Fisher,Bravaria crossover

There's nothing out there new. Noordkaper do some drop dead gorgeous boats but they're niche and it's a really a deck saloon. You have to have a wheelhouse to understand what it does, it's very different to a cockpit with a tent, or an open backed enclosure, or a saloon that you can sort of steer from. A wheelhouse is a whole extra saloon, it's a place for the family to come and go on passage, it makes the British weather so much better, you can have all opening windows, it's the best place to be at anchor and a cracking place to share a watch, it's also an exceptional steering position with complete all round visibility no matter the angle of heel. But they're expensive to build and not very good for the med or Caribbean where you want a DS and a cockpit with a Bimini. The upside is that those of us with good examples of decent sized wheelhouse yachts will always have a market for them.
 
Colvic Watson said:
There's nothing out there new. Noordkaper do some drop dead gorgeous boats but they're niche and it's a really a deck saloon. You have to have a wheelhouse to understand what it does, it's very different to a cockpit with a tent, or an open backed enclosure, or a saloon that you can sort of steer from. A wheelhouse is a whole extra saloon, it's a place for the family to come and go on passage, it makes the British weather so much better, you can have all opening windows, it's the best place to be at anchor and a cracking place to share a watch, it's also an exceptional steering position with complete all round visibility no matter the angle of heel. But they're expensive to build and not very good for the med or Caribbean where you want a DS and a cockpit with a Bimini. The upside is that those of us with good examples of decent sized wheelhouse yachts will always have a market for them.
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They call this http://haber-yachts.com/index.php?page=en-haber-34c4 a Deck Saloon - but would it be a wheelhouse in your terms?
 
Colvic Watson said:
There's nothing out there new. Noordkaper do some drop dead gorgeous boats but they're niche and it's a really a deck saloon. You have to have a wheelhouse to understand what it does, it's very different to a cockpit with a tent, or an open backed enclosure, or a saloon that you can sort of steer from. A wheelhouse is a whole extra saloon, it's a place for the family to come and go on passage, it makes the British weather so much better, you can have all opening windows, it's the best place to be at anchor and a cracking place to share a watch, it's also an exceptional steering position with complete all round visibility no matter the angle of heel. But they're expensive to build and not very good for the med or Caribbean where you want a DS and a cockpit with a Bimini. The upside is that those of us with good examples of decent sized wheelhouse yachts will always have a market for them.
Click to expand...

I agrede there is a world of diferente between a DS and wheelhouse where you can see out standing or sitting preferably with doors port and starboard and sash Windows so there is godo comunicación and visibility forward.It does not need to be massive and should be a safe place in bad weather ie plenty of hand holds etc.
 
jwilson said:
A boat I quite like is the Jeanneau 40DS and similar from around 2005: a shallow or deep-fin modern hull with a quite angular deckhouse: from sitting inside you have a good view out, unlike the later (current) versions which are just yachts with lots of headroom under an streamlined (and to my eyes ugly) hump. Interestingly the Jeanneau 40DS is said to be more stable than the non-DS version, due to all the tankage being under the raised saloon sole.
http://www.devalk.nl/images/thumbnails/website/22373_1e.jpg
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Yes, as per my rather terse and ill punctuated point, in post 10.

They do look rather good on the water, in stark comparison to a lot of newer boats
 
Sirius 40 DS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMOW6P7rSkI

Bootshow-Sirius40DS.jpg


That is, if you have half a million EUR laying around somewhere. I didn't, so I had to buy one of the boats that were on the market and in the affordable range. Painful to compromise, but better than sitting at home wishing I had a boat :)
 
jwilson said:
A boat I quite like is the Jeanneau 40DS and similar from around 2005: a shallow or deep-fin modern hull with a quite angular deckhouse: from sitting inside you have a good view out, unlike the later (current) versions which are just yachts with lots of headroom under an streamlined (and to my eyes ugly) hump. Interestingly the Jeanneau 40DS is said to be more stable than the non-DS version, due to all the tankage being under the raised saloon sole.
http://www.devalk.nl/images/thumbnails/website/22373_1e.jpg
Click to expand...

It's a shame that they are not a true deck saloon though - you sit down and cannot see out of the deck house windows but at the topsides. Also means that you cannot sit at the chart table with a second pilot control and see out.
 
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Hydrozoan said:
They call this http://haber-yachts.com/index.php?page=en-haber-34c4 a Deck Saloon - but would it be a wheelhouse in your terms?
Click to expand...

I haven't seen that one before, it reminds me a bit of the Colvic Watson 32 which is a nice boat. That Haber seems very innovative but only it's mother could call it good looking :)

The boat building industry has morphed into a version of the automotive industry - hardly any difference between the mass market models and a huge steps up in quality in the Ford Mondeos of the sea. Ben/Jen/Bav/Han/Duf all versions of each other and the brilliance is you know exactly what you will be getting. A few niche players some at the high quality end, some at the super economy end and a very few special use niche players.

Now imagine the market for a Ford Mondeo four wheel drive estate with three rows of seats and a flat bed pickup at the back. What would be the point when you could spend the development money on refining the manufacturing process to make your existing range more cost effectively and with a few more useful tweaks. The mass market boys just won't do it.

The AWB market is highly conservative, there's no money to be made at the moment with any aggressive development. Sometime in the next ten or twenty years one of them will pick up on the proven innovation of a niche manufacturer and use it as their USP, but for the moment the most we can expect is angular windows rather than oblong ones and fold down transoms rather than sugar scoops. Wheelhouses are never going to happen.
 
Colvic Watson said:
I haven't seen that one before, it reminds me a bit of the Colvic Watson 32 which is a nice boat. That Haber seems very innovative but only it's mother could call it good looking :) ...
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I think that its mother - like those of most wheelhouse yachts? - would take refuge in 'rugged and purposeful', or some such :).
 
Wansworth said:
I agrede there is a world of diferente between a DS and wheelhouse where you can see out standing or sitting preferably with doors port and starboard and sash Windows so there is godo comunicación and visibility forward.It does not need to be massive and should be a safe place in bad weather ie plenty of hand holds etc.
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There is quite a difference but I think, with a bit of ingenuity and a little compromise one of these boats (already mentioned) could fit the bill (other marques are available):

http://www.jordanyachts.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/brochure_20080303_52_.pdf


Later models with swoosh windows, no.
 
dunedin said:
Surely pvb's posting is the definitive answer to the OP's specific question - a proper living space wheelhouse, based upon a Hanse AWB hull and build.
Not pretty in a traditional sense, but smart in a Teutonic very functional way. And will sail massively better than most ancient motor sailers
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May be built by Hanse but the hull design has little in common with the Hanse hulls, the boat being designed by Bill Dixon who designed most of the British built Moodys.
 
Tranona said:
Open back shelters are a different thing - and again plenty of builders have tried it and many DIY efforts have been seen. The same old problem of getting it to look good and have enough headroom to be useful on a boat less than 40' is a challenge. The 20% extra comes not only from the extra of building the wheelhouse, but also the different layouts that allows and to make them really useful dual steering and engine controls.

The compromise of a well constructed sprayhood on a conventional superstructure seems to satisfy most of what you can get with an open wheel shelter while still allowing the facility to lower it if the weather allows.
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Referring to a Salar 40 :

Condesa’s most distinctive, and in my opinion her best feature is her prominent wheelhouse. While perhaps not the most pleasing to the eye, the wheelhouse accomplishes three major functions:

1.It protects the crew from wind, waves, sun, sleet, hail, spray, and the general beating of the elements.
2.It provides relatively dry and convenient place for all of the instruments.
3.It provides a perfect exposed surface for mounting an array of solar panels.

I cannot imagine cruising without it. I guess I would be much more at one with the elements, meaning cold, wet, and having skin cancer. In a recent passage down the coasts of Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego we had rain, sleet, and hail being driven by fifty knot winds. From behind the protection of the wheelhouse it was nothing more than a curiosity; step outside and we were being gunned down by an icy firing squad. Consider strictly the ravages of the sun in the tropics: By having a roof over my head all these years I have saved my skin untold damage.

I have all of the instruments—GPS, depthsounder, radar, and VHF radio—all mounted on the ceiling, hanging down in easy view just in front of the helm. These instruments are all water-resistant, but even the worst of weather can’t get any spray up there. I can also connect a computer for electronic chart navigation, but I usually keep it below. This arrangement allows me to fly by instruments in zero visibility, as everything is right there in easy view of the helm. Boats that have a navigation station down below are putting all the instruments where they are useless to the person who needs them most, the helmsman. I realize this is usually a necessity of the design, but it’s cumbersome in practice. Having someone yell up the companionway what they see on the radar is inferior to seeing the radar oneself.

Many boats have solar panels in precarious places on adjustable mounts. Condesa’s are securely bolted down on top of the wheelhouse where they are always in the sun. I made rounded teak guards for the sharp corners of the panels to protect crewmembers from injury and rigging from getting snagged.
 
Sailed a couple of yachts with doghouse additions which work well if done properly . One full cabin, another with a cockpit cover over the rear. Both early 80's boats......Worked fine and could be had for a reasonable cost too.......
 
Have you considered a Buizen, Australian made cruising yacht. It seem to have everything you want. See Boatsales.com.au. One listed there, 48', for $275,000aud. I don't know how much that is in pounds, about £124000?
 
I visited the Tabarly Sailing centre in Lorient which is also a base for a lot of the large ocean racing boats. They are all featuring shelters now for the helmsmen which is long overdue. A comfortable and dry sailor must be more effective than a cold wet one.

The new trimaran MACIF (30m) for François Gabart had just been launched and it provides a proper on deck cabin.

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=t...=2259&bih=1115&dpr=0.85#imgrc=eLsQten3vaU9XM:
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=t...=2259&bih=1115&dpr=0.85#imgrc=iKu_rUBT28atkM:
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=t...=2259&bih=1115&dpr=0.85#imgrc=4neis6Fk8BAQsM:
 
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