Seeing Out - Why is not more popular!! Deck Saloons

[CaptainBob]

We had the same thoughts after living in a boat without a view. Lived in our nauticat for 18 months over three years now. Wonderful. Right now looking at the sights and sounds of Dartmouth and kingswear after 7 weeks of cruising to Helford and back. Room for both an Eberspacher and a multifuel stove (Faversham).

We're selling it as have another child on the way but intend to buy a smaller boat in a couple of years so we can have extended holidays afloat. But I'm sure we're going to lament the lack of view in the morning and evening.

We also get a very considerable amount of heat from greenhouse effect.

Rounding start point yesterday in big (ish) seas under reefed mizzen and jib we broke our speed record when we hit 8.5 knots.

Points to windward pretty well too.

So do consider a nauticat 38.

(Ours for sale at 50k if someone takes it at the end of October. )

 

[Arcady]

I agree that all too often trying to ensure that one can see over the pilothouse ends up being a compromise - restricting both the sight lines from the cockpit and the visibility from a low-level pilothouse. Instead of trying to look over the top of a pilot house, consider the alternative - look through it!

The Moody DS does this - as does our American designed Northeast 400 (37' LOD). It's not as daft as it sounds: it's like looking through a big fixed screen dodger in some respects. This allows a really decent interior helm position and a proper sailing cockpit outside - set low in the boat, not perched high up and exposed on top of the rear accommodation. Moving from cockpit to wheelhouse, seamlessly, all on one level is a big plus. The compromise of course is that there is no rear cabin accommodation - but hey - everyone to his or her own I guess.

 

[Colvic Watson]

It's a tricky compromise isn't it? With three young children we need all three sleeping cabins but as a couple with occasional visitors a pilothouse with cockpit might suit better. The aft deck on LK is much higher up, on a lumpy day it's not popular but on a good day with the chute up and the boat tracking on rails, sitting up there in comfy seat is pure magic and the crew pile up there.

I'd like to try a modern pilothouse to see what they're like, I bet it's a great space if it's high enough rather than just a saloon raised up a bit.

 

[LadyInBed]

I came up with Nordship, Sirius, Nauticat (the sailing ones), Southerly and not much more. All expensive! And the lack of choice leaves me wondering if they are a bad idea!

You (and others) have forgotten the Colvic Countess 33 and 37
My 33 is like a Tardis, two heads, aft double, workshop. Only three steps down into saloon, with good all round viz if your 6ft tall! (At 5ft6 I can see well when the boat has a bit of a lean on).
Granted, it's not a fast boat 'cus it's quite heavy in cruising trim, it needs a f5 to get it going.
I've had it for 14 yrs now, sail it on my own and found it copes well with f7, I've not been caught by anything more!
See my website for pics http://montymariner.co.uk/photos/lady-in-red/

 

[Sailfree]

May not be your cup of tea but we have a jeanneau 43DS. Others have found that they are not sea sick due to the large windows and being able to view the horizon. With light coloured upholstery they feel light and airy inside.

Both the 40/43 range built around 1998 to 2005 were based on the same hull. Most DS's were in mast furling and 5 sq m of mainsail area less yet in comparative tests the Sunfast was quickest (deeper keel and taller mast/sail area) then the DS (with least sail area) and last the standard Sun Odyssey. This was because the DS had all the fuel and most of the water over the keel bolts with its raised floor. I went for the best of both worlds and ordered the DS with standard rig and fully battened main.

Jeanneau stopped making DS's based on the same hull as IMHO instead of catering for 3 different markets with one hull they were killing one of their own markets! Jeanneau DS's after 2005 were always a different length and only owners versions.

Just completing my 3rd yr extended summer cruising holiday and frankly I would not have a sailing wife if I had a dark, mahogany interior boat.

 

[DannyB]

We looked at a Jeanneau 39DS, and were quite impressed, until my wife fell down the step into the forecabin ! Rejected it out of hand after that, I put a flat saloon floor quite high on my list of priorities for safety reasons. It can be difficult enough keeping your feet when the sea gets up without having steps to negotiate as well.

 

[Colvic Watson]

Just completing my 3rd yr extended summer cruising holiday and frankly I would not have a sailing wife if I had a dark, mahogany interior boat.

That's the nub of the issue isn't it. I know you personally haven't sacrificed sailing performance but you often have to with a DS and certainly with a wheelhouse. But the upside is that wife and children share the whole thing. How many times do we read comments about how wife will only reluctantly spend a week's holiday on board or the chap has to change boat because it's just him all the time. That's fine if you don't want to sail together for other reasons, but it shouldn't be because of the type of boat.

 

[[2574]]

In the river Yealm - Nauticat 39:

And at sea:

 

[roblpm]

In the river Yealm - Nauticat 39:

And at sea:

Looks great. 120k for a 20 year old boat though which is too much for me!

Would be good to hear your comments on the issues raised earlier in this thread. Visibility when helming? Space?

I think the consensus seems to be that at that size it probably works pretty well but for paupers like me looking for a slightly smaller boat it doesn't work unless it is a Sirius 35!!

 

[RichardPerou]

I have had a Moody Eclipse 33 for 15 years. My wife's comment when we first saw one was "We could live on this.".

We have sailed around the Med from Tunisia to Greece, always avoiding heavy weather, moored in many pleasant places where we could always look around us. The only time I used the internal steering was on the Rhone in winter weather and pouring rain, but I prefer to be able to see all around me. Steering from the cockpit is fine if you stand or sit in the stern quarter. Shading is essential.

Don'expect to get anywhere fast.

 

[[2574]]

Looks great. 120k for a 20 year old boat though which is too much for me!

Would be good to hear your comments on the issues raised earlier in this thread. Visibility when helming? Space?

I think the consensus seems to be that at that size it probably works pretty well but for paupers like me looking for a slightly smaller boat it doesn't work unless it is a Sirius 35!!

We've had our Nauticat for ten years and she is now our "forever" boat having heavily invested in her refit over the past decade. As you observe, a Nauticat is not a cheap boat and your pricing assessment Is spot on. The new Nauticat 385 which succeeded the 39 is an expensive boat, I think she's getting close to £400k new now.

The Nauticat is our first yacht, we are ex motor boaters and our reason for purchase was the light and airy saloon as afforded by the pilot house design. We had gone to buy an HR but didn't favour the "coal mine" feeling of being down below, adjacent the HR on the sales rank was a Nauticat, the rest is history!

As to forward vision, if standing there is no problem as it is very easy to see clearly over the top of the pilot house. If sitting then we look straight through the pilot house. As it happens this is no great inconvenience because one has to look low down to see under the genoa in any case. As you can see from the pictures there is 360deg vision from within the pilot house excepting structural blind spots which one has to cognitively manage. There is also adequate vision upward through well placed hatches for the purpose of seeing the sails and managing sail trim.

The pilot house does get warm when the sun is shining and this has to be managed. We have a set of silver window covers which reflect heat and light away, they make a huge difference. This past winter refit we have replaced all of the pilot house windows, at significant cost, because the frames had started to corrode. We upgraded the glass to a 5% grey tint which has hugely reduced glare in bright conditions, the effect is similar to that of wearing sunnies. The downside is that on grey days it appears to be more grey than it really is but this is a small compromise for the reduced glare. The tinting also affords an increased degree of privacy when alongside public quays etc. There is no loss of colour differentiation through the tinted glass.

We have two heads and three cabins. The main cabin is under the cockpit floor so has restricted headroom, we don't find this problematic. Someone earlier mentioned the difficulty of using only one side of the saloon table and yes we agree that this is a problem if accommodating more than four aboard, we then use a "high chair" to sit additional diners on the other side of the table.

As ever all boats are a series of compromises but we reckon ours suits us as well as any within our boating budget. Even If money was no object I'm not sure we'd stray far from the Nauticat concept. The Nauticat 515 is a lovely boat but I think that's pushing £1M!

Rob

 

[Slipstream 34]

The Seastream 34 ticks all the boxes... If you can find one!

 

[NormanS]

The Seastream 34 ticks all the boxes... If you can find one!

She looks quite similar to a Cromarty36.

 

[Whitty]

Why not a Salar 40 Laurent Giles design - no slow coach, just had two months sailing the west coast of Scotland - stayed dry.

 

[Colvic Watson]

She looks a beauty, really nice. There's a world of difference for us between a central wheelhouse and a semi covered central cockpit like that lovely Salar. The wheelhouse is 'in' the boat not on top so everyone passes through and it forms a social hub for passages and life on board. It works well for us with little children and a young teenager.

 

[Arcady]

Nice boat. I thought seriously about buying one some years ago

 

[Ric]

If you want a seriously fast cruising boat with 360 vision from the interior - look at the RM Yachts from France.

 

[roblpm]

If you want a seriously fast cruising boat with 360 vision from the interior - look at the RM Yachts from France.

Yes but I assume they bounce up and down a lot in bad weather??

 

[CaptainBob]

There's a lovely looking Nauticat 38 for sale on B&O for £49,950.00

http://www.boatsandoutboards.co.uk/Motor-sailers-for-sale/nauticat-38/41172

Bargain!

 

[grumpy_o_g]

Hunter Pilot 27 manages to be a deck saloon with a separate heads, forecabin and aft cabin along with an internal steering position and a safe and user-friendly cockpit - although everything is a little bit compact and bijou. Sailing performance is quite acceptable too.