chanprr
Senior Member
- Joined
- Nov 27, 2018
- Messages
- 323
- Location
- United States
- Vessel Name
- Kiskadee
- Vessel Make
- Helmsman 46 Hull#1
Tom, I'm going to be their best customer also!! Helmsman is a top class outfit. There, I said it again.
Does the Mercury engine display show rudder angle by chance. My Volvo setup does.Yes, one is autopilot, and the other is the Mercury engine stats display.
I have not had time on the water with it but am liking the layout.
Does the Mercury engine display show rudder angle by chance. My Volvo setup does.
Not that I have seen.
Frankly its somewhat redundant as a piece of gear. My Simrad MFD (NSS Evo3s) displays engine info. Bit by bit I've been getting that organized to my liking. I've not discovered any info that's on the Mercury that isn't on the MFD.
The Mercury is engine-focused. The rudder angle info comes out of the auto pilot and is a data point that shows on my MFD.
To complete the thought, the Simrad dedicated auto pilot pad is also somewhat redundant since the usage commands are also on the MFD. But you cannot do without this pad because it is a requirement to do the calibration in setup. I can't swear to it, but my suspicion is the MFD is picking up networked info off of that pad, and without that pad you have no auto pilot function.
Resilient
Beautiful boat…
Thanks for your posts as you learn how to handle Resilient. That should be a real pleasure, I can say!
On our 2022 SE Alaska cruise, we were able to learn how our 38E handled in rough water, wind, rain and following seas on several occasions. Overall, the 38E handles rough water conditions extremely well at increased speeds. One notable rough crossing was from Red Bluff Bay, Baranoff Island, across Chatham Strait into Stephens Passage. The conditions in Chatham that morning called for NW winds gusting to 20 kts, an ebb tide, 1-2 meter waves. We had to tack quite a bit to achieve a less rough ride. We chose to go rather than stay in Red Bluff Bay another two days.
Our 38E ran pretty well in rough conditions at 2000 rpm making 10 kts in beam seas. I don't think were were mentally prepared for the crossing! She tracked well, steering manually, since the autopilot struggled to keep course in the heavy seas. To put it mildly, she was a bucking bronco for almost three hours until we entered calm water in the western side of Stephens Passage.
Well, lesson learned: stay put and let the weather pass. On the plus side, we learned that the 38E handles and responds well in rough sea conditions.
We have missed cruising this year waiting on the new 46. We plan to cruise to SE Alaska in 2024, with Glacier Bay and Juneau as our northernmost destinations. The 46 will be equipped with the DMS MagnusMaster rotor stabilization system, which should make for more comfortable passages.
The latest on the 46 is that the build should be complete in December 2023. We are looking forward to a fabulous Christmas present!!
Thanks for the kind words, but especially thanks for your performance observation. That experience certainly seems to have been a stress test, and one I certainly hope to avoid! Its great to know the speed effect holds up in higher speeds and wave height.
I have to ask. With those wave heights on the beam, was any of it filling the side deck area?
As for your build, all of us have been following your design posts and construction progress. Green with envy. I can't wait to see your posts on the final product as it arrives home.
I'd seen references to your stabilizer choice but had not looked it up until now. That is fascinating. The manufacturer videos certainly show amazing performance, and advantages. I am curious about an installation detail: I would assume it needs to be tied into stringers for a strong attachment to the hull as the stabilization forces are exerted. Correct? Second, those forces would be working on a lever effect putting stress on the housing of what I guess would be called the booms. Is it designed for any sort of breakaway in the event of failure, sort of like the Volvo IPS drives do, to avoid the big hole in the boat? I just find that stabilizer solution to be quite appealing.
Your posts perfectly describe the order-build-delivery process. It would have been great to have had your observations when we were in the pipeline. It would make a great document for Helmsman buyers and prospective buyers.
When we went aboard a 38E for the first time, Scott assured us that each boat is better than its predecessor. We certainly found that to be true. Supply chain issues caused the change to Raritan Elegance heads and the stainless single table pedestals. We look forward to seeing newer boats at next year’s rendezvous and the improvements they will have.
You went with most of the options we chose with a few exceptions.We went with the standard 250 HP engine. Now that a fuel pressure issue has been resolved, we’re very satisfied with how it performs. We elected to put our lightweight dinghy on the swim step and are using the boat deck for kayaks, bikes and lounging. We like how quickly and easily we can get the dinghy in and out of the water. We keep it locked in the snap davits for boarding and exiting the dinghy. The dinghy stays put until we’re ready to cast off or climb back aboard the mother ship.
FWT, thanks for the ‘ride along’
I think you will enjoy the Cummins 380. Rushing the weather or a bridge opening or a tidal change.
I look forward to your pictures of your build.
You may find the need for one or two handholds. I added more to my AT, never giving it much thought on height. Turns out, it was a perfect placement. The only thing I would do differently is to add some light or medium knurl to each of the handholds.
How long between ordering to arrival of your boat?
Limited view aft can be assisted with a camera as well if stepping away from the helm isn't easy or desired. I may eventually add a rear camera. I normally have a great view aft, but if it's raining and we have the canvas up, that view becomes pretty minimal. The admiral is always nervous about me backing into our slip with the canvas up, as there's not a lot of extra width before hitting the dinghy or part of the boat on the dock or a piling.
Long dock lines are always good to have. We carry 25, 35, and 50 foot lines aboard. And a couple of times I've needed almost every inch of a 50 footer to get a tie-up I was happy with due to less than ideal placement of cleats or other things to tie to. This is on a boat almost identical in overall size to an H38 (slightly longer once our davits are factored in).
Hello, just curious how you back in with a dingy on the swim step?
I have seen them there before and they really block the view.
The latest on the 46 is that the build should be complete in December 2023. We are looking forward to a fabulous Christmas present!!
Hull #1 is ripe for delay, but are you now getting close?
Lots of us have been tracking your new baby with interest.
On my 38, I attached a Wyze camera to the aft flybridge rail pointing down to the swim platform. That has made backing a simple process. It is viewable on a tablet and a phone. I also put one on the light standard off the arch to serve as a rear view camera, that works really well.
To do so, it helps to have internet on the boat. I have a Pepwave BR1 Pro 5G that I use. That also helps with having the TV, Cerbo GX, chart plotters, and Vesper Cortex all tied to the same network. When traveling, I just add a network to the Pepwave as I come upon them.
Sounds like a very good solution. I can see having the dingy at the stern would be very helpful. Does your 38 have a crane on board as well?
Fabrication of the lower deck living spaces is slower than expected, so it may be a March 2024 arrival in Seattle. We are being patient!!
Thank you for this. We have just ordered our 43e and already wondering what lies ahead.The target audience of this thread being folks having a boat built or considering it, I'm going to jump ahead to an aspect the Helmsman owners ask about and chat about between themselves during the build process. So this post is about setting some expectations, and what is normal.
At the front end of the build process Scott mentioned this to me. Its sort of an in-one ear issue until you live it.
Helmsman follows an excellent process. A signed contract and initial payment buys you a slot in the build schedule. Order flow has been sufficiently good that it may well be some months before your build begins in the mold. They reach out periodically and keep you posted on when your boat should begin. Then you have a very good day when you get word yours has begun.
Shortly after that, what begins is a periodic email with links to pictures of your build, that come roughly every 2-3 weeks. In the early days there is a lot to see, a lot of VISIBLE progress to follow. Anyone curious about the construction process will find a lot to take notice of.
Once the cabin structure is on, the build of the interior bulkhead walls and then the cabinetry begins. Still lots to see with each new batch of pictures, but "new" things to see begins to slow down.
But then, you hit an extended period of time where there is little VISIBLE progress. With cabinetry in what comes next is the finish work. You will receive batch after batch of pics where the only thing you see is parts of cabinetry masked off while other sections are being finished. I mentioned how well the finish work is. Well, that involves a lot of coats, and light sanding between each one. It takes time, and lots of it. It takes care and attention, and lots of it. So there is an extended passage of time and batches of pics where someone unfamiliar with what goes into finish work can feel like there is no progress on their boat. Do not fret. The time they are taking with the finish work is one of the things that make this feature of the boat so stunning.
I was told in advance. I was warned in advance. It still shocked me. Suddenly one day a batch of pics will arrive that show the beginnings of installation of gear, and a number of workers aboard doing it. Hooray!
The next batch of pictures you will see is your completed boat. Workers doing the very final tasks.
You go from nothing being visibly done, and seemingly a ton left to be done, to a completed boat in maybe a month. That's not checking a calendar, but its close enough.
And in that period is communication of some target shipping dates. The dates can still move a little bit until its aboard a ship, but now you have some finality to the build.
Helmsman communicates very well throughout this process, when there is actually something to communicate.
I can lay out these expectations, but I assure you that you will feel some anxiety that nothing is happening for an extended period that you can see. At the end you will feel like you are many months away from completion when in reality it may well be weeks or a month away. That's normal. I can say expect it, and I was told to expect it, but its still something of a shock to see it unfold on your own boat.
Trust the process. Its a good one, and it serves to result in a great boat.