Sports (open) boats, old hat?

[crazy4557]

+1 to all of that. The covers on the T40 are a bit of a nuisance in the UK, because inevitably you put everything back on at the end of each visit to the boat. This season in France I took all the covers off except the top at the beginning of June, and didn't put them back on the boat until end of September. For the Med, the open sports boat with the bimini top but no side covers is the better choice imho. Hardtop much more suitable for UK boating.

Cheers
Jimmy

Same as you Jimmy but in the UK on my V40 I've just spent the whole summer months until end of September with just a tonneau cover. Much better than faffing around with covers and horrible zips. Only used the bimini section a couple of times when the sun shone and that bit was easy peasy. You guys with open cruisers should try this method. Just unclipping a tonneau is a 5 min operation, fold it up and chuck in the aft cabin....job done

 

[MapisM]

for a Tuesday chuckle here is Exhibit 1 from illustrious builder Uniesse no less

LOL, yeah, I see what you mean. Form over function springs to mind.
But if seen in flesh, that helm station is not as bad as it looks in the pic, from a visibility standpoint.
First of all, it's pretty high, and neither the raised dashboard nor the boat bow actually hinder the forward visibility.
Secondly, the galley on stbd side is lower and completely open, and the windows are wide enough to give a good overview of the "give way" sector.
And last but not least, the separation behind the helm chair, which looks like a solid wall in that pic, actually allows a good visibility also astern, because it's styled as a window blind.

All that said, I agree that the side door with no window is plain stupid, and I would have preferred the whole helm station on stbd side rather than port.
And also the accessibility to the instruments leaves something to be desired, but that has not a lot to see with safety, it's "just" a matter of comfort.

 

[jfm]

That is unbelievable. The designer or ergonomist or whatever they call them these days should be strapped to the helm seat and made to drive the boat across a busy shipping lane like the E Channel. Its that kind of 'compromise' that would put me off a boat completely because it makes me wonder if they could f*** up such a fundamental element of the design, what else could they have got wrong

I totally agree with you Deleted User. While the windowless door is clearly the biggest crime there, you also have a too-upright seat, nav screens that can't be reached from the seat etc. That is one hell of a poor passagemaking boat. The thing i can't get my head around is that these are premium brands. They're supposed to be better than, say, Fairline. SanLorenzo too is premium stuff but their helms are terrible.

 

[MapisM]

SanLorenzo too is premium stuff but their helms are terrible.

Well, I for one wouldn't mind cruising in this p/house...

 

[matm]

Ok, more to come shortly however the "open" vote got it. A deal has been struck and given some of our good friends boat in sunnier climes, we've gone "open" but not "sports" - more lounging around with the canvas off. BTW this is not a "we've moved to the med" thread. Yet...

Looking at moving from Puerto Solento in the short term to Hamble over the winter then poss on its own bum over to Spain to see our friends. Adventure ahead and once it's ours (handover poss next week), I'll post some pics.

Thanks for the advice to date and will post pics when she's ours.

Cheers, Mat

PS. @VP - yep she did >32k loaded so we're good

 

[volvopaul]

Ok, more to come shortly however the "open" vote got it. A deal has been struck and given some of our good friends boat in sunnier climes, we've gone "open" but not "sports" - more lounging around with the canvas off. BTW this is not a "we've moved to the med" thread. Yet...

Looking at moving from Puerto Solento in the short term to Hamble over the winter then poss on its own bum over to Spain to see our friends. Adventure ahead and once it's ours (handover poss next week), I'll post some pics.

Thanks for the advice to date and will post pics when she's ours.

Cheers, Mat

PS. @VP - yep she did >32k loaded so we're good

Matt have you done the deal we spoke about ? I won't spill the beans on the new toy, pm will do .