Centre Cockpit Cruisers

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yachtorion

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As part of my long and drawn out process of considering a future boat, could anyone help expand this list of center cockpit cruisers costing up to £45k please?

Westerly Seahawk
Moody 346
....

Also the 346 seems to go for about 10k more than the Seahawk on the market at the moment. Horribly subjective, but is it £10k better? I've read the various reviews from YBW and they seem to suggest it is a little faster and a little more close winded, and the cockpit less exposed. Though on the flip-side there is slightly better accommodation on the Seahawk.

After reading the article in this month's PBO about a Seahawk in a storm and the YBW reviews I'm left wondering if it can really be as bad as some of the past threads on here and some other forums would indicate! But then again, threads on here sometimes say the Hurley 22 sails like a dog, and if it does I haven't noticed yet (despite being a dinghy racer).

Thanks!

If I go aft cockpit it's probably going to be a Moody 31 following the previous thread. The reason for considering center cockpit is my ambition to hopefully spend a couple of months a year on board.

Whatever boat I buy I'll do a fair bit of work on getting systems the way I like them, so a floppy headlining wouldn't bother me.
 
jamesjeffrey said:
Though on the flip-side there is slightly better accommodation on the Seahawk.
Click to expand...

We looked at buying a new Seahawk many years ago, and trial-sailed one. The accommodation comes at a price - the boat felt very odd; the cockpit is so high and exposed, you feel quite "perched" on it rather than sitting in it. The companionway ladder down into the cellar-like saloon is also unpleasant. We didn't buy one!
 
Our Neptunian 10m centre cockpit is great, the after cabin is great. Its a compromise of course. To get a decent sized after cabin the cockpit might be smaller, our after cabin still gives decent deck level space at the stern. If it is just one or 2 persons usually on board long term then the after cabin can be redundant or becomes a junk store, so possibly better to have a bit more space in the Fwd area and a bigger cockpit?
 
pvb said:
We looked at buying a new Seahawk many years ago, and trial-sailed one. The accommodation comes at a price - the boat felt very odd; the cockpit is so high and exposed, you feel quite "perched" on it rather than sitting in it. The companionway ladder down into the cellar-like saloon is also unpleasant. We didn't buy one!
Click to expand...

+111

Also looked at a Seahawk before buying our 346 and agree with above. The 346 was wonderful for us and was not a bad sailor with the right sails (fully battened main and radial Genoa ) it.
 
I really thought that a 346 was going to be the boat for me, until I viewed one.
On deck and in cockpit- great but down below not so much.
When stood at the oven my right shoulder was hitting the floor of the cockpit and I had to be significantly bent over in the passage to access the rear cabin (which was fab once inside).
I remember the Moody 31 seemed a bit better use of space and had a great feel about it but you would need to be lucky finding a good one.
 
Can someone tell my why a centre cockpit?
I know the larger cruising fraternity go for them but they look so ungainly
Certainly i would have though the smaller models not suitable for CC
If Gunfleet yachts produce their first 2 models with CC's it shows that it is what buyers want
Richard Mathews certainly seems to know how to sell yachts - & the business at the right time!!
 
CFarr said:
I really thought that a 346 was going to be the boat for me, until I viewed one.
On deck and in cockpit- great but down below not so much.
When stood at the oven my right shoulder was hitting the floor of the cockpit and I had to be significantly bent over in the passage to access the rear cabin (which was fab once inside).
I remember the Moody 31 seemed a bit better use of space and had a great feel about it but you would need to be lucky finding a good one.
Click to expand...

I was lucky my wife who does most of the cooking is only 5 ft plus a little. But for a 34 foot boat the space is amazing and you have to have some compromise for that.
 
We have a Westerly Corsair that we are very pleased with and can be had within budget. She sails well and has the 2nd heads which is good when you have visitors. The cockpit height is lower than the Seahawk and has proved a good liveaboard for the past 10 years.
 
Daydream believer said:
Can someone tell my why a centre cockpit?
I know the larger cruising fraternity go for them but they look so ungainly
Certainly i would have though the smaller models not suitable for CC
If Gunfleet yachts produce their first 2 models with CC's it shows that it is what buyers want
Richard Mathews certainly seems to know how to sell yachts - & the business at the right time!!
Click to expand...

I've sailed on a few. They are great for two couples, great privacy with berths at different ends of boat.
Also I liked having the main sheet just behind me so I could grab the falls of mainsheet.
 
Daydream believer said:
Can someone tell my why a centre cockpit?
I know the larger cruising fraternity go for them but they look so ungainly
Certainly i would have though the smaller models not suitable for CC
If Gunfleet yachts produce their first 2 models with CC's it shows that it is what buyers want
Richard Mathews certainly seems to know how to sell yachts - & the business at the right time!!
Click to expand...

We are in the process of buying a 36 foot cc design.

Our rationale for cc was heavily influenced by the accommodation. With a young family we have to accept that we won't be doing a large number of long passages. Our time on board will be shorter passages then doing something kiddy friendly, so dinghy ashore for a couple of hours on a beach etc. balance between sailing functionality and living functionality is more towards the living end of the spectrum.

The other argument was that with a cc, the mainsheet doesn't bisect the cockpit or companionway, or get used when people are involved in mooring, boarding the dinghy, you have a small aft deck for that meaning that children in the cockpit are out of the way and safe. It also of course puts the cockpit near the centre of movement for the boat. Obviously heeling can make a high cc feel exposed but most boats sail better flat anyway so the cc just becomes another reason for not sailing at 45 degrees of heel!
 
Have a look at the Colvic Countess 33 or 37.
I've had mine for 13 years now and more than pleased with it.
A lot were made for home completion and some weren't done too well, but the boat is sturdy with plenty of internal space.

YMNov08.jpg.html
 
After two years deliberation we bought a Seahawk in 2009. It suits us so well we hope to keep the boat for many years.

Our budget allowed the fitting of a new engine and a Bruntons Autoprop. That was important as we use the boat mostly for local cruising, generally three or four days at a time, when we're motoring or motorsailing for at least 50% of the time whilst trundling along.

I have a back problem that means a good cabin with plenty of space is essential. More confined quarters would result in my not being able to go boating at all. That was one of the factors resulting in our choosing a Seahawk rather than a Moody 346. Another was the better storage on the Seahawk.

We have never felt vulnerable in the cockpit. This may be partly due to height. I'm 5'7" and my wife is 5'1". If we were well over 6' it might be different. We also have a good sprayhood with a robust frame of 1" tube. This is the boat.


IMG_0020.jpg



I reckon it looks OK. However I'm more concerned with function than appearance. I have never been interested in fashion.

We have done quite a lot of refitting, mostly to modify and upgrade things to suit us. I don't think we would have found any of them in the original specifications of boats within our budget. They include a vacuum flush heads, large holding tank, Origo 6000 oven and interior sprung mattress. We've also fitted a cockpit chartplotter, radar, new wind, log & depth, self tailing sheet winches and have revised the mainsail reefing.

Good luck with your decision making process.
 
Happydaze said:
We have a Westerly Corsair that we are very pleased with and can be had within budget. She sails well and has the 2nd heads which is good when you have visitors. The cockpit height is lower than the Seahawk and has proved a good liveaboard for the past 10 years.
Click to expand...

One can be seen here -http://www.yachtgrot.com/featured-home-page/westerly-corsair-36-ft-fin-keel-1983-for-sale.html
 
CFarr said:
I really thought that a 346 was going to be the boat for me, until I viewed one.
On deck and in cockpit- great but down below not so much.
When stood at the oven my right shoulder was hitting the floor of the cockpit and I had to be significantly bent over in the passage to access the rear cabin (which was fab once inside)...
Click to expand...
We were the same, having been on a friends, but when we looked as critical buyers it didn't suit us. We now have an Oceanranger, a stretched Corsair, which gave us the extra room we wanted. With current drops in the market and hard bargaining you might get one down into your price range.
 
Happydaze said:
We have a Westerly Corsair that we are very pleased with and can be had within budget. She sails well and has the 2nd heads which is good when you have visitors. The cockpit height is lower than the Seahawk and has proved a good liveaboard for the past 10 years.
Click to expand...

Yes, agree. We had a Corsair for a few years and it was a good boat. A much better choice than a Seahawk.
 
pvb said:
Gets the crew nearer to the boat's motion centre. Gives scope for a proper aft cabin. Feels more secure at sea. Easier to single-hand. Puts the mainsheet in a sensible place.
Click to expand...

+1

We have a Moody 38 cc and prior to that a Corsair.

Sailed halfway round the world in them and latterly in the Moody with two young children.

Excellent long distance configurations and very comfortable in port too.
 
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