Sky lounges showing up everywhere?

Has anyone else started seeing enclosed flybridges on new boat designs? Hampton and McKenna have it as well Grand Banks 650SL, Ocean Alexander, and a few others...

McKenna and Hampton share the same designer and look similar to each other.

https://grandbanks.com/our-yachts/grand-banks/grandbanks60/#gb60sl

I wonder how it handles in a storm, being that high up and no lower helm station to retreat to.

Seahorse Marine is now offering a flybridge option for Coots.

I personally don't like the idea of no lower helm, but on the other hand have always thought the Krogen Whalebacks and Manatees were pretty nice boats and not too far different from this concept. My aversion is that I think in terms of Ann and I handling the thing, or my single handling, and neither of us beings particularly adept.

I do get the enclosed "sky lounge" bridge concept, though our strong preference is to be out in the unobstructed fresh air on fair weather days.

caltexflanc said:

I personally don't like the idea of no lower helm,

I do get the enclosed "sky lounge" bridge concept, though our strong preference is to be out in the unobstructed fresh air on fair weather days.

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The builders of Sportfishing boats led the way as they don't see the point in a lower helm. Hatteras doesn't sell any of their motoryachts with lower helms. The plan is you operate from the bridge and have more room inside. However, most people then want the bridge enclosed one way or another. Doing so with strataglass and such works but not the same as permanent. I'd say 50% of theirs are selling with enclosed bridges/sky lounges.

I still like to be able to get outside and enjoy the feeling of riding in the open air, like a convertible auto, when the weather is good. We kept our loop boat all buttoned up on the bridge until the temperatures crossed 70 degrees, then took the sides and front down and kept them down.

We have both upper and lower helms and conning from the fly bridge in rough water you could end up doing yourself a mischief.
We always con at sea from the lower helm for safety as it also lowers the weight distribution.
As for enclosed fly bridges they remind me of a Pope mobile.
Just my opinion as a WASP

So many different boats, so many possibilities, so many opinions......

I love sky lounges! You can pipe A/C and Heat. Defroster. No lower helm to money with or plastic windows! But my year boat they just didn't do much of that back then.....

Sun and heat will be flogging in through that GB windows.

Personally i wouldn't have a live aboard without Portuguese bridge and enclosed helm.
But I will be replacing two of our front windows with top half openers as even with the large eyebrow it gets toasty on an airless summer day but I can always take a step sideways onto the portuguese bridge.
Also considering extending the eyebrow and reflective filming the windows.

Sky Lounge. I love that name! I'm going to be using that one.

Seems pretty natural on a 60'er. Even on my tiny 36'er, I leave all the vinyl up most of the time. On hot days I have openings in the fore, aft and side panels, but even then I'll leave the panels themselves zipped in almost all the time.

I always run from the flybridge. Even on the original delivery run, taking spray over the flybridge bimini, it never even occurred to me to run from below.

We used to call our flying bridge the Lido Deck. We had a full enclosure for it from a PPO, but neither we nor the the PO ever used it. And we used the FB a lot.

stubones99 said:

Has anyone else started seeing enclosed flybridges on new boat designs? Hampton and McKenna have it as well Grand Banks 650SL, Ocean Alexander, and a few others...

McKenna and Hampton share the same designer and look similar to each other.

https://grandbanks.com/our-yachts/grand-banks/grandbanks60/#gb60sl

I wonder how it handles in a storm, being that high up and no lower helm station to retreat to.

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Hmmmm enclosed fly bridge, inside passage to the upper station and a lower station too.

Want a thrill? Try a tuna tower in a storm. I'll be inside.

Really not new or a big deal. Take a look at East coast head (charter fishing) boats for the last 60 years. Separate piloting house has been the norm. The object is to keep the live cargo out of the captain's way. They're not much fun to drive in a beam sea, but there's always a few strategicly positioned grab bars to hang on to.

Use to do some second captain trips on a boat called the Seeker. We would leave Montauk, Long Island and go 100 miles SE to a wreck called the Andrea Doria. On one trip coming back we ran into a storm with gale force winds and 15 to 20' seas. The ride in the wheelhouse of that 60' Harkers Island (wood boat) could best be described as 8 hours on a mechanical bull. We refer to it as our "Perfect Storm Trip".

You couldn't give me a boat without a lower helm or a mid level pilothouse. You can pick the weather you will go out in, not what you come back in.

Ted

I'm not a fan of climbing a ladder or stairs to a second story nor the exaggerated motion of a flying bridge underway. A flybridge can be useful at the marina if one doesn't mind the additional windage when leaving and arriving and reduced access to dock and docking lines.

Boats with flybridges/upper cons enclosed with Isenglass are called "bubbletops" in my area.

You're not going to be single-handing one of these, nor crossing the Atlantic. With active stabilizers it will be just fine.

stubones99 said:

Has anyone else started seeing enclosed flybridges on new boat designs? Hampton and McKenna have it as well Grand Banks 650SL, Ocean Alexander, and a few others...

McKenna and Hampton share the same designer and look similar to each other.

https://grandbanks.com/our-yachts/grand-banks/grandbanks60/#gb60sl

I wonder how it handles in a storm, being that high up and no lower helm station to retreat to.

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GB is trying to enter two different markets. Larger and smaller at the same time.
Remember they made their reputation building very good true trawlers. I hope they dont forget that and spread their facilities and workforce too thin at the loss of quality.

Before they go big, they need to correct the design of the TT

what's in a name?

I call my cockpit, the "back porch" and my flybridge the "lanai"..:lol:

OldDan1943 said:

GB is trying to enter two different markets. Larger and smaller at the same time.
Remember they made their reputation building very good true trawlers. I hope they dont forget that and spread their facilities and workforce too thin at the loss of quality.

Before they go big, they need to correct the design of the TT

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I believe you are confusing GB and GH as GB has nothing to do with TT.

The further up you go, the further you are from the head and that could be disastrous of you are like me, a little old man

KenM said:

I call my cockpit, the "back porch" and my flybridge the "lanai"..:lol:

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I'd call it, "a long way to the head"

markpierce said:

I'm not a fan of climbing a ladder or stairs to a second story nor the exaggerated motion of a flying bridge underway. A flybridge can be useful at the marina if one doesn't mind the additional windage when leaving and arriving and reduced access to dock and docking lines.

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They're not that bad on the right boat. We love FBs, but no way could we have one as the only helm.

Note that it is the configuration of choice for heavy duty blue water sportfishers. Those captains manage pretty well with a crew on one or none.

Read first several posts... but not all of em. Here's my take on it...

Seasonal conditions as well as geographic general weather conditions have great effect as to what/where to "generally" pilot from as well as to how pilot stations are outfitted and/or placed. Reasons for using boat also play heavily into things as well.

In our generally gentle climate we simply love having wide open flybridge with bimini for sun shade; e.g. boating spring, summer, fall. Being as I've previously experienced breakdown to steering capabilities in one of two locations on a boat... I am firm believer in redundancy of steering locations on a boat. Also, in our boat's circumstance of non weather-protected flybridge it is only smart to have fully outfitted pilot station in salon too. Amount of room it takes up is approx 2 +/- sq. ft. floor space; we can live with that! Salon wheel is good item to hang things on as well as dashboard OK for hats etc. Can be cleared and activated in seconds if needed.

I'd say we pilot from flybridge 99.5% of the time.

ssobol said:

Boats with flybridges/upper cons enclosed with Isenglass are called "bubbletops" in my area.

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In my cove they call'em oxygen tents.

Two winters ago I replaced all of the canvas and isinglass. When Spring came along I started to remove the isinglass as was customary (just the bimini normally remained in place). Thinking about storage (scratching in spite of cotton sheets between everything, creases in spite of being rolled, etc.) we decided to leave them hanging. The canvas maker was kind enough to also provide new plastic straps to use when they are rolled up while hanging from the canvas. That meant plastic against plastic again so we initially deferred using them. Then I thought about the sheepskin "covers" I've seen used on auto seat belts. Went online and found some imitation ones that slipped over the plastic holders as a sleeve and they have worked perfectly being rolled up. That's when we are not running the stand-alone 12K BTU A/C unit we now use to extend conditioned space outside the saloon. My photo in the signature area was taken in July. Was very comfortable temp. wise.

(When away from the slip I run the EG continuously as our fridge is 110V only. So running the A/C is a "why not!" decision).

Last summer was mild in my part of the State (not many days in excess of 100 degrees) so we will have to see if the sky lounge as conditioned space works as intended this summer.

The number of vessels built in the 50' plus size range without a lower helm is very large. These are seldom pilot house designs but rather sport fishing or cruising yachts as previously noted.

The pilot house on most Nordhavns is equal if not higher than the aforementioned vessels upper (only) helm. The lower helm on many large yachts is way up there too. Get those rulers out.

One thing that I have started to see more of, and would really like, is a hard top Bimini over the FB.

sunchaser said:

The number of vessels built in the 50' plus size range without a lower helm is very large. These are seldom pilot house designs but rather sport fishing or cruising yachts as previously noted.

The pilot house on most Nordhavns is equal if not higher than the aforementioned vessels upper (only) helm. The lower helm on many large yachts is way up there too. Get those rulers out.

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Worth noting, the overwhelming majority of those boats are driven by younger professional captains and crew. Don't tend to see a lot of sportfish driven by people on Social Security.

Ted

dhays said:

One thing that I have started to see more of, and would really like, is a hard top Bimini over the FB.

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Hard tops are becoming more the norm. People are turning negative toward canvas bimini's.

My “sky lounge”. [emoji57]

O C Diver said:

Worth noting, the overwhelming majority of those boats are driven by younger professional captains and crew. Don't tend to see a lot of sportfish driven by people on Social Security.

Ted

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That's not the case in these parts at all. Must of the captains and owners are quite mature. People not inclined to trust their multi-million battle wagons to inexperienced youngsters let alone finding and manuvering to where the fish are and landing them. The deckhands, sure.

Riviera and Maritimo are big on fully solidly enclosed flybridges. They come with aircon. A lower helm version is probably a special order.