Sundeck Trawler

[Comodave]

We did 75 locks when we brought our last boat home. It was a 41’ President sundeck. We never had any issues in the locks handling lines except that our dog learned quickly that the lock masters had treats for him so it was a fight to get to the side of the boat first. Radar is an 85 pound lab and we didn’t have trouble getting him on and off the boat but he is very smart and learns easily. We taught him how we wanted to get him on and off, no problems.

[Don L]

The differences in posts are making me crazy.

[rslifkin]

Originally Posted by Don L

The differences in posts are making me crazy.

Some of it is differences in preferences, but it's also small differences between boats that might make access easier or harder. It's hard to tell for sure what will work or not until you've seen a given boat, know how tall it is, etc.

[O C Diver]

Originally Posted by Don L

The differences in posts are making me crazy.

For most boaters, you learn to work with what you have. Would like to have side decks on my boat, but I don't. So I learn to do everything without them. The trade off is a much larger saloon. I prefer an aft covered deck, but there are rarely 3 people on my boat.

You really need to go look at some boats and decide what makes sense for you and what the trade offs are.

Ted

[Don L]

Doing what I can while cruising in the Bahamas

[Comodave]

Originally Posted by Don L

The differences in posts are making me crazy.

Everyone has different opinions. As said above you need to do some looking and see what you like. I can’t tell you what will work for you.

[mickand]

A sundeck is a great asset. If I visit folks that have one, I'm always envious as in good weather it serves as a very social patio.
Line handling, access and visibility are negatives - +! for a cockpit version.

[ranger58sb]

Originally Posted by Don L

The differences in posts are making me crazy.

Yeah... but even boats with the same name type... vary enough from one to another that you usually have to view in person before you can decide.

Example: Previous boat brand, our 42C version had nicely wide side-decks, but their 45C and 50C versions... not so much. You could get around the sides of the larger convertibles, but not near as easily as on ours.

As to sundecks...

We mostly use our enclosed flybridge for preferred social space. I can open up enclosure panels for airflow if necessary, or in July/August we'd often have the bridge AC running while still having the views.

Which in turn means we don't really favor the sundeck (or ACMY) design. That said, we did look at some CPMYs, and they would have given us the flybridge, a sundeck, and a cockpit all in the same boat. Didn't happen to find one that suits us, but at least the cockpit version seemed to have some better points.

But that's just us...

-Chris

[rslifkin]

Originally Posted by ranger58sb

We mostly use our enclosed flybridge for preferred social space. I can open up enclosure panels for airflow if necessary, or in July/August we'd often have the bridge AC running while still having the views.

Which in turn means we don't really favor the sundeck (or ACMY) design. That said, we did look at some CPMYs, and they would have given us the flybridge, a sundeck, and a cockpit all in the same boat. Didn't happen to find one that suits us, but at least the cockpit version seemed to have some better points.

But that's just us...

-Chris

In your case, you went big enough on the current boat that you gain a flybridge big and comfortable enough to use as a good outdoor space. That makes up for not having the sundeck as outdoor space, I think. And at your size, you also don't necessarily need the ability to pack in a large aft stateroom to get enough living space. In other worse, scaling up the size sometimes fixes the shortcomings of one design and makes living with the shortcomings of another design unnecessary.

[LenBuchanan]

We have a 37' Jefferson Sundeck. We looked at 'true' trawler types, i.e., Marine Trader, Defever, etc. When we saw boats with a covered sundeck, our search shifted. It gives us another whole room. Doesn't matter if it is raining or not. We have a full enclosure on it. If hot, we open all the enclosure up. When cruising and docking, we know ahead of time if it is a Port or Starboard tie-up. We open up that side enclosure and have a line already hooked up. My wife goes up on the bow, once into the slip, I come down from the upper helm and handle lines aft. we can walk all the way around the boat through the sundeck. We've never had issues with docking or going through locks.
We love the sundeck. We get on/off the boat using either side boarding gate. when at home marina, we have a set of plastic steps that we and the dog use. When cruising, we have a four step foldable ladder that I put on the finger dock. Easier than trying to get our plastic steps onto the dock and much lighter. Our dog knows that I will lift him off the boat and put on his leash.

[ancora]

We've owned our Nova sundeck for 22 years. Interior room up the wazzoo, but the top hamper makes her roll in any sea.

[Carson88]

Consider how you will use the boat. If most of your time will be spent at your home dock, then boarding becomes less of a consideration. Most likely at your home dock, you will make reasonable accommodations to board. At our marina, the majority of boats rarely travel to another marina.
The sundeck provides additional sheltered outdoor space that we find ourselves using a fair amount of our time aboard.

[Comodave]

Whatever you decide on you will learn some tricks to make it work for you. Look at some boats and it will help you decide what will work for you. When you are looking at boats sit down and just relax for a while. Tell the salesman to give you some time. Look around and see if you feel comfortable in the boat. When you find one that feels right you will know it. Then learn how to handle the boat by practicing. Our current boat is an example. When we first looked at it my wife said absolutely not. It has a walk through windshield and once on the bow the rails are pretty useless. So when we made the decision to get it I put a bow and stern thrusters on it. Now she never has to go on the bow when we are docking. She stands by the stern with a stern line. She steps off when I back the boat into a slip. Takes the stern line and makes it fast. Then she walks to the after spring cleat where we have tied the permanent bow line, unties it off the cleat and walks forward to the bow and makes the bow line fast.

[ranger58sb]

Originally Posted by rslifkin

In your case, you went big enough on the current boat that you gain a flybridge big and comfortable enough to use as a good outdoor space. That makes up for not having the sundeck as outdoor space, I think. And at your size, you also don't necessarily need the ability to pack in a large aft stateroom to get enough living space. In other worse, scaling up the size sometimes fixes the shortcomings of one design and makes living with the shortcomings of another design unnecessary.

Yes, good points.

But also, in our case, our previous 42 was laid out the same way, same advantages (for us)... so I guess I could say our current size isn't our whole solution.

As it happens, the big improvement (goal) from our current size is all about a full household-style walk-around in our stateroom, while retaining the rest of the same basic layout we had before. (At significant cost, of course... sigh...)

-Chris

[Don L]

If you have the sundeck all sealed up with an enclosure doesn't it become a greenhouse? Is it really usable in the Florida sun?

Yes I understand some have air conditioning, but can it really keep up in the space?

[rslifkin]

Originally Posted by Don L

If you have the sundeck all sealed up with an enclosure doesn't it become a greenhouse? Is it really usable in the Florida sun?

Yes I understand some have air conditioning, but can it really keep up in the space?

It all depends on how the enclosure is designed. It'll get hot in the sun with it all closed up, but if you can open up the sides enough for airflow then it's not an issue (and having a bimini or hardtop means you're not baking in the sun).