Yachting Dahlink...it's so....Suburban! Carl is right, if I started telling you guys the stuff I've been getting away with out there on the ocean all these years, your toes would curl and your jaws would drop! RRRRRR, mateys, pull up your stool, grab yer grog, and let me tell you about taking my lovely wife to Grand Bahama when we were just starting to date! I think we'd been seeing each other for no more than two months, and I told her I wanted to take her on a "weekend getaway." Well, our weekend came, and we left from Stuart in my handy-dandy Adventure 208 Grady-White (I was doing the Professional Mariner Training at Chapman's School of Seamanship). It was only 3 to 5 as we came out of the inlet, and I blandly told Marianne that the waves would "smooth out into rollers" as we went further out in the stream. The 208 is a hell of a boat, you can dial it in with the trim tabs, autopilot, and GPS for a slow plane in just about anything. Man, we were in just about anything. Marianne wound up standing behind the two chairs in a "jet ski" mode. We had wind steady at 25+, seas 6-10, so I decided to pretend to fish so she wouldn't think anything of it. I was sitting on my ass on the cockpit floor with my feet and toes gripping for dear life as I tossed an artificial over the back on one of my bigger trolling rods. Just about then, a USCG helicopter came zooming up out of nowhere, and hovered no more than 20 feet above the Bimini top. So I just smiled and waved, sitting there on the deck. We finally got to West End, and we pulled in to the marina there to clear customs. The first thing we see is the Coast Guard chopper and crew busy airlifting somebody out of there on a gurney. We never did find out any details on that. Then, just as we were getting ready to leave to go over to Xanadu, some joker off a sportfish comes waking over and says "your wife still talking to you after that crossing?" Man, I almost got away with it, but then Marianne began to decode the conversation and realize that maybe 6-10' seas aren't what everybody else goes out in after all. Truth is though, she got her initiation done early and the only other time she's ever been unhappy on my boat was the time we did the same thing coming back from Nassau at night. You guessed it, 6-10' seas in the dark! She still gets pissy about that from time to time, until I remind her that SHE INSISTED on being back for a court date Monday morning (she's an attorney)!
Ok Captains, let me ask you a question I have not seen posted. What do YOU, as a professional or advanced amature consider the "perfect" helm station within the pilot house and the flybridge area. That is, what kind of ergomomics to you prefer for charts, instruments, your tail and overall viewing? Lets start with a yacht like ship say 85 ft and a 25 to 30 ft beam for a scope of yacht dimensions.
chase boats? Could someone please tell me something about chase boats. I believe I know the concept. Fuel, supplies repairs etc. My main question is there a special licenses or cert. that is needed other than the proper tonnage. capt t
Raised pilothouse for sure. If it is flushed deck, I normally dock and undock from the lower station. The most unique set up I have worked on was an old Choey Lee 66LRC where the lower station was removed and the galley located in this position with an inclosed raised Portugese pilot house where the flybridge was. Had inclosed head and pilot berth. I liked it!! A "Captain Kirk" helm chair which is fully reticulating and has autopilot controls in armrest would be super.
About South Atlantic Sea I live there and I know the zone, if anyone like to come here I can help you. It has very nice places and now is very cheap. Don´t forget to contact me for crew here in the south, or for places to visit. From Brazil to Antartica. Best regards Captain Alex balyachts@2vias.com.ar
Good subject. Touches on some pet gripes on the newer yachts I skipper. True story: While woodworking on a 110' steel yacht under construction in Seattle, I was called to the office. Waiting was the company owner and the vessel owner who were debating a design question. They knew I was a licensed skipper so they asked, "Do we need to put windshield wipers on this boat?" Having enough sense to not laugh I tried to support the concept that visibility was desireable. My view was finally vetoed by the boat owner who pointed out that his extensive instrumentation was the reason he didn't need to see forward through the windows. The boat was completed without wipers but with a forest of 'biggest that money could buy' screens directly in front of the captains best efforts to navigate. So my point is that I like to see a clean dash (compass deck) whereby blinding lights can be suppressed easily. Wiper switches are easily accessable without reaching. Guages can be read at a glance (old flying habits). I've been on boats that had so much clutter in the pilot house I've been forced to weather the open flybridge for safety. Of course here in the Pacific NW we have more logs to deal with than most areas and that could make a difference. Interesting subject, wish I had more time to expand.......G
Yikes! I'm surprised an owner would take such a position. Thanks for that Capt Gary. BTW, there have been some fun threads on bridge design here - http://www.yachtforums.com/forums/special-features/3551-wheelhouse-round-up.html http://www.yachtforums.com/forums/g...sion/3555-wheelhouse-round-up-discussion.html Kelly Cook
