Benefits Of A Pilothouse Boat

A Very good choice for multiyear circumnavigation

- John Lewis

Thanks to an early introduction to the books of Eric Hiscock, the primary item on my bucket list has always been circumnavigating in my own boat at least once. As retirement approached, I started shopping for the right boat for that adventure.

There were quite a few production designs on the market that met my requirements: attached rudder, long enough keel for good tracking, and enough displacement that a few cases of beer would not slow it down. As my shopping progressed, I eventually found myself gravitating toward pilothouse boats. The idea of having a comfy, dry place to stand long watches was very appealing.

There were not many choices in the 40-foot range, and I quickly landed on the Bob Perry-designed Tayana 37. Most Tayana 37s were built with conventional cockpits but about 10 percent had pilothouses, and the pilothouse did not look like a poorly thought-out add-on.

Layout

I am amazed at how many experienced sailors who come aboard my Tayana 37, Active Transport, are surprised at the way in which the pilothouse is incorporated into the deck and cabin.

If you look at the boat from the dock, the pilothouse looks sort of like a massive hard dodger. It’s not obvious that the sole of the pilothouse is about 20 inches lower than the cockpit sole.

There are two steps down into the pilothouse and two more steps covering the 20 additional inches down to the main cabin sole. This arrangement is much more convenient than a ladder, which would typically be made very steep to minimize the room it takes up in the cabin.

The pilothouse on my boat has a navigation station to port and a second steering station to starboard. The height of the pilothouse above the main cabin top is much less than most of the dodgers I see on boats with the full-size aft cockpit.