[Minnewaska]

Braavos, congrats on the new-to-you Southerly. Nice boats. I also like the Discovery line, I was aboard one in Annapolis during October's show. I could swear it was a 55 or close. It was sailed across the Atlantic for the show and was returning after the show. No doubt a capable hull.

I'm sure there is truth to what Jeff H describes about design. He's a naval architect and knows his stuff. Whether it matters to the average bloke, like me, is a reasonable question and I'm pretty sure he would acknowledge it. Everything is a compromise.

 

[Minnewaska]

Braavos. Hope you stick around and fill us in on the new boat commissioning process. No doubt many would learn from it. I got the process started many years ago and bailed to buy a near new boat instead. Long story.

No doubt, the disconnect in tone and content with Jeff is the presumption on his part that most buyers of the boats you’re contemplating have a high level of understanding of boat design principals. I’m 100% certain that most do not. Nor do most luxury car buyers understand how cars are designed. Some aficionados in both camps do. It does, on the other hand, pay to listen to them.

I loved the idea that the boat picks you. About as non-technical as it gets, but there is a lot of truth to it. You will need to love your boat, for it to ever be worth it. Once the boat picks you, best to learn as much as you can about it.

One thing to look into a bit is how well Discovery/Southerly is doing financially. They make a nice product, but I’m not sure how many they sell. May be totally wrong, but I had the sense their combination was a life support move. Again, I could be wrong.

 

[Minnewaska]

I completely agree with SO’s post on learning a new boat. Takes years, even if you’ve done it before. I was speaking to a delivery skipper about a problem he had aboard a boat he’d delivered dozens of times. Lost electrical power to a few systems, while underway. There turned out to be a fuse bank, separate from those behind the nav station, that were buried in an obscure place he never knew about.

On the other hand, dual helms are a matter of personal preference, not a bright line. We find they allow the cockpit to be a better living space, as no one is ever climbing around the helm. On several hulls I’ve sailed with them, the aft section can be too wide to helm from the center and ever see around a salt sprayed dodger, so the dual helm is more functional. If anything, it is important to have autopilot controls at both helms and that does add cost. All depends.

 

[Minnewaska]

I’ve been aboard a J boat with a single huge helm that had to be buried in the floor. Remind my self I spend 90% of my time at anchor.

 

[Minnewaska]

the very boat you were on in Annapolis-was found so "unfit for its intended purpose" it had to be shipped back to the UK! Discovery was sued and they LOST and the owners of the yacht won £1.5 when they paid £1.375 for delivery of the new yacht. The delivery skipper had massive problems getting it over to the States.

Wow. Seems that was likely one and the same. It did not have any obvious defects at the show, but this article suggests it was prettied up first.

Couple win £1m from a yacht company for selling them a leaky ship

Andrew and Maria France bought the Elusive for £1.5m in 2017 after a house fire. The former deep-sea diver, 58, and his wife planned to sail around the world but the ship was not seaworthy,

www.dailymail.co.uk