Top Five Needed Boat Features

What are your Top Five Needed Boat Features?

OK to list more or less long as they are really Needed.

"Sub Category" perfectly OK too!

Our Top Five:

1. Flying Bridge - Me
2. Up Galley with Full Accommodations and Large Windows - Linda
3. Accessible, Room-To-Work-Inside, Stand-Up Engine Compartment - Me
4. Master Stateroom with Head/Shower, Closet, Queen Size Bed, Storage - Us
5. Roomy Comfortable Locations to Relax - Both Inside and Outside - Us

Sub Category [not 100% needed/necessary]:

A. Twin engines - Me
B. Easy To Keep Exterior and Interior Clean - Us
C. No Outside Bright Work; Varnished or Otherwise - Us
D. Upper and Lower Helm Station with Full Controls - Me
E. Gen Set - Us
F. Planing Hull - Us
G. Full Safety Railing All Around All Exterior Areas - Us

Nice list agree with all the wood on the inside, one more we added was access to the fly ridge from the salon or pilot house. Last thing I wanted was someone walking to the black of the fly bridge in back weather, then down a ladder where they can't be seen or heard.

Some important items depend on where you boat. In FL no need for a lower steering station - takes up room and would seldom be used. If however you have the room then why not.

Seakindly
Spacious pilot house w/360' visibility
Room to work on engine
Saloon down

Our top 5 not in order:
1) No exterior teak and safety rails all around
2) Single engine w/skeg for low maintenance (Single Lehman)
3) Queen and shower in master with escape hatch on stern
4) Access steps (not ladder)to fly bridge for our dog and my old legs
5) Good HVAC

Art said:

What are your Top Five Needed Boat Features?

Click to expand...

HEAT!!!
No heat, no sale.

I like your list and aside from the bridge and engine room space, the rest, depending on boat size would move around in the top 10.

These would be on my "needed" list after HEAT.

Side boarding gates
Easy bridge access
Motorized tender
Windless controls on the bridge

Sub category:
Lots of outside stowage
Somewhat raised bulwarks all the way forward
Windshield washers

timjet said:

In FL no need for a lower steering station - takes up room and would seldom be used. If however you have the room then why not.

Click to expand...

Unless you fully enclose the flybridge, I would say that having a lower helm station was a good thing for several reasons:

1: you may go somewhere besides FL

2: you may sell it to someone who lives where it gets cold.

3: you may need to go somewhere in cooler / wet weather and it's absolutely horrid on a flybridge in the rain at 10 kts or faster.

To your list I added:


Wide, safe feeling side deck for foredeck access
NO STAIRS
Diesels
Planing ability for those times when speed is an advantage
Inline engine design rather than V8 for easier access and simplicity
No inside helm unless over 50'
Full size queen bed with no low overhead or climb over necessary for late night head calls.
Aft or amidships master to avoid wave noise at anchor.
Second emergency exit from master cabin




IMO you are doing the correct analysis because once you have the list the brand or what the maker calls the style doesn't matter. You cam compare boats of different brands as equal because for your needs they are.


Our goal was to never get on a different boat after we bought ours and say we wish we had seen this one first. In 15 years we never did.

Not in order:

- No exterior wood
- Good head
- Good, separate, shower
- Good, island master berth
- Good sidedecks
- Flying bridge
- Stairs to the flying bridge (no ladders)
- Swim platform
- Transom door- some way to carry a decent dinghy


All that, with a decent boat attached. (The latter two are partly for the big dogs, too.)


-Chris

Top five...

1. Engine access - lots of room, strong preference for twins, and a SEA CHEST (why don't more builders use these?)

2. Safe exterior for working - wide walk around and high rails

3. Seakindly - prefer wide FD or SD hull, high freeboard

4. Galley up, after cabin master with walk around queen

5. Spacious flying bridge with stairs (not ladder)

Top five list for me:
1 seaworthiness.
2 redundancy/ reliability fault tolerant systems.
3 singlehand friendly. If I'm incapacitated my wife needs to be able to get us both back home safely.
4 low maintenance, no teak, steel or aluminum hulls or trim. Prefer to spend time using the boat as opposed to a perpetual project.
5 comfort. For my wife that meant a bath tub and all that goes with that.



Spell check via iPhone.

I've thought that about women.
Gotta be this and gotta be that.
But when you fall in love w a woman that does poorly on your list you feel a little dumb.
I wouldn't say must this or that. Re the woman I (just possibly) could go w one not a Christian if she looked like Taylor Swift.
You may seem to think you need 10 knots but then go crazy for a Willard and after 10 years wonder what you were think'in back then.
I had an UL aircraft that climed at 1400FPM (fast and steep) and got a big lust for another that climbed at 350fpm. It just changed my flying style. I loved them both.

I say have a list as a searching tool but be prepared to wander .. maybe a lot.

Here in the PNW not much need for a fly bridge so
1 raised pilot house
2 single diesel
3 large salon
4 transom door
5 salty lines

Single diesel
Walk around decks
Enclosed Flybridge
Walk around master bed
Galley down/open salon

Russ Borman said:

Here in the PNW not much need for a fly bridge

Click to expand...

I would have to look long and hard at a west coast boat without a bridge. To each etc...

Russ Borman said:

Here in the PNW not much need for a fly bridge

Click to expand...

I disagree with this. Where we live it's a desert, gets real hot, plus we boat all year. Outside (fly bridge) helm is a must for me.

The other five:
1) easy access around the engines for maintenance
2) no exterior wood and interior wood at a minimum
3) three staterooms and two heads, both with standup showers
4) salon, galley and lower helm all on one level
5) easy cruise speed plus ability to get on plane if I want to

It would be great if you started a poll so we could gather statistics.

TOP 5 ATTRIBUTES:
1. Comfortable motion inherent in the form of the hull (without stabilizers)
2. Stabilization at anchor
3. Seaworthiness
4. Standup engineroom
5. Functional pilothouse - no flybridge needed
6. Comfortable interior - not a shoebox
7. Super-efficient household appliances (oops, that's 7 items)

Our requirements for a boat to do the Loop and cruise inland rivers, in no particular order.

These are items that must come from factory

-Seaworthiness including offshore up to 200 nm.
-Flybridge
-Helms, lower and upper
-Draft no more than 5'6", preferably no more than 5'
-Air draft no more than 19'1"
-Sleeping accommodations for 8
-Washer and Dryer
-Refrigeration and Freezing adequate for 8 people for one month.
-Cruising speed at least 20 knots
-Range at economic setting of at least 450 nm
-Capability of carrying 11', 700 lb RIB
-Watermaker
-Generator, (2 Preferred)
-Inverter
-Autopilot
-Thrusters bow and stern
-Galley up
-A/C and Heat
-Dishwasher
-Stabilizers
-Appearance and aesthetics we could be happy with (includes Teak and other wood)
-Safe stairs to and from all levels
-Adequate working space in engine room
-Adequate walk around on both sides
-Rails to a safe height
-Twin CAT, MAN, or MTU engines with conventional drives. No pods.
-Comfortable and adequate space
-Door from lower helm to side deck

Items that could be added post purchase although factory preferable

-All electronics including satellite, FLIR, and Sonar, upper and lower, with second system for backup
-Joystick with remote controls
-Fresh water anchor and deck wash
-Wifi
-Stern Capstan's
-Televisions throughout
-Camera system for security and docking
-Adequate anchor with 300' all chain and windlass
-Twin helm seats upper and lower
-Added security features including non-lethal deterrence
-Spare parts and accessories and consumables
-Electric grills on decks
-Easy means on and off regardless of type docking
-Adequate and convenient shorepower regardless of type docking
-Alarm and monitoring system
-Ability to enclose aft deck and flybridge, hardtop for bridge
-Mattresses of our choice

Art said:

What are your Top Five Needed Boat Features?

OK to list more or less long as they are really Needed.

"Sub Category" perfectly OK too!

Our Top Five:

1. Flying Bridge - Me
2. Up Galley with Full Accommodations and Large Windows - Linda
3. Accessible, Room-To-Work-Inside, Stand-Up Engine Compartment - Me
4. Master Stateroom with Head/Shower, Closet, Queen Size Bed, Storage - Us
5. Roomy Comfortable Locations to Relax - Both Inside and Outside - Us

Sub Category [not 100% needed/necessary]:

A. Twin engines - Me
B. Easy To Keep Exterior and Interior Clean - Us
C. No Outside Bright Work; Varnished or Otherwise - Us
D. Upper and Lower Helm Station with Full Controls - Me
E. Gen Set - Us
F. Planing Hull - Us
G. Full Safety Railing All Around All Exterior Areas - Us

Click to expand...

We would absolutely agree with 10.5 out of your 12. Only place we differ is we do like teak.

Wifey B: Teak getting a bad rap from you dudes....:lol:

BandB said:

Wifey B: Teak getting a bad rap from you dudes....:lol:

Click to expand...

Probably because most of us are old enough to be your grandparents and you pay someone to care for it.

BandB said:

Wifey B: Teak getting a bad rap from you dudes....:lol:

Click to expand...

They've forgotten what it is. It's just a bad word now.

Also I believe we're using the word "teak" in place of wood.

Top five:

1. Displacement hull
2. Active stabilization
3. Ocean crossing range
4. Comfort
5. Quality of design and build

BandB said:

Wifey B: Teak getting a bad rap from you dudes....:lol:

Click to expand...

In my case, I love the look of teak and varnished mahogany on outside and inside; bet most other boat owners do too. Dislike the self-work it takes to keep it beautiful; bet most other boat owners do too.

Not all boaters have out-sourced boat-maintainers/keepers. Depending on the condition of wood and its finishes desired as well as depending on how pretty the boat owner wants the wood to "always" look... means a lot regarding how much time/effort is required. I was brought up working on wooden boats and know just how to keep em really pretty... but... when young I was getting paid to do that! At my age I feel no need to have that glamor/bling on my boat - especially if it is me who needs to keep it looking that way!

There are some really great posts-inputs regarding owners' needs/requirements of a boat in order to want to purchase it.

The reasons here should be a good check list for newbies coming to TF and looking to learn what is important in a boat for reasons-of-needs.

Keep em coming!

My list is focused on stuff that is not easy to change and coastal cruising.


Wide side decks, critical for safety going forward
NO LADDERS
No inside steering unless over 50'
Full size queen bed with no low overhead located aft or midships away from bow slap at anchor
Island bed to avoid climbing over someone at night.
Inline engines, not V8s, for simplicity and ease of work
Second, emergency exit from main state room
ability to plane when necessary
sharp bow entry and reasonable dead rise aft, decent bow flare for dry ride
Solid glass bottom mandatory
No balsa anywhere preferred
No exterior teak or any wood
Good sight lines forward and aft.
comfortable salon for extended living

Wifey B: I've washed the teak...not most of the time, but I have. We follow the manufacturer's instructions and use their cleaners. I honestly don't see that there's a huge difference between cleaning the teak and cleaning a fiberglass deck, both done well. Dirt and stains remove about the same. There are some stains and streaks you get on fiberglass you don't get as much on teak. Perhaps I think people are underestimating the task of keeping fiberglass decks truly clean. I think sometimes people are willing to let them go when they aren't willing to do the same on teak. So, I've seen teak cleaned a bazillion times and I've done it myself a few, and just don't see the big difference.

And, yes, I'm younger....guilty. Not young enough to be the granddaughter to many of you though. Well, guess could be if you had a kid at 18 and they had one at 18 as I'm now 35. So if you're 71 I could be.

BandB said:

Wifey B: Teak getting a bad rap from you dudes....:lol:

Click to expand...

Depends on how many decades you have had to put up with maintaining it yourself.

psneeld said:

Depends on how many decades you have had to put up with maintaining it yourself.

Click to expand...

Wifey B: But then doesn't the fiberglass too? I've seen some very bad looking decks after years. I don't fault those who say no to teak. I do think though that it's a lot less work if one always follows the manufacturers care instructions. Now, part of the reason so many have teak issues is the PO didn't care for it properly. Not long ago in a country that shall remain nameless I saw someone turned loose with a pressure washer on teak. Can you say bye bye teak as it goes floating out to sea.

If you need to ask....you really haven't spent much time with teak.