CNC Plans not Included

I think, let me try tomorrow, hitting the sack now.

 

The cylinders are 60 foot in front of boat and 6 foot tall.
The view Straight Ahead, and to Either Side 45° is not very good -up close- ... At distance you see everything.
If I have to put a hydraulic helm below it would be a small car type steering wheel and I would leave my lines where they are. From inside you can see all four corners of the boat.

 

Now try a just submerged rock or floating container, move it far enough away that the helmsman can see it.
umm, probably getting too negative. But at least you can get a feel for the problems.
Good watching keeping needs a good view.
remember too that a lot of the time you will have a sail across the roof and in your face. The joys of two masts. Chris White Atlantics put the two in line so downwind wing to wing must involve a lot of peering underneath.
Love computer graphics

 

Ok ... So how do we figure out the % of peering under the sails from the 1% of the time we are at the helm? I wonder how many people sit there with eyes glued on the horizon?

Also if I am navigating a reef or the shallows, I most likely wouldn't be doing it under sail, I would probably be on the bow with a remote and under power. As for the container or even coral heads, the higher you are the easier it is to see, even if it's farther away.

That is good reason to keep it slow and I don't want any appendages that don't kick up. I wouldn't mind also having a small ridge of UHMW and I want the bows to curve up before they go plumb. If I hit, I want to go over it with the least damage possible, could be a whale sleeping, I'd feel pretty terrible if I killed a whale.

 

Check This Out!! Just what I was looking for!


edit: Dang, it's just a concept! Anyone know of something like this?

 

What we have here is sailing philosophy. When under sail how much emphasis are you going to place on "good" watch keeping?
Good weather, good AIS and radar, 1000 feet of water under the keel and no land for 300 miles. Crank up the autopilot and enjoy the ride.
Now, when things go south I'd like to think that the designer had anticipated the problems and the bad weather and the helmsman was well supported. Nothing is ever perfect, get the best possible without motorizing things.

 

Uos is correct in that the forward visibilty is not good enough from there. Imagine pulling into a marina in flukey winds - you cant see the marina pontoons when you right in close. A good remote control system would be mandatory and gets around this problem. Theres dozens more situations where you do need to see whats happening around you like a busy harbour on regatta day and such like. You could make it work from where you have it if it were a bit higher still.

I think an arrangement like this is perhaps mlre suited to a forward cockpit like gunboat or chris white etc. Youll have to rearrange your galley to walk fwd up to it and youll need a few blocks to lead your sheet ropes to it but otherwise satisfies the rest of your design goals?

 

My suggestion? eliminate all the topside stuff so you have a clean sheet of sails, hulls, and bridgedeck (no galley). This is a massive space. Where do you feel you would want to steer from?
Forget the guests, where would you feel most in control? Is there a position that makes you feel comfortable.
groper, my pet peeve are fools in powerboats.

edit. nav station to stbd of helm? Nav stn is down or up? Thinking of air flow, galley/range etc should be aft?

 

Most catamarans that I see have compromised helm positions. I probably had it in the best spot next to the galley as far as seeing all four corners of the boat but low angle to the water makes it hard to see submerged objects.

The MC50 has it at the back of the roof but the roof slants down. Maybe if I tweaked the roof I could accomplish the same.

 

Have any Mc50 been built and weighed? Large solid roofs, twin helms, rigging etc etc with a very open main level = very heavy beams etc etc.
The sloped roof is good. Still like this view.
No shiny glass solar panels to disturb the view. You even have the sails gone.

 

The Chris White designs used to be my number 1 fav but helm is too unprotected. I would however like to be able to have some steps up to the wingdeck from the salon ... Now that the masts are relocated, I can probably do that thanks to another beam forward that crosses next to where the new masts are positioned.

Let me try lifting the back of the roof a bit and see what it does to view angle

PS. I don't know about that MC boat but so far they have the lightest 60 footer I have come across. Their boats are pricey too.

 

Take that CW helmsman and imagine him standing just under your roof. He can move into the sun or out as desired. Out of the rain as needed.

 

Yeah, that is how they describe it on CW's site videos. Having the helm under the roof would be higher on my list than having it out in the open.

Angling and raising the roof and creating troughs over the areas people don't walk, ie counters ... would improve visibility quite a lot. How to connect the roof to the deck to make it look good is another project in itself. This is why everyone has low bridgedecks!!

 

Looking better.
Remember your insect netting. That was one of your earlier requirements.
Putting angles and troughs on the roof will stiffen the roof considerably. Higher cost? Maybe not.

 

The mc50 render shows what is essentially a fly bridge. This is fine and amounts to what i said eariler- if you raise it it will work.

This is all at the expense of upwind performance mind you- ask anyone who has sailed a fly bridge sailing catamaran how well they go upwind