I've got enough experience under my belt on our new (to us) Wellcraft 30 to
have figured this out -- no matter what you're trying to do the layout could
be better.

Not so much down below, that's actually set up quite nicely. I can see one
small improvement I would like in the shape of the dinette seating but the
rest is either well done or satisfactory.

But in the cockpit and helm area, I don't even know where to begin so let's
start with the helm seat ...

First off there's not a drink holder within a mile of it.

The helm seat is wider than necessary for one person but for my wife to sit
with me (and she is quite tiny) I end up with the controls jamming me in the
side. So basically it's not really a two person seat (no, I'm not huge).

It's up on a really good moulded fibreglass base but there's no access to
the base so all that potential storage space is wasted.

Added to that, it's too low to sit and still have a good view unless you're
off plane. For on plane I don't feel I have enough visibility without
sitting on my leg or a cushion.

If I want to stand there's nothing to lean my butt against -- so here is my
idea for a proper helm seat.

* Two person, real two person not 1.5 person.
* Able to raise and lower *easily*, something you can do while underway
without it being a major chore.
* Already slides back and forth and I like that so no change there.
* Flip up seat bottom with built-in bolster for standing.
* Ideally with some type of arm rests that you can move in and out of the
way easily, to hold you snug while sitting if you're getting pushed around
by waves and wakes. Come to think of it, it would be nice if the bolster had
a bit of a "hip rest" on each side of your butt so you could brace your hips
while standing in chop or hard turns.
* Storage underneath
* And ideally, able to swing around so it's parallel to the sides of the
boat to open up the cockpit when anchored or alongside.

I could go through the whole cockpit and write out "what it should be". My
question is this, am I nuts? Does anyone care about this stuff and if they
do, do they care enough for it to help the resale value?

I ask because I've been on some late model boats and they seem sort of the
same -- not quite right. I'm thinking if anyone really cared then this would
move up the priority list of the builders.

I'd really like to hear your comments, if you had a magic wand and could
redo your layout would you? If I did up my helm seat this way would you step
on board and say, "wow, wicked helm seat" or would you say, "geez, got too
much time on your hands there pal?".