Centre cockpits

[Blueboatman]

Never thought I would believe this but I now have a modest wheel and actually like it.
Has advantages that had never occurred to me.

Centre cockpit= more privacy below? Not a huge fan myself tho.

 

[maby]

It's a personal preference; to me wheel steering feels "dead". Not a strong preference; if a boat appealed on other grounds, wheel steering wouldn't be a show-stopper!

I would be relatively neutral on the wheel vs. tiller question if it were not for the problem with throttle location on most boats with tillers. Without a wheel, you do not have a binnacle and hence there is nowhere high up to mount the throttle. It was possibly my biggest issue with the Hunter Ranger we have just sold - manoeuvring into a tight spot, I need to duck down into the cockpit at the worst possible moment to get at the throttle and cut power, or drop it into reverse to stop, losing all visibility in the process.

 

[Colvic Watson]

It also forms a playpen for small kids.

That's why we hung onto ours even when the family had outgrown it, many cockpits these days have an insecure exit aft for young children. It works for adults accessing the bathing platform but not for children. They also come with full width aft cabins though they may suffer in the looks department under 40ft and the cockpit is smaller than it's aft version.

 

[Laurin]

You need a fairly big boat to give access to the aft cabin below decks, usually by a corridor under the cockpit coamings. In the smaller sizes you have to get in via a hatch from the cockpit which leaves you isolated from the main accommodation.

We have a corridor to access our aft cabin on our Contest 32 CWS... then again it IS a tardis

 

[Deleted member 36384]

Not exclusive to centre cockpit boats
Guapa's got all that despite being an aft cockpit boat + large aft cabin.

Yep that's true. I looked Gupa up on your blog and she is a lovely boat. I like the flush deck in particular. I notice she is on the cover of a certain surveyors book too.

.... do they really get significantly more spray? My very limited experience suggests you get less. ... the real drawback is that wheel steering is usually necessary.

The Rival 41C certainly doesn't suffer from spray in the centre cockpit as a rule, but if you take a big slap in a big sea, in a big wind, then a big doosh comes the centre cockpit's way. I know when this happens by the sound and motion and a quick shifty saves the day for me, if not my unfortunate crew.

One concern with centre cockpits and wheel steering is the length of the control cables. Being longer and following a more torturous route to the quadrant increases the risk of wear and stress and strain. My own Rival has rod steering which is very strong but lacks sensitivity unless its a blow.

 

[snowleopard]

One concern with centre cockpits and wheel steering is the length of the control cables. Being longer and following a more torturous route to the quadrant increases the risk of wear and stress and strain. My own Rival has rod steering which is very strong but lacks sensitivity unless its a blow.

It shouldn't be a problem. The cable run from my port side steering position to the starboard engine is about 11 metres and there is no significant friction in the Morse control lines.

 

[maxi77]

I think the suggestion of centre cockpits being wetter is because they are further forward, but I think the reality is that because they are a bit higher than many aft cockpits they end up drier in reality. I do not find wheel steering a problem, yes it has a different feel but just as it has disadvantages, but it also has advantages too. Centre cockpits lend themselves well to full cockpit tents that can be used when at sea, a real boon in the UK climate. Finally decent headroom, ensuite facilities and a decent double bed with good locker space in the aft cabin make it very good for a liveaboard. Also when stern to it also gives more privacy.

 

[GrahamD]

You need a fairly big boat to give access to the aft cabin below decks, usually by a corridor under the cockpit coamings. In the smaller sizes you have to get in via a hatch from the cockpit which leaves you isolated from the main accommodation.

But when you anchor or moor up and put up the cockpit tent you have the full length of the boat for accommodation - many a meal and pleasant evening had in the cockpit.

 

[prv]

manoeuvring into a tight spot, I need to duck down into the cockpit at the worst possible moment to get at the throttle and cut power, or drop it into reverse to stop, losing all visibility in the process.

I operate the lever with my foot when berthing. It's not ideal, but it helps.

Pete

 

[maxi77]

I operate the lever with my foot when berthing. It's not ideal, but it helps.

Pete

When I joined the RN we still had 45ft picket boats. they had two throttles, two gear levers and one wheel. One hand for the wheel, one hand for the throttles and one foot for the gear levers, and the final foot to stand on. If it works it works. Ideal doesn't matter

 

[johnalison]

I think the suggestion of centre cockpits being wetter is because they are further forward, but I think the reality is that because they are a bit higher than many aft cockpits they end up drier in reality. QUOTE]

I'm not convinced of this. I have not sailed in a centre cockpit in heavy weather, but I have sailed in company with some in "wet" conditions, in each case in a smaller boat. On several occasions the other boat has reported water in the cockpit and an uncomfortable trip when we have enjoyed a dry and comfortable passage.

Most of the reasons for having centre cockpit seem to relate to "harbour" functions, and my recent experience in a 45' Island Packet has done nothing to change my preference for aft cockpits. Manufacturers vary in the "centreness" of their cockpits and while Island Packets and Benetaus have rather awkward cockpits to my eyes, boats such as HRs have their cockpits set rather further aft and more snugly.

A significant factor for one of our friends is that he can't reach his stern lines easily enough to help with mooring and finds it hard to cruise without two people to handle lines. (I have seen larger boats handled short-handed, but this chap has wonky legs).

 

[prv]

An important point I learned (not first hand!) on a delivery trip of a centre-cockpit boat is that it's impossible to vomit over the side from one

Pete

 

[yodave]

But when you anchor or moor up and put up the cockpit tent you have the full length of the boat for accommodation - many a meal and pleasant evening had in the cockpit.

Yep... we spend most of our time onboard in the centre cockpit, either with the cockpit tent down for sailing or sunshine ...and cockpit tent up the rest of the time.

When it's raining in the harbour, unlike most 32 footers we actually use the whole length of the boat across four spaces (fore cabin, main cabin, cockpit, aft cabin) ...where most 32ft-ish aft cockpit solutions only offer two spaces (fore cabin, main cabin) plus subterranean cockpit dungeons marketed as aft cabins.

The holistic 'feeling' of space versus a typical aft cockpit set-up is vastly improved. Perhaps the graphic on this page gets the point across better than I have: http://macwester.wordpress.com/macwester-malin-living-spaces/

 

[LadyInBed]

You need a fairly big boat to give access to the aft cabin below decks, usually by a corridor under the cockpit coamings. In the smaller sizes you have to get in via a hatch from the cockpit which leaves you isolated from the main accommodation.

au contraire! The Colvic Countess 33 isn't these days reckoned to be 'a fairly big boat'. It has internal access to aft double bed cabin and mine has been fitted out with two heads. The cockpit locker is fitted out as a workshop and has walk in access via the aft heads.
As has been said 'it is like a Tardis', and I also agree with another post, it is more difficult, for those that feel the need, to heave up over the side, but I do provide a bucket

 

[robp]

As usual it's compromises isn't it? Before my Bene 36CC I had a Catalina 36MKII. Beautifully built, no lightweight and with a huge but sensible saloon. But my wife was completely overcome with claustrophobia in the aft cabin under the cockpit. Also in March and April, it pretty much rained moisture on us from the close "ceiling". I've always found the Beneteau to be very dry in the cockpit but we do have a large fixed screen. My main criticism is that the large and private aft cabin comes at the cost of decent locker space up top.
I do enjoy sailing on autopilot and to be able to walk around the afterdeck and see everything from diferent viewpoints. Also when the youngest was a baby, there was much less possibility of him going over the side, (even hooked on as he always was), into the water. He could hang over the cockpit and still be a safe distance from the water.

I do though get plenty of excercise hopping over onto the deck for berthing, springing off etc.

 

[Norman_E]

An important point I learned (not first hand!) on a delivery trip of a centre-cockpit boat is that it's impossible to vomit over the side from one

Pete

One drawback of a centre cockpit is that it plces you higher above the roll centre of the boat, subjecting you to greater movement. If you are prone to seasickness, then a centre cockpit will be likely to cause you more trouble than a lower aft cockpit.

One advantage nobody has mentioned is that with a centre cockpit the mainsheet traveller is usually on the aft coachroof just behind the helmsman, with the sheet winch close to hand and the sheet itself taken to the boom end. That is a good arrangement, whereas with an aft cockpit you have a choice of coachroof traveller and sheeting point well forward on the boom, with the sheet out of reach of the helmsman, or a traveller obstructing the cockpit floor.

 

[prv]

with an aft cockpit you have a choice of coachroof traveller and sheeting point well forward on the boom, with the sheet out of reach of the helmsman, or a traveller obstructing the cockpit floor.

My mainsheet traveller is across the aft end of the cockpit.

Possibly this is a bowsprit thing.

Pete

 

[GrahamM376]

One drawback of a centre cockpit is that it plces you higher above the roll centre of the boat, subjecting you to greater movement. If you are prone to seasickness, then a centre cockpit will be likely to cause you more trouble than a lower aft cockpit.

But you're closer to the pitching centre, away from the stern rise and fall. SWMBO used to suffer from seasickness in our aft cockpit boats but it's now a rare occurence. We also find it more secure and, as others have said, better aft cabin with standing headroom. Wouldn't go back to aft cockpit.

 

[Tranona]

That arrangement is no longer common - it was when booms were longer and many boats had aft decks, so putting the mainsheet there was logical. Most modern boats have shorter booms and little aft deck, so the helm is right on the transom. The logical place for the mainsheet is forward of the companionway so it does not obstruct the cockpit, but the downside is it is too far for the helm to play. Performance orientated boats therefore often have the traveller across the middle of the cockpit, or even across the bridgedeck. Better for control but less good from the "safety" point of view.

As ever compromise is the watchword!

 

[VO5]

But you're closer to the pitching centre, away from the stern rise and fall. SWMBO used to suffer from seasickness in our aft cockpit boats but it's now a rare occurence. We also find it more secure and, as others have said, better aft cabin with standing headroom. Wouldn't go back to aft cockpit.

Overall, I agree.
I am not familiar with your cockpit layout, and I empathise with your feeling of greater security.
Is it deep or shallow ?