QUOTE=GANDK2PNW;503845]On my intro thread, several TF members mentioned that having a lower helm would be useless if the boat has an aft cabin, as it impedes visibility, primarily while docking. Point well taken...but I still want both of them. We plan to cruise the PNW well into late fall and early spring, and the lower helm will be needed.
Would a stern installed camera system solve that challenge?
Does anyone here have one? What are the results?
Thank you in advance![/QUOTE]
Who told you that? As I have such a layout, I wonder what would be any different if I had a Sedan style boat? I would still be steering from approximately 1/2 of a boat length fwd of the transom. There would still be a cabin full of stuff to see through, or over. I would still want to open the door and look back along the unimpeded side deck. I would still go to the helm-free Port side and open that door to see along that unimpeded side deck. Maybe what you heard would apply equally well to a Sedan layout, or as Dave has indicated, even moreso to a PH layout.
My solution to backing in, should I happen to be steering from the main deck, is to go very slowly, look back from the open door before engaging any changes in throttle, gear or helm. I have never considered a camera. I can't imagine viewing a small screen would be any better than viewing the real setting, without boundaries, by sticking my head out the door.
I often back in from the Flybridge. There, as I have an open FB, I can steer facing the direction that I am going, I have to see past my kayaks and mast, and when getting close to anything, the dinghy on its davits. Control of the throttles and shifters is intuitive, as one faces in the direction of motion.
Judging the clearance to the boat behind, especially if I am side tying on a crowded dock, is the most challenging part. I frequently use available dockside helpers to give me that clearance in feet. This serves the additional purpose of keeping them away from my lines until I get to exactly where I want to be.