Inside .vs. Outside Helms

[Boss Lady]

Re: 60' Battlewagon

I am putting a heat exchanger in the helm area that runs off the engine coolant with a blower for winter fishing here in NC. Cheap, easy to install, and very effective. I may put one in the cockpit that runs off the other engine. Nothing like free heat!

 

[Maynard Rupp]

Re: 60' Battlewagon

As a former sportfish owner I VASTLY prefer an open bridge, but believe me, there are days I'd have loved to be able to totally close it up and HEAT it!

This is a great discussion, but it is amasing how these threads get off the subject. We probably should have started a new thread called,"enclosed or open helms". The only thing we lose by not doing so is the ability to retrace the thoughts on this subject. Someone would never think to look in a thread called "Hatteras 60' Battlewagon", for a discussion of inside helms and enclosed bridges. I must admit that although I started the thread, I also contributed to pulling it off subject. Oh well, it is a good discussion.

 

[Genesis]

Ask, and you shall receive around here

 

[Boss Lady]

Re: 60' Battlewagon

LOL, we almost never stay on topic, I got a big laugh when everyone was raising sand about the rules and topics we post. If a thread gets more than 4 or 5 replies it has a 99% chance that it will drift off topic, and we have posted a lot of non-hat topics way before Freebird ever showed up. Just scan the old posts and count the non-tech topics and even before that I was reading what is now been relegated to the archives. The newer members may not know there is the archives of the old forum that did not migrate over with the new software. Somehow the original question usually gets answered and then some. Then we all start responding to a different aspect we learn from each others posts. This is best part and is why there is 41 posts and 800+ views of this thread. We will beat an interesting topic to death and generate 10 more questions along the way. I love you guys! LOL

 

[Bill Allen]

One of the things I really like about my 43 dcmy is the lower helm. On the older hatts the flybridge is rather small. I never use it and have had many a quickly passing thought over taking it off. When we left for the keys last season in the middle of nov. the lower helm was great, I confess to running the genset and turning the heat on. I ran down in my tee shirt, cup of coffe on the helm. I watched all the flybridge guys bundled up in insulated coverals, hats, gloves, brrrrrrrr. No thanks I'll run from below. The aft helm is a piece of cake even when docking and much better for line handling when docking. Bill

 

[Pascal]

just like i dont go out on the boat to be camping and using marina showers, I don't go out on the water to be locked up in air con. I want to smell the ocean, I want to feel the breeze and will pass on an enclosed FB.

I woudlnt' own a boat without a lower helm and side doors. period. they make you life so much easier when docking... no rushing down the FB to get to the lines although i guess cockpit controls can be handy...

In So FL, there is usually always a breeze so running from the FB is usually comfortable except when running downwind and the same speed than the wind in the late afternoon when the sun hits under the bimini.

 

[yachtsmanbill]

Hey Chris--you'll find that you will need to put a BRASS CENTRIFUGAL booster PUMP in line.(jabsco will melt!) That way you will benefit from 180F engine water. ws

 

[Freebird]

Re: 60' Battlewagon

Yeah, well, your 10' seas in the Atlantic aren't normally on a 5-second period.

Try 'em in the gulf sometime and you'll get a whole new level of respect for "ugly" with sea NUMBERS that don't look all that bad.

A "3-5 day" in the atlantic is often not bad at all, as its frequently mostly (or all) swell. Over here it almost NEVER is....

I can attest to the fact that 5 footers will give you all you want in the gulf. They're a walk in the park in the Atlantic and a ripple in the pacific. Stacked up, confused, wind induced five footers are much more difficult than stretched out 15 footers on the left coast.

As for driving up top, I like it better in every situation except rain or seas that get me wet. I like the visibility, and I like the sun in my face and the wind in my hair. I am one with the ocean when I'm up there. To that end, I personally do not like enclosed flybridges.

Pilothouses or lower stations are nice when you are singlehandedly docking your boat. You can get into position and be able to grab lines much quicker than a trip down from the bridge will allow.

 

[yachtsmanbill]

The sportsman's lake will be up to around 18 FEET with a 30 foot step by this afternoon. 40Kt sustained winds with a 50Kt gust for good measure !!
That saltwater taffy is for beginners. There is nothing like nosing into a breaker by 15 feet and then bustin' out! Spray blowin' off the white caps!
Wish my 58 were HERE to really see what that tupperware can handle!!
The Roamer would be "lovin' it"-- ws

 

[(Nobody You Know)]

Re: 60' Battlewagon

Try 'em in the gulf sometime and you'll get a whole new level of respect for "ugly" with sea NUMBERS that don't look all that bad.

Same applies for the Albemarle and Pamlico Sounds. I have seen these 5' 5 second little walls break up a brand new 42' Silverton!! (I was on board the piece of s*** assisting a delivery captain - whom I later suspected was fraudulent - wonder why).

I later got my own license. BTW the VHF weather channels can be rather accomodating.

Capt'n Bill

 

[Bill Allen]

Every time I make the run between Ocean City Md. and Norfolk Va. we hit ugly seas I supose thats why it's called the graveyard of the atlantic. Always starts nice good report from the dart board weather predicters. On the way home tight six foot, we had some larger boats offshore of us and it really suprised me. My old Hatt just plugged along at her thirteen kts. while the 50plus footers might have been doing a kt or two better and based on the spray and motion were getting their clocks cleanned. The old girl just hummed along throwing some spray, no creaking, groaning, or nasty action. Of course I was at the lower helm eatting a sandwich, coffe, or whatever. Meanwhile I find it hard to belive with the water they were taking on the enclosures they could have been very happy. Plus since they weren't able to get to a better speed they were burning a nasty amount of fuel. Bill

 

[MarioG]

So far we have cruised about 1000 miles from the lower helm in our boat. It's nice and dry and I'm not isolated from everyone else.

 

[dwaynec]

On our boat (48 Yachtfish) we have both helms and use both of them. The flybridge on this boat is rather small, so it is limited to about five people, so when there are more than that many guests, I tend to use the lower helm. Otherwise I tend to use the upper helm unless the weather is bad, or I am docking, or going through a lock. You can't beat the view from the flybridge, especially for backing into the slip, but it makes it more time consuming to get from the flybridge to the deck for line handling.

 

[Trojan]

As I had stated in a past post. I have never run my 43 from the lower station. Not in any sea. I have a shelf that sits over the lower helm and a 24 inch TV on the shelf. I can remove the TV and the shelf in just seconds.
It just lifts off in an emergency. But I love the bridge. I have every comfort on the bridge that I have at home less the outhouse. I can seat 5 to 6 people. It's not enclosed YET, but it will be soon and be in such a way that I have lots of windows and screens. Like my last boat. I like the view and the open air. I spend a lot of time on the bridge. I would never have a boat without one.


BILL

 

[Nonchalant1]

IMHO you gotta have both so your bridge can be completely open-air. There's a great feeling to being outside, seeing 360 with no glass or plastic, feeling the wind. My flybridge just has a bimini. I've been on many other bridges where the plastic windows were open, but it's really not the same.

Then, when the weather's bad, just go down where it's dry and you can run the AC or heat.

So......we're all different in what we happen to like, but we all like Hatts.

Doug

 

[34Hatt]

So......we're all different in what we happen to like, but we all like Hatts.

And some of us do the same thing too use a 110 heater if it get real cold. As below

When that happens (not often) I roll down the "back door" of my full enclosure and plug in a small 110v space heater. Fortunately I have four 110v outlets on the bridge, so no extension cords to deal with. It's surprisingly effective, and heats up the entire space pretty well. (T shirts are comfortable) Another thing a bridge heater is good for is keeping the eisinglass free of condensation for those wee hour fishing trip departures

.
But I never thought of heating it the night before
So we all like Hatts and learn from one another

 

[Maynard Rupp]

Boy, we sure have used that lower helm on Unity. We also prefer the bridge and the wind in your face, and whatever. Because we have an inside helm, we only have a bimini top on the bridge. That is the greatest in nice weather and , as a side benefit, can be lowered to go under most draw bridges. We watch many boats wait 30 minutes for an opening while we cruise through with our top down. The other two benefits are rough seas operation as the lower helm is in the middle and low, so you don't get thrown around like you do on the bridge. Of course there are those 40 degree days up here, but that won't happen in Florida, I hope. I also think that helm unit looks cool. I was surprised to find the exact same unit on a similar vintage 52.