Helm Station Design for larger cruisers...

Tom - when you're seated at the helm, can you comfortably reach the wheel at the same time as you are reclined against the seat's backrest?

The problem that might arise from the dimension's that Grant gave - as given in turn by Proboat - is that for most people your head would be lower when seated than when standing. My bum's about 800mm off the floor (31.5"), so Tom's 32" seat height would ensure equal vision regardless of whether you are sitting or standing (which is as he suggested it should be)

 

Will,

I don't recline while driving but can sit against the seatback while driving. The seatback is at 10 degrees to the seat. For comfort with this arrangement, there must be a good footrest. I made mine retractable on both seats but rarely ever fold them and it's an unnecessary complication. They have to be at different angles though because the longitudinal space needed for the steering station & instrument panel (as I designed it) is 6 1/2 inches greater.

 

- ok poor choice of words - perhaps more suitable to Fred's suggested driving position...

 

Freds Helm" , has the idea , but you need a few items mounted along side so no movement is required.

A windshield wiper switch , a signal horn button, the VHF and XM sat radio controlls , should be located where the beverage wont spill on them.

I would suggest a "Stewardess Call" button , from my past life , but too many wives read this board.

FAST FRE"D

 

ABYC H-1 should be referenced also when designing the helm,
the criteria for establishing the seat height is given,etc....

 

The Proboat no.48 is general text, for faster larger boats. There are no diagrams, and mainly all they say about the wheel and seat is that you should be able to sit near the wheel/control station, and this requires that your knees can fit under the wheel. The wheel is best at 30degrees from horizontal, or steeper is OK as long as your knees don't hit it. Horizontal wheels don’t work for this. Height is around 39 max for an angled wheel and 36 for a vertical wheel of 20 inches.

The seat should give good support back and on the sides, and include a seatbelt or harness. There is nothing said about sliding of the seat or up and down adjustments. I think sliding back and forth is a given requirement, and up and down is needed to provide visibility to different size people.

The seat should slide to at least within 6 inches of the wheel or closer. More important is that you have 6 inches vertically between the seat top and wheel bottom. You need a minimum of 9" horizontal space when the seat is back all the way, 12 is better, and 16 if you have a side exit door next to the helm seat. Height of the seat should allow you to get your knees under the angled wheel and will come out at around 24 - 28 inches. For the vertical wheel, where that is not really possible, there is a trend to have even higher seats - increasing visibility - up to 36 inches. I figure having a seat for the angled wheel arrangement, that goes up that high would be a fine idea - especially if you put some foot rests up on the consol, so you could 'Fast Fred" navigate when things where quiet

What I miss so far in my browsing around, but I assume someone has developed it, is a wheel that can be moved up and down, and the horizontal position changed too (and of course, it should turn so you can steer...)

One of the reasons to be able to get nearer the consol, is so you can use the controls comfortably too, and since most throttles today still are the half circle push pull type, with a radius of around 8 inches, you need to be sure you can use if while seated, especially the back, higher speed, control part of the arc. Also, angle the control up at around 30 or more degrees so that your normal running speed throttle position is around vertical.

The footrest, built into the bulkhead under the wheel, or onto the pedestal of your expensive helm seat, is a must. The rest on the pedestal is probably not as comfortable, and you have to make the effort to swing it up out of the way when you want to stand (they are narrow flat, usually metal plates, and right around shin height...)

Don’t forget to provide at least 4 inches space from the aft edge of the wheel forward to the bulkhead at foot level.

The consol should be at 30 degrees, switches, etc on that part, and a bit further forward, angle it up to 60 or 70 degrees, and mount your gages and other high tech screens...

Visibility is an important consideration. For sure you need to meet some standard visibility rule when standing - as I and Doug mentioned, the ABYC H-1 paper says you see water over the bow at 4 boat lengths or 162feet, which ever is less. If you can assure this from the seated position, all the better!

Doug’s PDF files are great - the ergos one sums up many of the dimensions I quote above (however the angle of the wheel can be debated, and the min height for the angled wheel can probably go down to 34 inches (mind you, we are not talking about smaller, low profile, speed boat seating here...).

The ISO paper says pretty much what the ABYC H1 says (I believe ISO and ABYC cooperated on the ISO version)

What we have not touched on is how well you can see around you... and all I have to say is that forward you want almost un-interrupted visibility around, and aft, as much as is physically possible. The ISO paper of Doug gives actual rules.

I am still looking for the guard paper from the "70s (CG-D-68-77) and found our someone in the Coast Guard who knows there is a physical copy somewhere, but I can not order via the web as they suggest as their listings only go back to 1990!

The autopilot switch is best located on the latch of the beer cooler... with each can having a hand remote built in - for instant responsiveness in case of emergencies, or when you want to adjust your speed when watching the wake, to see if you can make it big enough to swamp that little sailboat...

 

For giant cockpits Lewmar makes a wheel that folds!

One can still steer while its folded , so it could be a great space saver.

FAST FRED

 

You are right Fred, wives do read the odd thread. A button to summon near the wheel would suit me fine too. Wilma

 

Ouch - looks like you've been done again Fred!