.htm
 
Oyster 406 and 435. Centre berth, oriented fore and aft, in aft cockpit with 6'3" standing room. Small hatches port & stbd (none at the stern) and 40 to 50cm hatch in roof over foot of bunk. Many have circled the world; silly to say the cockpit has to be impossibly high in such a configuration. Mind you, engine access is pretty tight.

No sugar scoop in 406 and older 435, but bathing/boarding platform easily added.
 
I believe the Jeaneau 43DS (old style - circa 2004) has a double island berth in an aft cabin with an aft cockpit. Not sure about the new one though.
 
One excellent boat that nobody seems to have mentioned is the Elan 434 which is an excellent Blue water Cruiser and was the subject of a recent magazine test on that very subject. It is available with a huge aft cabin with an centrerline island double. A Rob Humphries design that he actually sails himself and around £200k fully loaded!
 
Some 45 footish Privilege Cats have an island berth, albeit at the front and with big windows facing forwards, so not exactly stern facing portholes.

They've got aft cockpits, well sheltered helms and sugar-scoop transoms which, er, you didn't want either.

I think a Lagoon 440 has an island berth and big side-facing windows and portholes, not exactly an enclosed wheelhouse though.
 
I think the Nauticat 42 meets your requirements.

Very safe and built for ocean cruising.

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I saw a Moody 44 with a centre cockpit and double bunk in the middle of a magnificent aft cabin, and wondered, how on earth would one stay on that bunk in any kind of sea, let alone hard on the wind? There was no sign of a lee cloth or anywhere obvious position for the attachment of lee cloths. And we're talking blue water cruising?
 
WE have a Moody 44 as you describe. The number of nights spent aboard not at sea far outweigh those underway, so we prefer the large aft cabin as it is. I am 6'6" and can stand up, and the bed is a good length too.

At sea, we use the settees in the saloon as sea berths, if its too rough to sleep in the aft cabin, although we have done that too plenty of times. Just need to build up support with pillows, duvets etc to get comfortable - easy if you are tired enough!
 
DogWatch said:
no he didn't, I keep reading it over and over
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The OP has edited the message, I and another even quoted the "aft cockpit" text in earlier messages.

Anyhow the confusion made the thread more interesting because now the OP has aft and center cockpit designs to consider. I stand by my original comment that an aft cockpit does not sit nicely above a palatial aft cabin. But if anyone is now feeling wretched about their Nauticat 42 I will give it a caring home.
 
lenseman said:
Can anyone point me in the direction of any yachts (or ketches) which specifically have a centre-island double berth in an aft cabin arrangement preferably with stern portholes which would deliberately preclude a sugar spoon swim platform. Enclosed centre cockpit would also be nice.

I am very interested in anything larger than 38 foot (11.5 metres) up to 50 foot (15 metres). Enclosed wheelhouse would be nice?

Lifting, bilge fin or any type of keel. :)
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take a look at a Hylas 49. Not enclosed cockpit, but some ingenious canopies are available these days. Personally I would love a Hylas 54.

http://www.hylasyachtsusa.com/49/photoalbum.html

not cheap new of course.
 
Sailed across the pond two years ago in a Hylas 49, which had a bimini with zip-on sides so that the whole centre cockpit could be enclosed. Whenever the weather got bad we zipped the sides on and sailed in comfort, no matter what the wind strength, 35-40 knots at times!! Definately more of a downwind boat than upwind, but that is what you get with a lot of windage.
 
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