Don... that truly is beautiful... Just think of how additionally awesome it would look with perefectly clear view from an the elevation of a Flying Bridge!
Sorry, couldn't help myself.
Lower Helm Station
- Thread starter Barpilot
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Don... that truly is beautiful... Just think of how additionally awesome it would look with perefectly clear view from an the elevation of a Flying Bridge!
Sorry, couldn't help myself.
Moonstruck
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Don... that truly is beautiful... Just think of how additionally awesome it would look with perefectly clear view from an the elevation of a Flying Bridge!
Sorry, couldn't help myself.
Just saw my dermatologist Friday. He froze 3 more places off. Yeah, I've had fly bridges and tuna towers, and I am paying the price. I also like to be on the same level as my anglers. Been there----done that. You really can have a breeze and enjoy the water from a more protected station. With the auto pilot on I can even stroll out to the cockpit. Oh yeah, no oxygen deprivation from altitude.
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We just wish you the best. Certainly a part of boating that scares us. We even have tops for our RIB's. We love the sun but we stay sheltered when we can.
Moonstruck
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Thanks. Here is a shot of our RIB with the 4 grandkids.
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That's so true for so many of us. I've only had one basal cell carcinoma removed from my nose, but that's enough. (My wife says it helped my appearance!) I'm a slow learner though because I didn't use enough sunscreen last week and now I'm paying the price with peeling ears and shoulders. I need to be more careful.
I enjoy the FB in the shade of the bimini for short runs, but the salon has all the comforts of home, a great view and I feel more connected to the boat's systems with ears, nose, ER cameras and 2 fridges.
Don... that truly is beautiful, looks GREAT from your salon!
Just think of how awesome it would look from the clear range of our elevated sight Flying Bridge!
Nope...that's how she looks today.
Looks great!
Good discussion of various perspectives, IMO. (no pun intended) Thanks, Barpilot!
There must be lots of psychology majors on this forum. Sailing has always been pretty uncomplicated. I never had any idea that getting into trawlering was going to be so complicated. With sailing, it's pretty much me, the boat and the weather. I may be getting in over my head. I had no less than three people tell me this weekend that handling a twin screw was just like driving a tractor or bobcat. Ah, that would assume that I have ever had or even wanted to drive a tractor or bobcat......................
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Moonstruck
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Wifey B: Have you ever held a cat? Maybe that counts instead of driving a bobcat. Driving a trawler a lot simpler than sailing. Just new to you. Really the only thing different is the propulsion.
You think lower helm is complicated question. Omg, the arguments you sail people go through on mono vs. cat. And then you have all these different kinds of sails and stuff. I don't even know the names. And you tack and go this way and that. Too much freaking work for me. Oh and I can handle twin screw but never driven a tractor or bobcat or forklift or....lawnmower....I do like the videos though of the drunk guy going down the street riding his lawnmower and getting a DUI.
And sailing you're far more at the mercy of the weather. Important anyway but bail out harder for you dudes. I mean you're off shore and it kicks up. Let's say 30 miles off. Fast boat hits land fast in an hour. Semi in 2 hours, typical trawler in 3. Sail it may be 5 and it may be 10 if the wind is wrong.
We sail only when someone else doing it all and we just ride along and smile and enjoy. Well, we did have 8 foot styrofoam sailboats we'd play with on the lake.
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When I looked for a boat, I wanted to keep it simple. At the time, for me, it meant a seaworthy boat, a pilothouse, and good visibility.
I didn't interpret the question as one or the other but simply was a lower helm a requirement. The assumption I made based on the initial post was that the upper helm was a given. When we insist on a lower helm, it's in addition to the upper helm. Now if the boat doesn't have a bridge then that question never arises and we have no thread.
markpierce
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Trust me. Given the right boat, the view is great even without a flying bridge.
Entering Petaluma River (railroad swing bridge in left foreground, State Highway 37 bridge ahead, with Mahalo Moi and FlyWright leading the way):
First sister and friend, with Mare Island Bridge in background:
Second son with his sweetheart looking at one of western Carquinez's bridges:
Perla and her friend, with the two western Carquinez's bridges (truss and suspension) in background.
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Billylll
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I have a choice and I am probably removing my upper helm. George made a comment about Gr=eorgia fly's in Jersey we have those killer Green Heads. They are around for most of the late summer early Fall. You can't kill them hit them knock them out they still get up to bite you again and again until you squash them. They are attracted to carbon dioxide so once you start your engines they cover the entire boat looking for fresh blood and skin.
Nasty suckers....
Bill
Nasty suckers....
Bill
There are only a few ways (locations aboard while cruising/docking/anchoring... etc) to pilot a pleasure-craft sized (25' to 75'), trawler type power boat.
1. Fly bridge
2. Salon
3. Raised pilot house
4. Remotes – from anywhere aboard
Each of these locations has their own plusses and minuses and each can be outfitted in different ways to gain capabilities as well as comforts/enjoyments.
Just because I choose flying bridge as my favorite location to pilot from makes it no better than salon or pilot house locations to those who prefer those types of piloting setups to utilize most often.
As I've mentioned in previous posts... I not only prefer operating from fly bridge but I also feel it is wise and very helpful to also have completely equipped salon pilot station that serve many useful purposes.
Way I see it: MAIN Thing Here - - > Is that we on TF who are debating from whence/where to pilot our pleasure boats simply means that we USE our crafts and are NOT tied-up dock queen go-nowhere boat owners. For that delightful reason... I have full admiration and applause for any piloting location that any person chooses to prefer!
Happy Pleasure Boat Piloting Daze! - Art
1. Fly bridge
2. Salon
3. Raised pilot house
4. Remotes – from anywhere aboard
Each of these locations has their own plusses and minuses and each can be outfitted in different ways to gain capabilities as well as comforts/enjoyments.
Just because I choose flying bridge as my favorite location to pilot from makes it no better than salon or pilot house locations to those who prefer those types of piloting setups to utilize most often.
As I've mentioned in previous posts... I not only prefer operating from fly bridge but I also feel it is wise and very helpful to also have completely equipped salon pilot station that serve many useful purposes.
Way I see it: MAIN Thing Here - - > Is that we on TF who are debating from whence/where to pilot our pleasure boats simply means that we USE our crafts and are NOT tied-up dock queen go-nowhere boat owners. For that delightful reason... I have full admiration and applause for any piloting location that any person chooses to prefer!
Happy Pleasure Boat Piloting Daze! - Art
In 1950's, during my pre teens, aboard boat on LI NY south shore: One of my rituals was killing those nasty buggers by up to the hundreds when they would at times swarm into the cabin of our then rather small pleasure boat - 1948 23' Chris Craft Express. Hundreds of times aboard that little craft for long weekends and up to four (4) week full-on summer cruises on the New England coast will always remain as one of my favorite boat-time memories! Pop had that great little floater well outfitted to comfortably accommodate parents and us three young boys. Those were great family times!!!
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Billylll
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We also have those nasty no see um's or sand flies they are so thick that you can actually breath them in when inhaling! Jersey is a great cruising area but the bugs can make life miserable!
Bill
Bill
Billylll
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I almost bought a Beneteau Evasion 32 Motor Sailor. The vessel was in great shape but it was just too far away. I started by looking at motor sailors then found a great deal on a 36' Gulfstar.
I needed to replace my highly customized Mainship 40SB. There is only one helm on that boat up top under the hardtop.
Bill
I needed to replace my highly customized Mainship 40SB. There is only one helm on that boat up top under the hardtop.
Bill
Well, driving a twin is really like pushing a grocery cart.
Well, if that's true, I'm totally screwed (or twin screwed) because my wife never lets me drive the shopping cart.
Billylll
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I officially own the 36 Gulfstar as of noon today. I took my wife to finally see it after we closed. We both love the raised salon/ lower helm. I'm about 90% sure another member on this board is going to end up with the upper helm complete with steering, throttles, cab;es, gauges, cushions etc. I need the space for my electronics, solar panels both power and hot water, AIR-X wind generator, the life raft cradle and case and the KVH domes. I'm thinking about putting one of those multi-level platforms for the Radar, Flir, KVH M-3, TracPhone 252, FB-150, steaming and anchor lighting.
It won't be your average looking 36 Gulfstar when I'm done with it.
Bill
It won't be your average looking 36 Gulfstar when I'm done with it.
Bill
Gulfstar 36, asking price $39,900 (asking, not what was offered). Value added in the above electonics, solar panels, AIR-X, etc. $40,000. Am I missing something here? Oh yea, it won't look like any other Gulfstar 36 or be valued like one either.
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Congrats, Bill! She'll look like a porcupine when you're done adding all those systems and antennae!
Barpilot, Bill is very technology-driven...an expert in his field. I bet he'd be the first to say his boat is a platform for playing with his systems. If he couldn't install all the gear, it wouldn't be his boat.
Billylll
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1st I offered $17k and that was the final selling price.
The sea trial and engines even though they are old performed very well. The sea trial lasted 2 hours.
With that being said, I currently have numerous systems that I bought at highly discounted prices. I didn't pay even 30% of the asking price for slightly used or refurbished KVH M3, Skipper-150, TracPhone 252, Wave WiFi's new latest EC N MIMO product (yet to be commercially launched), a VZW LTE USB modem mated to a Cradlepoint router inside a KVH M3 dummy dome, 800 watts of Solar left over from a previous project, DEKA Unisys1 AGM 105AH (8) AGM's that I got for almost free these are brand new. This is only a partial list of upgrades.
Not everyone knows me on this board a few do. This will be a very modern updated Gulfstar and no system will be left untouched. I don't care about the resale value of my boats. We all should know they are money pits but I enjoy updating them. I will be upgrading the sanitation system, waste treatment MSD 1 and III, AC & DC electrical, entertainment systems, FLIR/ Video, solar and alternative charging sources, DC wiring for pure sine wave inverter and one of my favorites LED conversions.
Al thanks for your comments above you do know me and have for years.
Bill
1976 Gulfstar 36 Mark II trawler soon to be renamed "Wireless Too"
1993 Mainship 40 Sedan Bridge Wireless One
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Like all customizations the value is in the enjoyment and use that comes to the owner. It never returns the cost in increased resale value. You don't customize to resell. You do that to own and to have what you own as near your ideal as possible.
Thats why people find old cars in junk yards and spend ten's and ten's of thousands restoring them.
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