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any downside to the sugarscope/ swim platforms?Now that I have a 6 year old daughter, I would like my next boat to have a swim platform for ease of in/out of the water for swiming, dingy, etc... Our last boat ('71-30' Westerly) obviously did not but we actually fab'ed up a make shift one (which did not really do the trick). Anyway, are there any downsides to the newer designs with the built in swim platforms? The only one I see is that it requires me to get a newer boat (in the 28-32' range). Thanks for the input, Matt (Maryland Bay area)  I don't have a sugar scoop on our older CSY; depending on your intended use I'd be concerned about following seas. We've had following seas break over the dinghy, let alone the scoop, without any adverse concern for the boat, cockpit, etc. Actually, filling the dink with water is a concern for weight on the davits, but that has nothing to do with the transom design. The only negative that I would offer, is that the stern has a tendancy to slap on the water, especially if there are waves from the rear at an anchorage or dock. That can make it hard to sleep in some conditions. This doesn't happen often.  I'd have to agree w/ the stern slapping from wakes can be a little annoying but to be able to sit in the scoup in the shade of the dingy and hang your feet in the water on a hot day like today, I'll take it. Jim  two things we have noticed... if you tie stern to, the step down from many docks/piers is a BIG step either way.... When you back in to a slip, that nice sharp edge (or expensive ladder/davit/grill/toy) is the first thing to hit the piling...and it is hard to fender if you have a center piling in your slip, like we did... Other than that we love it, so easy in and out of the water, you can get scuba gear on and off easier All the best If the boat is designed properly, and most are, the following seas should not be a problem. They have a wide ass stern in most cases by design. As for the slap, it can be a problem. However, if you get a foam swim tube, run a line through it and tie it so it is under the stern at anchor or more importanly in a slip, it takes care of the slap. Enjoy!  Well actually the sugar scooop and the swim platform is where the Orcas and Great Whites can come aboard and take a pick of which tasty crewmember they want. Also it ease the way for pirates to come aboard and do their dastardly deeds. But the sugar scoop eases the wash down of any upchucks from sea-sick crew members.  Uh huh. What Boasun said. Ahem. <clears throat> Also, a concern in recent years with swim platforms is carbon monoxide poisoning when boats run generators or their engines to keep the AC on. Otherwise, yeah. Watch out for the sharks and pirates in the Bay. I don't have a sugar scoop (I just learned what that is!) so I have the Little Red Bucket when the wings and wine don't agree.  Watch out for the Orcas in the Bay also... The nice big opening in the transom is handy for losing things like winch handles and cameras.  This I do not like about mine. But even when the swim ladder is up, I can reach it from the water which would be nice if I were to ever fall overboard lol! It was fun in the Galapagos to see what scoop-owners tried to do to keep sea lions from climbing aboard - every kind of barrier you could imagine. Almost no one could keep the noisy but interesting beasts off the bottom step or two since there was no where to attach fenders and whatnot. We even had a sea lion try to jump onboard our boat without a scoop and with about 4' of freeboard. Made a hell of a noise.  Man, you guys really need to watch out for orcas. OP defines his needs and environment he sails. Regardless what we need and want, OP needs a swim platform for his 6 year old daughter. This dictates at least 10 years or more for a swim platform. i would say Go for it. His daughter safety and pleasure outweigh the bads. rockDAWG said: OP defines his needs and environment he sails. Regardless what we need and want, OP needs a swim platform for his 6 year old daughter. This dictates at least 10 years or more for a swim platform. i would say Go for it. His daughter safety and pleasure outweigh the bads. Click to expand... I got to thinking about the theory behind some of those old sailing hull designs. The length at the waterline was short to minimize wetted surface, and therefore friction, in light air. Heavier air would heel the boat over and increase the water line, thereby raising the hull speed when power is available to drive the boat faster. Doesn't it stand to reason that a boat with a sugar scoop stern will be slower than a boat with a traditional stern in light winds, all other things being equal? Then again, all other things are rarely equal. Modern hull design, with its greater form stability, will tolerate the greater heeling moment of more sail area, which increases driving force. The force of greater sail area will probably overcome the extra friction of the sugar scoop. What I can't imagine the modern sugarscoop hulls doing, however, is producing a ride as comfortable as that of the traditional hull with overhangs when beating into the wind and seas. Matt, i'm wondering what a swim platform would buy you, that a good kickboard or boogy board wouldn't. Either of those would give her a way to get out of the water, and then slip off to a good boarding ladder. I don't see any magic in a stern platform, other than guaranteeing you'll pay for an extra two or three feet of AOL wheneer you dock the boat. In terms of safety...if she's out of the water she's out of the water either way, and at six or even eight, she shouldn't be swimming without some kind of supervision in any case. (Not being judgemental, but even kids cramp, and having someone watching them is not an all-bad-idea.) I just don't see any real gain by changing the boat. The sales tax alone could buy her some incredible water toys, like a canoe and kayak and swim platform all her own. good points, however I am currently boatless so no tax issue. One of the recurring themes in every discussion of man overboard scenarios is how hard it is to get someone back on board if you recover him, especially someone who is exhausted. Three feet of freeboard, even with a ladder, is a very tough climb. I really like the sugarscoop for that and for the fact that water on board quickly exits, and we don't have to worry about inadequate or clogged scuppers. That's an oft-cited argument, but I think it can cut both ways… Many modern boats have extremely raked scoop sterns that feature a rather "sharp" trailing edge… This type of transom can present a considerable danger to a person in the water in heavy seas, a boat pitching can bring this overhang down upon a MOB with surprising violence and force, and many times it will be far safer to try to recover a person alongside, where the vertical side of the hull presents little danger to a swimmer… If you've ever had to dive upon a prop or rudder, for example, in open water, you'll learn to fear being under the broad, flat expanse typical of the aft sections of many modern hulls, they can present a serious danger in rougher seas… Likewise in boarding from a dinghy, once the wave action gets to a certain point, it can become far riskier to attempt to board from astern onto a scoop transom, than it will from amidships… Most dangerous of all, can be the sort of fold-out transom garage doors that we see the pretty models perched upon in the Sunsail and Moorings ads… For flat water anchorages only, they're useless in any sort of seaway, or rougher conditions… Of no concern to the original poster's use for his boat in the Chesapeake, of course - but IMHO one of the biggest drawbacks to a scoop transom is the issue of security, for anyone cruising in regions where that might be an issue… They're an open invitation for swimmers from shore to board your boat… I was feeling a bit smug, for example, when I spent a few days in Burglary Bay in the Honduran Bay Islands, surrounded by much larger, fancier boats, all sporting their low-slung, "Welcome Aboard" transoms... (grin)  Hey, Make you understand the difference between a 'sugar scoop' swim platform, and a 'walk through transom' because the two are different. As best as I can tell, the built in Swim platform started in the bid 80's on boats like the O'day 31 / 35 / 40, Newport 33, and maybe a few others. By the late 80s' early 90's most boats had swim platforms, and by the mid to late 90's most boats had open or walk through transoms. Since I'm most familiar with the O'day 35 I can tell you that there is NO downside to the swim platform. In 1986 O'day added an swim platform to the 30 (turning it into a 31), 34 (to the 35) and 39. The swim platform makes boarding the boat from a dingy and water much easier. From the platform you still need to step up and over the transom to get into the cockpit, but since the platform is close to the water it's an (relatively) easy step from a dingy. The walk through transom will make it easier to get into the cockpit, and I would like my next boat to have one, but that's not an absolute requirement. A swim platform is a definite requirement. Barry Top Contributors this Month Recommended Communities  |
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May 1, 2008 · I have seen a number of Jeanneaus from the mid 80's with this option. In some cases, such as the Sun Shine 36, the S38 is the same boat with the sugar scoop inclosed, much like Jodys Berberis. For me anyway, version B is a sugar scoop transom, version A an open an or walk thru transom.
May 16, 2020 · I have been involved in sailing since 1978. In all that time, I do not believe that I have ever seen a sailboat that had both a skeg rudder, and a sugar scoop. Sugar scoops are generally found on modern designs with fin keels and spade rudders. Skeg rudders are generally found on more traditional designs, which rarely have sugar scoops.
Mar 5, 2015 · Also, it's not the scoop itself that has anything to do with pooping a cockpit. There are center cockpit boats with a sugar scoop, such as the Taswell 57. There are open transom cockpits without sugar scoops. When offshore, swim platforms need to be folded up and secured at the least. Even better to remove and stow.
Mar 11, 2017 · Re: l dont like my miserable sugar scoop stern! What I have done in the past is to take a short floating line, and ran it through the center of the largest pool noodle available, and ran it underneath the stern at the water line, tied off on both ends to the spring cleats .
Mar 9, 2024 · Re: Entering a sailboat over a sugar scoop transom in heavy seas Yes, boarding at the side can be better. Pilots and divers learn, however, that you can board a ladder with considerable pitching if you watch the motion and then grab the ladder (foot and tow hands) when it is at a low point and immediately climb.
Feb 9, 2007 · On the downside, for a given length boat, a sugar scoop (or any reverse transom for that matter) will be a "smaller" boat than a similar length boat with a traditional stern and comparable beam. That is to say, quite a bit of potential interior volume is forfeited because the reverse rake of the stern is essentially lost space and the cockpit ...
Sugar Scoop Rubber and Adhesive: ExchangeGeek: Multihull Sailboats: 5: 13-02-2020 15:05: Transom/Sugar Scoop Protection - Need product suggestions: MoonlightSailor: Construction, Maintenance & Refit: 0: 17-05-2018 23:24: l dont like my miserable sugar scoop stern! TheThunderbird: Monohull Sailboats: 59: 15-05-2017 08:54: Lagoon 410 sugar scoop ...
Jun 18, 2022 · I am extending the sugar scoops on my 53 ft. Royal Cape Catamaran. See attached pics. If one followed the existing line of the inside of the hull, the sugar scoop extension would narrow in slightly. However, in my instance, we've diverted slightly such that the sugar scoop widens on the inside by a marginal amount of approximately 5 to 10 cm ...
Mine is a 1988 Freedom 38 (documented as an F36 with sugar scoop). I chose this model specifically because of the platform, its ease of sailing, high quality build, and price -- in that priority order.
Jul 31, 2011 · Well actually the sugar scooop and the swim platform is where the Orcas and Great Whites can come aboard and take a pick of which tasty crewmember they want. Also it ease the way for pirates to come aboard and do their dastardly deeds. But the sugar scoop eases the wash down of any upchucks from sea-sick crew members.