robertj
Well-Known Member
Agree a cockpit tent enclosure is brilliant in our changable weather, best item I have had fitted
Sprayhoods going out of fashion?
- Thread starter Impaler
- Start date
Agree a cockpit tent enclosure is brilliant in our changable weather, best item I have had fitted
snowleopard
Well-Known Member
What it really comes down to is whether you prefer to be warm & dry or you regard
the wind and water as part of the experience. I know some peopel don't feel they've
been sailing unless they are cold and wet. Me, I'd prefer to sail in carpet slippers (and often do)
the wind and water as part of the experience. I know some peopel don't feel they've
been sailing unless they are cold and wet. Me, I'd prefer to sail in carpet slippers (and often do)
aquaplane
Well-Known Member
It's not just that, I have often said that boats are a compromise.
There is nothing wrong with changing a sleek zippy sailing boat into a shed to provide half decent living space once you have finished sailing.
Great if you can afford a big enough boat so you don't have to alter it.
We had some grand evenings sat outside chatting with my daughter under the boom tent with a little tipple, while the grandson slept below undisturbed, on an 18 footer, and it was raining. Bung the kid in a cabin and sit in the saloon is easier but it costs more than £3K for the boat, and the running costs are a bit more.
I like warm and dry too.
Iain C
Well-Known Member
I absolutely would not be without mine. Stackpack and sprayhood were a grand and it's the best grand I've ever spent. On a bigger boat, fine you don't need one, but a sub 30 footer in Solent chop can be damp. It's a pain having to open and shut the main hatch every time you want to go below, and it makes a massive difference to what you need to wear in the cockpit IMHO. Also, I personally think that the boat look much better (and bigger) "with" rather than "without", but I think that might be down to C&J's very nice design...I have seen some howlers on other boats of the same class.
Without:
With:
Without:
With:
Sgeir
Well-Known Member
I really couldn't imagine anyone doing much sailing in our northern climes without a sprayhood.
TSB240
Well-Known Member
Each unto ther own I say..
I find the extra comfort of having dodgers and sprayhood on our 26' trailer sailier meant I sailed most of last year in shorts and tea shirt. If I stand up I can get plenty of wind and spray in the face action!
I cant remember having oilies on at any stage last year and we were on board most weekends.
Our new spray hood has minimal windage and good forward visibility. The protection it gives whilst beating makes it far more SWMBO friendly as cold and damp dont help her rhumatic hips.
We also have the option of an over boom Awning/Cockpit tent which more than doubles the habitable space on board and gives a much warmer and better ventilated cabin at night, reducing condensation and keeping out dew and cold draughts if you leave the hatch open..
Our spray hood can be quickly folded flat for launching the spinnaker or if we are too hot and want to cool down with a gust of wind and a wave.
Some people just like dressing up in PVC and cold showers!
I find the extra comfort of having dodgers and sprayhood on our 26' trailer sailier meant I sailed most of last year in shorts and tea shirt. If I stand up I can get plenty of wind and spray in the face action!
I cant remember having oilies on at any stage last year and we were on board most weekends.
Our new spray hood has minimal windage and good forward visibility. The protection it gives whilst beating makes it far more SWMBO friendly as cold and damp dont help her rhumatic hips.
We also have the option of an over boom Awning/Cockpit tent which more than doubles the habitable space on board and gives a much warmer and better ventilated cabin at night, reducing condensation and keeping out dew and cold draughts if you leave the hatch open..
Our spray hood can be quickly folded flat for launching the spinnaker or if we are too hot and want to cool down with a gust of wind and a wave.
Some people just like dressing up in PVC and cold showers!
VO5
Well-Known Member
I think that for long passages in rough conditions a sprayhood is indispensable. But there again it depends upon it being properly cut
so that from the helm it does not restrict vision.
I have a deep centre cockpit.
The rim of the sprayhood is at armpit height if I am standing. This makes it very functional because I can use my arms, and particularly my elbows, to steady myself on it when looking ahead through binoculars.
Then when seated it offers full headroom, so it is a sheltered spot to sit under in the corner to avoid spray and rain.
It also offers protection to the main hatch. There is nothing more annoying than to get the chart table sprayed and the floor at the foot of the steps soaked.
Sometimes this is inevitable. For this purpose I keep an old towel at the foot of the steps and in bad weather the chart on the table is covered with a sheet of trasparent vinyl, so the plots are done in chinagraph if necessary.
The front panel has two vertical zips, so it can be opened and rolled up, offering fresh air underneath it, through it, that is.
Sometimes at anchor or moored I use a canvas boom tent and this arrangement, combined with windscoops fitted on fore and aft hatches keeps the interior reasonably ventilated and cool, because by comparison the effect of cowl ventilators (2) is insignificant.
I sometimes take it down, but perhaps through habit, I feel the boat remains somewhat naked without it.
Its a matter of choice and circumstance really.
so that from the helm it does not restrict vision.
I have a deep centre cockpit.
The rim of the sprayhood is at armpit height if I am standing. This makes it very functional because I can use my arms, and particularly my elbows, to steady myself on it when looking ahead through binoculars.
Then when seated it offers full headroom, so it is a sheltered spot to sit under in the corner to avoid spray and rain.
It also offers protection to the main hatch. There is nothing more annoying than to get the chart table sprayed and the floor at the foot of the steps soaked.
Sometimes this is inevitable. For this purpose I keep an old towel at the foot of the steps and in bad weather the chart on the table is covered with a sheet of trasparent vinyl, so the plots are done in chinagraph if necessary.
The front panel has two vertical zips, so it can be opened and rolled up, offering fresh air underneath it, through it, that is.
Sometimes at anchor or moored I use a canvas boom tent and this arrangement, combined with windscoops fitted on fore and aft hatches keeps the interior reasonably ventilated and cool, because by comparison the effect of cowl ventilators (2) is insignificant.
I sometimes take it down, but perhaps through habit, I feel the boat remains somewhat naked without it.
Its a matter of choice and circumstance really.
trapezeartist
Well-Known Member
In some ways I really dislike my sprayhood, but I couldn't be without it. It's ugly and gets in the way of vision, and also makes it more difficult to go for'ard. It doesn't fold down well, and gets in the way of the cluches when folded. BUT, it keeps the wind and water off, makes sailing in inclement weather much nicer, and stops rain going down the companionway.
It's also going to have a lot of work on it this winter as the stitching is all falling to bits. It was made in Scotland and they don't seem to have much of a concept of UV degradation there.
It's also going to have a lot of work on it this winter as the stitching is all falling to bits. It was made in Scotland and they don't seem to have much of a concept of UV degradation there.
Impaler
Well-Known Member
In some ways I really dislike my sprayhood, but I couldn't be without it. It's ugly and gets in the way of vision, and also makes it more difficult to go for'ard. It doesn't fold down well, and gets in the way of the cluches when folded. BUT, it keeps the wind and water off, makes sailing in inclement weather much nicer, and stops rain going down the companionway.
It's also going to have a lot of work on it this winter as the stitching is all falling to bits. It was made in Scotland and they don't seem to have much of a concept of UV degradation there.
Exactly how I feel, I'm going to see how long I can last this season without it!
WestwardBound
Well-Known Member
Sprayhoods, that's a subject near to my heart, I can barely express how much I depend on sprayhoods. I might be going sailing without a spray hood but by now I can guarantee that my wife and children would refuse.
We started with a Hawk 20 and soon realised that when going out for an entire day a spray hood was essential, so we fitted one. Even on the 20 footer this spray hood allowed all 3 (small) children to get out of the wind, spray and rain - or sun. This meant that as long as we had decent rainware and warm clothes a long day out in Chichester Harbour or nearby was enjoyable and endurable for the family if the weather turned inclement. This prolonged out sailing season so that we would genuinely sail 3 seasons, without expensive oilies.
Learning the value of the shelter was a good lesson so our next boat, a Maxi 34, had a good deep cockpit, windscreen and sprayhood above that, this gave fantastic shelter completely out of the weather until the wind was well abaft the beam. A cockpit tent gave an extra room at anchor or at a berth. This was ideal as the man said, for enjoying the evening while the kids were tucked up below.
Coming back across Lyme Bay a couple of summers ago we had the rain coming in from astern for 6 or more hours, everyone was correctly dressed but even in Summer after some hours of this everyone was getting very very cold indeed (except for the smart youngest one who curled up below as snug as you like).
One time was enough, we subsequently figured out how to sail off the wind with the cockpit tent up to keep the worst of the rain off. You may be able to do this in a cruising boat, depending on the placement of the main sheet traveller etc....
If anyone wants the refreshing breeze it is only a foot away. I love the breeze myself, usually better when it comes without cold rain or sleet.
When it's lovely weather everyone is found in the more open parts of the cockpit or on deck (yes, harnesses and jackstays), sometimes the spray hood even goes down.
There are quite a few modern cruising boats without well planned accomodation for a spray hood. The sprayhood should ideally extend beyond the companionway far enough to be of use and of course good design of winch placement etc is required. The replacement for the 34 also has very good shelter, otherwise we wouldn't have bought it.
If you are on passage with family outside the nicest Summer days anywhere in Northern Europe I think a good spray hood is part of the safety equipment of the boat. Only one crewmember at a time should need to be exposed to the worst of the weather, this way you can have help at hand in the cockpit where you can communicate easily and everybody can have a chance to warm up. If you are lucky enough to have autohelm then even the helmsman can get some shelter if the traffic and other conditions permit.
If you check out the designs of most British boats and the vast majority of Scandinavian boats you'll notice the careful provision for shelter. You also still see a lot of dodgers as well as sprayhoods.
The modern boats without good shelter are likely designed to be racey or appear racey or are intended for the subtropics and tropics.
I've sailed in Med and Caribean a bit. In these climes, in good conditions, I think the spray hood would be much more in the way, certainly if combined with a bimini. For most of the year I'd probably demount it to save it from the UV.
We started with a Hawk 20 and soon realised that when going out for an entire day a spray hood was essential, so we fitted one. Even on the 20 footer this spray hood allowed all 3 (small) children to get out of the wind, spray and rain - or sun. This meant that as long as we had decent rainware and warm clothes a long day out in Chichester Harbour or nearby was enjoyable and endurable for the family if the weather turned inclement. This prolonged out sailing season so that we would genuinely sail 3 seasons, without expensive oilies.
Learning the value of the shelter was a good lesson so our next boat, a Maxi 34, had a good deep cockpit, windscreen and sprayhood above that, this gave fantastic shelter completely out of the weather until the wind was well abaft the beam. A cockpit tent gave an extra room at anchor or at a berth. This was ideal as the man said, for enjoying the evening while the kids were tucked up below.
Coming back across Lyme Bay a couple of summers ago we had the rain coming in from astern for 6 or more hours, everyone was correctly dressed but even in Summer after some hours of this everyone was getting very very cold indeed (except for the smart youngest one who curled up below as snug as you like).
One time was enough, we subsequently figured out how to sail off the wind with the cockpit tent up to keep the worst of the rain off. You may be able to do this in a cruising boat, depending on the placement of the main sheet traveller etc....
If anyone wants the refreshing breeze it is only a foot away. I love the breeze myself, usually better when it comes without cold rain or sleet.
When it's lovely weather everyone is found in the more open parts of the cockpit or on deck (yes, harnesses and jackstays), sometimes the spray hood even goes down.
There are quite a few modern cruising boats without well planned accomodation for a spray hood. The sprayhood should ideally extend beyond the companionway far enough to be of use and of course good design of winch placement etc is required. The replacement for the 34 also has very good shelter, otherwise we wouldn't have bought it.
If you are on passage with family outside the nicest Summer days anywhere in Northern Europe I think a good spray hood is part of the safety equipment of the boat. Only one crewmember at a time should need to be exposed to the worst of the weather, this way you can have help at hand in the cockpit where you can communicate easily and everybody can have a chance to warm up. If you are lucky enough to have autohelm then even the helmsman can get some shelter if the traffic and other conditions permit.
If you check out the designs of most British boats and the vast majority of Scandinavian boats you'll notice the careful provision for shelter. You also still see a lot of dodgers as well as sprayhoods.
The modern boats without good shelter are likely designed to be racey or appear racey or are intended for the subtropics and tropics.
I've sailed in Med and Caribean a bit. In these climes, in good conditions, I think the spray hood would be much more in the way, certainly if combined with a bimini. For most of the year I'd probably demount it to save it from the UV.
Signed Out
Well-Known Member
Ideas
This thread has got me thinking about other possible arrangements and giving me some ideas for my next boat, but so many other jobs to come first.
I do think though that this is an area that is open to interesting experimentation and innovation, and indeed I've seen some lately, but not much, despite the possibility to do it simply and cheaply. I suspect part of the reason is that it's far easier to make something with a Heath-Robinson effect than what would be desirable.
And this being the YM Scuttle rather than PBO2O or Jester...
This thread has got me thinking about other possible arrangements and giving me some ideas for my next boat, but so many other jobs to come first.
I do think though that this is an area that is open to interesting experimentation and innovation, and indeed I've seen some lately, but not much, despite the possibility to do it simply and cheaply. I suspect part of the reason is that it's far easier to make something with a Heath-Robinson effect than what would be desirable.
And this being the YM Scuttle rather than PBO2O or Jester...