Boat show 1st day highlights!!!!!!

[Concerto]

Watch this promo video on the 1st day of the London Boat Show.
https://youtu.be/a1mqGTYUtvg

Not a boat in sight! That will encourage people to get into boats in a big way.

 

[Roger52]

I think the promo is for the Travel and Cruise Show hence no boats.

 

[[70521]]

We went up on the 9th. It was very, very quiet. I had ages of time to talk to everybody I wanted to talk to, did not even need to que at the bar!

The mass production boats are as boring as ever, thank goodness I am not looking to buy "bog standard boat" as they all have gone down the twin wheel route, why? It eats up space in the tiny cockpits.

If anybody could explain the design principles and the advantages of twin wheels on a boat that is not a lean, mean racing machine I will buy them a pint and will listen to the theory.

 

[GrahamD]

The Travel and Cruise Show is in the opposite hall. The Boat Show occupies the full length of the right hand hall. There are very few stands that are not related to boating in its many forms.

According to the websites there are 361 stands at London, compared to 622 at SIBS 2015.

 

[wully1]

If anybody could explain the design principles and the advantages of twin wheels on a boat that is not a lean, mean racing machine I will buy them a pint and will listen to the theory.

I was told its so that the fat and the lazy don't have to squeeze past one wheel on their way to the bathing platform..and the wide arsed wedge shape is to provide big aft cabins , that still require a summersault over the pillows to get into, not that you'll get much sleep anyway - what with the waves slapping the flat bottom all night long.

 

[[70521]]

I was told its so that the fat and the lazy don't have to squeeze past one wheel on their way to the bathing platform..and the wide arsed wedge shape is to provide big aft cabins , that still require a summersault over the pillows to get into, not that you'll get much sleep anyway - what with the waves slapping the flat bottom all night long.

Brilliant

 

[Resolution]

If anybody could explain the design principles and the advantages of twin wheels on a boat that is not a lean, mean racing machine I will buy them a pint and will listen to the theory.

Start with the premise that the biggest market for the AWB manufacturers is the Mediterranean. Most berthing in the Med is stern-to, so entry and exit is through the transom. Having twin wheels allows one clear access into the cockpit. Having a single, central wheel requires a solid transom to sit upon, and blocks the easy access ( I have a large single wheel and know full well this problem. ) Perhaps in the Med we also spend more time living in our cockpits, so the traffic factor past the wheel is more important?
Second reason, as described above, is that "bums on seats is what sells". Or to put it more politely, the paying public want the cabin space provided by broad beamed boats. With modern research into hull shapes and the effects of chines has come the ability to build really beamy-bummers boats that still sail pretty well. Even to windward. Twin wheels do then enable the helms person to see what the luff of the genoa is doing.

QED
Can I claim my pint please?

I guess it all seems wrong to those of us sailing in rougher, colder waters where tidal constraints mean that marina berths are always alongside berths.

Edit: Must type faster. Does this mean I have been Wullied?

 

[Concerto]

I think the promo is for the Travel and Cruise Show hence no boats.

The video was within an email from britishmarine.co.uk! Should have mentioned that in my original post.

 

[{151760}]

We went up on the 9th. It was very, very quiet. I had ages of time to talk to everybody I wanted to talk to, did not even need to que at the bar!

The mass production boats are as boring as ever, thank goodness I am not looking to buy "bog standard boat" as they all have gone down the twin wheel route, why? It eats up space in the tiny cockpits.

If anybody could explain the design principles and the advantages of twin wheels on a boat that is not a lean, mean racing machine I will buy them a pint and will listen to the theory.

It's a consequence of wide sterns. If there was only one wheel it would have to be huge so that the helmsman could reach it from either rail. There's also the point mentioned above about access to the bathing platform.

 

[Solwaycruiser]

The mass production boats are as boring as ever, thank goodness I am not looking to buy "bog standard boat" as they all have gone down the twin wheel route, why? It eats up space in the tiny cockpits.

Think it has already been explained why twin wheels but are you saying that these same boats had 'tiny cockpits'?

 

[dunedin]

If anybody could explain the design principles and the advantages of twin wheels on a boat that is not a lean, mean racing machine I will buy them a pint and will listen to the theory.

I was previously a sceptic about twin wheels but now a bit of a convert - if done properly (including quality Jeffa kit).
Really good way of being able to see sails and telltales, and sit comfortably when sailing fast.

On a boat of say 36 feet would need a single wheel of at least 2 metres diameter to be able to helm from windward, which is a nuisance getting past (or twin tillers, like some of the great French boats).
A small wheel in the centreline (or worse a small wheel on one side in a cuddy) is for motor sailors only.

 

[Koeketiene]

On a boat of say 36 feet would need a single wheel of at least 2 metres diameter to be able to helm from windward

Whatever gives you that idea?
Guapa's 44' and our single/center line wheel is 1.5m in diameter and I'am able to helm quite well to windward.
Of course, she's not a wide arsed modern boat.

 

[Ripster]

On a boat of say 36 feet would need a single wheel of at least 2 metres diameter to be able to helm from windward

We have a wide-arsed AWB 37.5ft with a centre 1m wheel and can helm fine to windward sat up on the coaming. Or alternatively, we stick the AP on and use the remote control and sit anywhere we like. When we are moored, a folding wheel would be very convenient to give easy access to and from the platform, but I am too mean to pay Lewmar prices for one.

 

[Spyro]

We went up on the 9th. It was very, very quiet. I had ages of time to talk to everybody I wanted to talk to, did not even need to que at the bar!

The mass production boats are as boring as ever, thank goodness I am not looking to buy "bog standard boat" as they all have gone down the twin wheel route, why? It eats up space in the tiny cockpits.

If anybody could explain the design principles and the advantages of twin wheels on a boat that is not a lean, mean racing machine I will buy them a pint and will listen to the theory.

I had to wait for people to get off several boats that I wanted to get so I'd say that was busy enough. If you don't like mass production boats you don't need to look at them. No reason to slag them off. There things on some of them that I didn't like but I enjoyed looking all the same. As for tiny cockpits I thought they all had very generous cockpits for the overall size of the boat.

 

[dylanwinter]

I think the blokes with their twin wheel twin aft cabin cheese wedges look rather comfortable as they cream past me. Two wheels on a wide stern 40 footer would be jolly nice things to have and avoid seeing the world as glimpsed over the spray hood.

 

[ratbag]

my girlfriend asked me why boats have 2 wheels , i told her its for when travelling abroad its handy when they sail on the wrong side , she believed me

 

[Steve Clayton]

Depends what tack you are on. The wheel on the high side will give the helmsperson a clearer view for'ard (assuming the foresail is in use)

 

[Garold]

We visited LBS yesterday.

To see our new 'wide arsed boat with two wheels', which is being used as a display boat at the show.

As for the two wheels, I think that it enables easy walk through from the stern coupled with adding the option to sit a bit higher when sailing (if that's the side you sit - some like to sit on the lower side.) If anyone tries to tell you that it helps when parking, they're fibbing because the engine controls are only on one side.

For anyone debating the merits of LBS, if you really want to take the edge off a show visit, go on a busy Sunday and watch hordes of people clamber onto your new-to-be boat. You'll never complain about the show not having enough visitors!

In an effort to distract our attention, we purchased a new anchor, liferaft, and some safety equipment. And fenders, and mooring lines. The chandlery stalls had quite a few reps from the manufacturers available for info if you needed it which was handy for us.

I'd like the next few days to pass swiftly and for attendance to dwindle. But I may have to return midweek to check.

Garold

 

[[70521]]

I had to wait for people to get off several boats that I wanted to get so I'd say that was busy enough. If you don't like mass production boats you don't need to look at them. No reason to slag them off. There things on some of them that I didn't like but I enjoyed looking all the same. As for tiny cockpits I thought they all had very generous cockpits for the overall size of the boat.

I think "slag then off" is a bit stronger than what I said, but hey ho.

Beauty, and in this case function, is in the eye of the beholder. What I am trying to get my head around is why the mass market manufactures have gone down the twin when route. From the posts above I understand it is about speed - fine if you are racing, but these are marketed cruisers. Personally, I found the cockpits both tiny and cluttered, there would be no way that I, at 1.75m, could stretch out in full wet weather gear and get comfy.

 

[jimmyk]

I should imagine it is simply fashion. It may look cool to some. It is different. It is change for change sake. Its not just boats. Its everything