Fisher,Bravaria crossover

W

Wansworth

Well-Known Member
Joined
8 May 2003
Messages
38,558
Location
SPAIN,Galicia
Visit site
Is there a yacht with the characteristics of a Bavaria type yacht with the deckhouse of the fisher range.Is it necessary to go down the route of a mini trawler to have a nice wheelhouse and why cannot a ordinary cruising yacht carry a proper wheelhouse without resorting to designs like the Oyster class with streamlined windows.
 
Sadly there are so few motor-sailors made these days. Some of the centre-cockpit designs might enable a pilot house like structure to be added. The Amels come close.
 
Last edited:
Moody 45DS perhaps?

2010-moody-62-ds--1.jpg
 
Wansworth said:
Is there a yacht with the characteristics of a Bavaria type yacht with the deckhouse of the fisher range.Is it necessary to go down the route of a mini trawler to have a nice wheelhouse and why cannot a ordinary cruising yacht carry a proper wheelhouse without resorting to designs like the Oyster class with streamlined windows.
Click to expand...

The past is littered with attempts to do just that. Westerly Konsort Duo, Riviera, Hunter Pilots, Newbridge Pioneer, Moody Eclipse, Trident Voyager, Colvic 34 and no doubt many others. The Scandinavians have also produced some such as the LM range, Degaro, HR Rasmus as examples. The reality is that you cannot make an attractive (both visually and to buyers) pilot house boat under about 40' and the cost of producing it usually puts it in a different price bracket from boats of similar length. there has never been a big market for the Fisher type boats and modern variations usually come from, small semi custom builders such as Sirius. Those who have tried to create a more mass market such as the one mentioned above have found it hard going convincing people buying new boats to pay the 20% or so premium a wheelhouse adds, preferring to either spend the extra on a more upmarket boat or a bigger one.
 
Lots of deck saloon boats about which is half the job, without having to build the full shed on top.

The last generation looked quite good externally as well
 
Tranona said:
The past is littered with attempts to do just that. Westerly Konsort Duo, Riviera, Hunter Pilots, Newbridge Pioneer, Moody Eclipse, Trident Voyager, Colvic 34 and no doubt many others. The Scandinavians have also produced some such as the LM range, Degaro, HR Rasmus as examples. The reality is that you cannot make an attractive (both visually and to buyers) pilot house boat under about 40' and the cost of producing it usually puts it in a different price bracket from boats of similar length. there has never been a big market for the Fisher type boats and modern variations usually come from, small semi custom builders such as Sirius. Those who have tried to create a more mass market such as the one mentioned above have found it hard going convincing people buying new boats to pay the 20% or so premium a wheelhouse adds, preferring to either spend the extra on a more upmarket boat or a bigger one.
Click to expand...

Nearly every yacht design on the market is conceived with the Mediterranean and Caribbean in mind. I find that perplexing. Surely there is a big enough market in the UK, Ireland, northern France, low countries and Baltic to justify a design that provides a half-respectable bit of protection from the weather. HR are doing a semi-wheelhouse on the 43 Mk 3 which doesn't add anything like 20% to the price. It's not fully enclosed but you could certainly hover under the cover, operate the autopilot from the chart table and just dash out now and then to adjust a winch. Why don't others do this?
 
Wansworth said:
Is there a yacht with the characteristics of a Bavaria type yacht with the deckhouse of the fisher range.Is it necessary to go down the route of a mini trawler to have a nice wheelhouse and why cannot a ordinary cruising yacht carry a proper wheelhouse without resorting to designs like the Oyster class with streamlined windows.
Click to expand...

A Konsort Duo would come pretty close to what you want, with twin keels probably more suited to your syle of sailing
 
Last edited:
trapezeartist said:
Nearly every yacht design on the market is conceived with the Mediterranean and Caribbean in mind. I find that perplexing. Surely there is a big enough market in the UK, Ireland, northern France, low countries and Baltic to justify a design that provides a half-respectable bit of protection from the weather. HR are doing a semi-wheelhouse on the 43 Mk 3 which doesn't add anything like 20% to the price. It's not fully enclosed but you could certainly hover under the cover, operate the autopilot from the chart table and just dash out now and then to adjust a winch. Why don't others do this?
Click to expand...

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.
 
My father had one of the original Freewards,he bought it as ahull and deck with engine and put a gaff rig on it........ bit of a disappointment as it rolled awfully, needed tighter bilges.
 
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
 
Not many of the big builders jumped in to this market. Beneteau did an Evasion 36 based on the Oceanis 361 hull in the 1990's - did not see that many around. There were Evasions in the 1980's too. Jeanneau did the Espace range in the 1980's.

Nauticat build a good modern hulled deck saloon but they are not cheap (understandably)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top