Choosing a Pilothouse Motorsailer

[MacG]

Originally Posted by Southern Star

My previous boat, a Cartwright 36 Pilothouse is for sale again and, although she is more sail than motorsailor, she does have a Perkins 50 HP diesel and a pilothouse with an inside steering station.

Custom Cartwright 36 Pilothouse Cutter - 1995 Used Boats For Sale | Oakville, Ontario

Brad

Very sturdy, ideal boat for conditions as are here, ideal draft, spacious.
A pity I have already a boat, but this one looks quite good.

[Tynesider]

Hi Bob from the sunny UK.

Maybe I can help

First Fishers, Yes they are built in the UK.
They are a fine motorailer and they come in 25',30',34' range and above and I have sailed most of them almost all Ketch rigged.

They sail very well and the 30' would be well within your budget, BUT, as in all things 'you gets what you pay for',however beware some of the older ones are prone to osmosis so know what your looking at or take someone who does.

However I know I am prone but nothing you will find will match a Colvic Watson,they have a 'pedigree second to none', if you want speed forget them, if you want one of the finest motorsailers with excellant seakeeping manners then this is the boat for you, again most built in the UK and Holland and some in Germany,
Again they start at 19'-6", 23'-6",25'-6", 28'-6" 31'-6" and 34'-6" rigging varies Big ones Ketch of clipper rigged, smaller ones Sloop rigged

As I am the Archivist for the Colvic Watson Owners Group here in the UK I know there are a number of them in the United States mainly the bigger 34' as many are used as 'live aboards'.

Again price depends on what you want to pay for the condition you get, expesive is around £70k, some can be found around £40k, BUT, my advice is to find a good one probably slightly smaller say a CW 31'-6" for around £40k.

Typical : colvic watson Boats For Sale

I wrote the History of the Colvic Watson Motor Sailer for the group and if you want a copy I can e-mail it.

Happy hunting

Mike

Typical CW 34'-6" aft cabin version & Typical CW 31'-6" open cockpit version

[VirtualVagabond]

Just reinforcing the wisdom of your choice to go for a pilothouse.
There are a few hairy chested comments on here about them not sailing well etc. Well, if you want to race, get a serious racing design.
If you want to have a boat that is a home away from home, go pilothouse.

We live aboard and we cover a few miles. I wouldn't dream of trading our light and airy pilothouse for a sailing cave. most liveaboards spend 80% of their time at anchor somewhere, so if you want to be comfortable 80% of the time...

In fact we even have a hard dodger and probably spend 90% of our time up here in the cockpit. In fact I'm here right now and it's an overcast, drizzly day.
We haven't put on wet weather gear or boots in over a year, and we've sailed from Chesapeake to Australia.

Everyone who comes on board loves our setup, particularly the ones who seriously sail.

So, it's horses for courses. I think you're on the right track.
Good luck.
Vic

[SaltyMonkey]

colvic watson - thats one i haven't seen before. thanks

[Southern Star]

I fully agree with what Virtual Vagabond has been said about pilothouses. There is nothing better than being able to go below to steer in bad conditions with your chart table/radios etc., also in the dry. As to their sailing ability, it all depends upon the design. Certainly my Cartwright sailed quite well for a shoal draft boat and the same can be said for boats such as the Corbin 39. The flush deck in both designs also gives you a proper outside steering station and indeed, it was easier to see over the pilothouse in my Catwright than over the coachouse in many non-pilothouse designs. Does this increase windage? Of course, however there is virtually no inrease in windage over a non-pilothouse design that has a dodger.

Brad

[Strait Shooter]

[David_Old_Jersey]

Most yachts have been motorsailors for several decades (designed to have enough motor to make passages under motor - its what the market wants, even though the market does not like the term any more! as tainted by the old style "lots of motor and sails like a brick " boats).

Pilothouse is also really just a marketing term that covers a multiple of approaches and no more defines a boat 's sailing performance than the marketing term Bluewater defines seaworthiness.......

Choose yer boat according to own needs - not according to the views of those stuck in the past.

[robert sailor]

Pilot Houses are the perfect setup for the PNW and other areas with similar weather, love them but you could not give me one in the tropics. I see all these boats both monos and cats with huge windows and unless they are prepared to run a genset continually to feed the AC they cover those big windows with sunbrella so they can survive. Then they get on the nets and call the traditional monos caves, too funny!

[MacG]

Originally Posted by David_Old_Jersey

Most yachts have been motorsailors for several decades (designed to have enough motor to make passages under motor - its what the market wants, even though the market does not like the term any more! as tainted by the old style "lots of motor and sails like a brick " boats).

Pilothouse is also really just a marketing term that covers a multiple of approaches and no more defines a boat 's sailing performance than the marketing term Bluewater defines seaworthiness.......

Choose yer boat according to own needs - not according to the views of those stuck in the past.

Very true but required by law and practical seamanship. Modern time with heavy shiptraffic oblige also by law a working engine on board. To reach open water I have to travel a day through canals frequented by large barges. Sailing not allowed.

2) There are pilothouses and pilothouses. Not every yacht needs to be a racing yacht. A doghouse doesn't need to be a pilothouse size condo.
Matter of design, matter of esthetics.

[VirtualVagabond]

Originally Posted by robert sailor

Pilot Houses are the perfect setup for the PNW and other areas with similar weather, love them but you could not give me one in the tropics. I see all these boats both monos and cats with huge windows and unless they are prepared to run a genset continually to feed the AC they cover those big windows with sunbrella so they can survive. Then they get on the nets and call the traditional monos caves, too funny!

Well, we sail in the tropics and subtropics and don't have air conditioning. Nor do we have sunbrella covers on the windows. We anchor out most of the time and there is usually a breeze on the water.
We do put shade awnings over the booms if there is no breeze and we're stopped for more than a few days, but I see just as many flush decks doing the same.

Incidentally, I got the term "cave" from a traditional mono owner who wished he had a pilothouse, because maybe his wife would still have sailed with him. He had just put his boat on the market.

Vic

[Southern Star]

Robert Sailor, I have never understood people who use stereotypes to support their personal biases. A pilothouse need not have huge windows and indeed, the most seaworthy ones generally do not. Check out the photos of my old Cartwright 36 pilothouse for an example.

Brad

[Strait Shooter]

Although I've built my boat for northern latitude adventuring, I believe the armaflex insulation covered with reflective foil air bubbly stuff will serve well in hot climates as well. I believe it's something maybe a lot of tropical boats don't pay as much attention to as sailors of northern latitudes.
During the hottest days of summer I get some heat gain from the windows, you're right. When I insulated the pilot house though, I kept the cut outs and am incorporating them into shutters. It also, by the way, worked great in the winter for retaining heat.
The whole "cave like" discussion is a moot point to me as I happen to like it that way, and the cave stays cooler by the way.