Perhaps because sailboat cockpit design doesn't present the same marketing opportunities as the living space below it, it's not unusual to find that cockpit layouts have been compromised in favour of a commodious aft-cabin.
This is borne out by a number of modestly sized boats that accept the disadvantages of a centre-cockpit in favour of a veritable bedroom in the stern where the cockpit should rightly be.
Underway, the cockpit is the centre of activity. Helming, watchkeeping, sail trimming or just plain relaxing - it's all done from here.
Sheets, cleats and jammers should fall readily to hand, and winch handles must be able to operate 'full circle'.
Properly thought out, it will be a satisfying and safe place to be - efficient for sailors and comfortable for our guests.
Foremost in the cockpit designer's mind should be the requirements of the helmsman and the sheet handlers.
For a wheel-steered yacht a 'T' shaped cockpit is often the preferred solution, giving the otherwise trapped helmsman room to move around the wheel into the main part of the cockpit.
The cockpit seats of a tiller-steered yacht must accommodate the sweep of the tiller without interference, and the tiller itself should be of a height and shape to avoid the knees of a sitting helmsman.
It's not enough for the cockpit to be secure; it must also feel secure. But it won't if the sensation is of being perched upon on it rather than being in it.
Security is largely a function of the depth of the cockpit, over which other factors have a controlling influence:~
Other features to be found in a good, sea-going sail boat cockpit layout include:~
Artwork by Andrew Simpson
The final embellishment for the perfect sailboat cockpit is a cockpit table, which four people can sit around comfortable.
Many sailboats with wheel steering have a fixed table attached to the pedestal as shown here, but my preference is to keep the cockpit clear when underway, and have a table that folds down against the pedestal.
Tiller steered sailboats usually have a removable cockpit table for use at anchor or in harbour.
Read here the argument for where the sailboat cockpit is best placed - centre or aft?
Jan 26, 21 08:55 AM
SORRY, NOW SOLD! For more boats like this one that are currently for sale please go to Cruising Sailboats for Sale... Scroll down for more pics... We
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'About Time', a centreboard version of the Sabre 32, is the perfect combination of a racer-cruiser that can take you around to the Florida Keys, the Bahamas,
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'WYRD' is a 1981 Tartan 37. This classic Sparkman & Stephens design performance cruiser, hull #309 is a clean example of one of the most desirable Tartan's
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