I'm gonna disagree with you slightly on this one Rosalie. I may be just
justifying how my wife and I sail, but while there is always one of us
on watch, that doesn't neccessarily mean that the on watch person never
goes below. When we're cruising along, the vane in control, no other
boat in sight and hasn't been for who know how long, it's not at all
unusual for the one of on watch to go below to use the head, make a
sandwich or cup of tea, etc. and I see no problem with this. We do use
a kitchen timer set to "ding" at us every ten minutes to remind us to
stick our head up and scan the horizon and such. In fact, we usually
use the kitchen timer anytime there's just one of us up (at least I do),
as I'm usually reading or so lost in thought, that without the reminder,
the horizon would never get checked.

Fair winds - Dan

Rosalie B. wrote:
Stephen Trapani wrote:

Rosalie B. wrote:

In article , Stephen Trapani
wrote:


Well, I hope I don't turn into the guy who asks all the nutty questions,
but wouldn't the right sort of hatch or port facing forward in the cabin
of a sailboat make it safer to be below using an autopilot? Why don't
sail designers do more of this? Isn't it possible to make it seaworthy?


What is unsafe about using an autopilot? What is unsafe about being
below when underway whether using an autopilot or not?

Well, if no one is at the helm, everyone below, with no forward facing
port/hatch, one can't see where one is going and what is in front of
them. Can't that be unsafe?


Unless you are single handing somewhere offshore, someone is always at
the helm, whether with autopilot or not. All the autopilot does is
keep you from having to have your hands on the wheel all the time. For
the two of us, someone is always in the cockpit keeping the watch. If
one of us has to go below - the other one is in the cockpit.

I'd suggest that you either need a center cockpit boat with a bimini
and enclosure around the cockpit like ours in which we do most of our
living in the cockpit going below only to sleep when we are off watch
(or to use the facilities or cook which doesn't take long), or
probably better for your purposes - a pilothouse.

The other possibility is to have radar where the screen swivels down
into the cabin or out into the cockpit. Probably would be useful to
have in Puget Sound anyway.



grandma Rosalie

--
Dan Best - (707) 431-1662, Healdsburg, CA 95448
B-2/75 1977-1979
Tayana 37 #192, "Tricia Jean"
http://rangerbest.home.comcast.net/TriciaJean.JPG