Sports Cruiser or Flybridge

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simonjames

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Hi there again, re my previous post 'Sunseeker v Princess' we've looked at a few boats V50s and Targa 52s. Before we make a decision just one thought we've also been looking at Fairline Phantom 46 mk2. As I said in my earlier post the boat will be kept in Barcelona, and I was just wondering on people's thoughts. I apologise if this subject has already been done to death, but just wondered on the pros and cons of a flybridge over a sports cruiser.
Thanks in anticipation
Simon
 
They will if you swap your sailing boat for a motorboat.
If you have an apartment nearby and want a dayboat then sportscruiser, if not then flybridge.
 
We have a Sunseeker Portofino 53 which is kept in the SoF. Although its used mostly as a day boat, we do a couple of two-week trips to Corsica/Sardinia each year with four people on board and have never noticed any lack of space.

I agree with the earlier comments. For a day boat I would probably go for the sportscruiser. You'll spend most of the time outdoors anyway, its a more sociable layout and your kids will love it. However, if you're planning to cruise or will be staying onboard regularly then the flybridge may be a better option for you.

We have a lot of friends with 50-60ft flybridges and from experience, the cockpit area gets a lot more use than the flybridge when at anchor, particularly if there are kids playing in the water. Having the tender in a garage also makes the bathing platform much more usable. We looked at Manhattans of a similar size, but opted for the open Portofino because of the larger cockpit, sunbathing areas and foredeck. We regularly have 8-10 people onboard for the day, all on the same level, and never feel on top of each other.

In the end, I think its a personal choice about how you use your boat. No right or wrong answer!!
 
I've looked at the Potofino 53 and think it looks a fantastic boat with plenty of living space, the only problem is finding time to travel to France to view one as they only seem to be available around that area. And with the boat now sold we can't even base in Barcelona and go from there. In answer to the previous question we use the boat to stay on for 4 or 5 days monthly and 2-3 weeks cruising in the summer.
 
Hurricane said:
I'm going to get flamed for this but...

I've always thought that you camp on a sports boat and live on a flybridge boat.
Click to expand...
Yes agreed and we've tried both in the Med. IMHO the critical factor is whether you already have a property in the Med and you are just using the boat as a dayboat, in which case a sports cruiser is probably a better choice, or whether your boat is also your Med home, in which case a flybridge is a better choice for the simple reason it has both more interior and exterior space. For me also, if you're boating in Spring and Autumn as well as summer, the interior helm position of a flybridge boat is valuable. I also like having the top deck of a flybridge boat in high summer because that's where you're going to catch any breeze going especially when docked in a marina where it can be a bit hot and humid
 
Albeit on a smaller scale: I took a Targa 34 which was only two years from new out to Sant Carles in 2008, it was fantastic fun, but as we do not have any property in Spain, I soon found any longish stays were difficult. I moved to an F43 flybridge in 2011, a lot more usable space (Sealine did a good job with this boat). I really do however miss the cockpit and performance of the T34 from time-to-time.....

As has been alluded to: For me if I had property a relatively short distance away from the marina, I would probably opt for a good size SC day boat, but if I wanted to stay on the boat several times a year in comfort, for me its definitely forget about performance and go FB boat..... Horses for courses.....
 
I bought a new p42 last year and changed it for a v52 this year. Appreciating I keep the boat in the southwest UK I found sometimes I would be by myself on the flybridge and my 16 & 18year olds would be downstairs on their iPads.

Having a barbecue (or anything else) is a marathon taking all the cutlery,plates and food required up and back. Getting up and down the stairs for elderly relatives is impossible. I also found a flybridge harder to keep clean as it is primarily exposed to the elements. I did consider the p60 but I am all for easy boating and personally felt socialising on a sports boat was more inclusive for all generations.
 
Funnily enough my previous boat was also a new P42, although I bought mine in 2008 - and sold it eight months later. I then bought my current boat, a Fairline Targa 40 sportcruiser as a stop-gap boat before the 'next' boat, and liked it so much I have just finished my sixth season with it.

The points made by Hurricane and Deleted User above about constrained living on sportcruisers have some validity, but for two of us, based in the Med, the big cockpit and sharper performance is much more appealing than the pedestrian and disconnected feel of the P42. We mostly live outdoors on the boat, although I concede that I've never stayed for months at a time on the boat (like Hurricane). That said, for each of the last three seasons I've ended up spending 10-12 weeks on the boat in total across the year. I love it.
 
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Hurricane said:
I'm going to get flamed for this but...

I've always thought that you camp on a sports boat and live on a flybridge boat.
Click to expand...

Mike, you can live and party on both, Like Jimmy, I kept my T40 for six years and that was in the UK. The open Targa 40 is a totally different boat to one with the covers up and I can totally understand why he's kept Vega'. I would love to be able to spend as much time on ours as you guys. :o

As you and Jimmy may remember, we even had a crazy 28 people on it in Yarmouth on ours (just for drinks) one horrible windy freezing night in December. I'm back on a fly now as you know, my third. To me size is a very important factor, below 40 ft, not so good.

Sports boats with a good performance are great fun and feel safe under your seat. Like John, I obviously miss the effortless 30 knots cruising but the overall space and steps down into not so much.

This is the first time the conversation on Sports and Fly-B's has been well balanced and I agree about the living on or visiting from a local home or accommodation.

RR
 
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John100156 said:
Albeit on a smaller scale: I took a Targa 34 which was only two years from new out to Sant Carles in 2008, it was fantastic fun, but as we do not have any property in Spain, I soon found any longish stays were difficult. I moved to an F43 flybridge in 2011, a lot more usable space (Sealine did a good job with this boat). I really do however miss the cockpit and performance of the T34 from time-to-time.....

As has been alluded to: For me if I had property a relatively short distance away from the marina, I would probably opt for a good size SC day boat, but if I wanted to stay on the boat several times a year in comfort, for me its definitely forget about performance and go FB boat..... Horses for courses.....
Click to expand...

I agree with J100156, we have a villa in the SoF and will be moving our own small sports boat down there for next season (after many years of faffing in the UK). We are only 15 minutes from the nearest port and we do not need the space for living accomodation that a flybridge would provide. If your boat is your primary or sole accommodation then a flybridge is the way to go for space (unless you have budget for one of the larger T50 > or V50> generation of SCs) and also the ability to have a sealed and cooled living space above the water rather than down in the hull as is the case with most sports cruisers. The one aspect I really love about flybridges though, you have an appreciably better view of the world at anchor up on the fly. I only recently had experience of sitting on top of a fly at anchor immediately after doing same on a SC during a med trip when we were invited over to lunch from a very nice SC to a very nice FB and the difference was appreciable, you have a panoramic view on top of a fly which you don't get on a SC. Neither fly or SC are shoddy though in the right anchorage. One further advantage of a SC, providing that it is not much more than 30 footish, is that you can dry stack them during the winter or all year round if moorings are difficult to obtain when not in use.
 
In the med I'd choose a flybridge if staying longer periods on board and an open sport cruiser if I had a holiday home nearby. In the UK I'd choose a retractable hardtop either way, so I really think it's horses for courses.
 
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