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Aerial view of the deck of a sailboat in Caribbean waters

Parts of a Sailboat – The Deck

By: Zeke Quezada, ASA Learn To Sail , Sailboats

Understanding the deck of a sailboat is all part of learning to sail. Essentially, the deck of a boat is both your office and your supply cabinet. This is because many of the tools required to sail a vessel are on the deck.

Sailboats come in many shapes, sizes, and forms to meet the needs of sailors with various desires and ambitions. They also reflect the styles and ideas of their designers and builders and are considered by some sailors to be an art form. The illustrations below depict a boat about 33 feet long of fairly typical design above and below deck and fitted with basic systems commonly found on cruising boats. 

The boat we are describing is typical of a boat you may be using as part of ASA 103 Basic Coastal Cruising — it’s more involved and some parts may not be found on a smaller daysailing vessel. However, there’s a lot more to a cruising boat than a cockpit and cuddy cabin. You can walk around on it, on deck, and below. And it has a few more features for which you’ll have to learn the nautical names.

Diagram of the deck of a sailboat.

Parts of the Deck of a Sailboat - Cruising Vessel

The Helm   Smaller daysailers used for ASA Basic Keelboat courses often have a tiller; this boat has a steering wheel. While it’s possible to steer this big of a boat with a tiller, and many sailors prefer the feel and response it gives when sailing, the tiller needed to provide sufficient leverage would be quite long. The wheel offers the same or even more leverage while taking up much less space in the cockpit — much of the linkage system that connects it to the rudder is beneath the cockpit.

The Cockpit   The cockpit of a cruising sailboat serves as the command center and focal point of activity while sailing. It is typically located in the recessed area of the deck where the helmsman sits or stands, and it often features storage lockers under the seats. The functionality of the cockpit is essential for helming, sail trimming, watchkeeping, and other sailing activities. 

Modern boat designs have prioritized bigger, taller, and more comfortable living quarters over the functionality of the cockpit. As a result, cockpit ergonomics involve more than comfortable seating and coaming angles. Wide-beam boats benefit from a large diameter wheel, allowing the helmsman to steer on the windward rail where sight lines are unimpeded by a dodger, mast, or headsail.

Some boats have every sail-control line led to the cockpit, which requires additional blocks or sheaves to be added to the running rigging system. 

The cockpit is self-bailing — it’s high enough above the waterline that any water that gets into it can drain overboard by gravity. Water drains through scuppers (they look like large bathtub drains) in the aft corners of the cockpit well. 

Sailing is not all tacking and jibing; the cockpit also serves as the boat’s porch, lounge, and dining room. The seats are designed to provide support and comfort when sailing and at rest.

Cockpit Stowages   Daysailers carry a fair amount of ancillary gear — dock lines, fenders, and safety gear — and a boat equipped for cruising carries a great deal more. All this stuff has to go somewhere so it’s not underfoot while the boat’s sailing, so a lot of it goes in the cockpit lockers. 

A hatch in the cockpit seat typically opens to reveal a deep locker. Such a locker is large enough to hold lots of gear, including an extra sail or two. Keeping it organized can be challenging but necessary, not so that you can find a spare line in a hurry but because often the same locker also provides access to some critical fixed equipment. That equipment may include the engine and the steering gear. Another shallow locker may exist in the cockpit, but this one is shallow because the space below is used as part of the living quarters. Finally, at the helm, you may find a hatch or two that provide access to the steering gear and other systems.

Obstacles on the Deck Obstacles are inevitable on the deck of a sailboat. When navigating on the deck, make sure to always reserve a hand for the boat to ensure your safety, maintaining three points of contact. If sailing, the safest path forward is along the windward side. Always use the handrails to keep your body closer to the boat.

Sidedeck  Your first obstacle when leaving the cockpit to go forward on the deck is the cockpit coaming, which extends aft of the trunk cabin, the area of the deck that’s raised to provide headroom in the cabin below. 

Stepping over the cockpit coaming brings you onto the side deck, which runs between the trunk cabin and the outside edge of the deck (which is often referred to as the rail because of the toerail attached there to provide secure footing). 

Just inside the toerail are the stanchions that support the lifelines. 

As you move forward, you will encounter the shrouds, the wires that support the mast laterally. They attach to the deck at the chainplates which carry the forces generated by the sails into the structure of the hull. 

Between the lower end of each wire shroud and its chainplate is a turnbuckle, which is used to tension the shroud by adjusting its length. A clevis pin connects the turnbuckle to the chainplate and a cotter pin passed through a hole on the end of the clevis pin prevents the clevis pin from backing out. Cotter pins are also fitted through the screws in the turnbuckles so they cannot unscrew and loosen. 

Foredeck When you walk forward of the mast, you come to the foredeck. Most modern sailboats have roller-furling sails, so you will not be changing a headsail on the foredeck, but you will still utilize this space when anchoring and docking.

Fairleads on each side of the bow direct docklines to two large mooring cleats mounted on the deck. 

The anchor can be found on the foredeck and is usually stowed on a stemhead fitting. This setup makes for a much easier deployment of the anchor. The stemhead fitting is a hefty stainless-steel fabrication that incorporates a roller fairlead for the anchor rode and the chainplate for the forestay. A hatch in the foredeck covers the anchor locker where the rode is stowed ready for use.

WANT TO LEARN MORE?

READ: Parts of a Sailboat — The Sails

READ: Parts of a Sailboat — The Keel

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  • Sailboat Cockpit

What makes for an Efficient Sailboat Cockpit?

Perhaps because sailboat cockpit design doesn't present the same marketing opportunities as the living space below it, it's not unusual to find that cockpit layouts have been compromised in favour of a commodious aft-cabin.

This is borne out by a number of modestly sized boats that accept the disadvantages of a centre-cockpit in favour of a veritable bedroom in the stern where the cockpit should rightly be.

Underway, the cockpit is the centre of activity. Helming, watchkeeping, sail trimming or just plain relaxing - it's all done from here.

Sheets, cleats and jammers should fall readily to hand, and winch handles must be able to operate 'full circle'.

Properly thought out, it will be a satisfying and safe place to be - efficient for sailors and comfortable for our guests.

Keeping the Helmsman & Sheet Handlers Happy

sailboat cockpit layout and ergodynamics, operating the sheet winches

Foremost in the cockpit designer's mind should be the requirements of the helmsman and the sheet handlers.

For a wheel-steered yacht a 'T' shaped cockpit is often the preferred solution, giving the otherwise trapped helmsman room to move around the wheel into the main part of the cockpit.

The cockpit seats of a tiller-steered yacht must accommodate the sweep of the tiller without interference, and the tiller itself should be of a height and shape to avoid the knees of a sitting helmsman.

Sailboat Cockpit Ergonomics and Dimensions

sailboat cockpit layout and ergodynamics, steering position

It's not enough for the cockpit to be secure; it must also feel secure. But it won't if the sensation is of being perched upon on it rather than being in it.

Security is largely a function of the depth of the cockpit, over which other factors have a controlling influence:~

  • At extreme angles of heel the leeward edge of the sole must remain above the waterline level to enable it to drain;
  • The cockpit sole should not be so deep such that it is impossible to see over the coachroof when standing up;
  • Although the dimensions of the human body determine the height of the seat above the sole, usually 375mm to 500mm, ideally you'll also be able to see over the coachroof when sitting down.

sailboat cockpit layout and ergodynamics, washboards in main hatch

Other features to be found in a good, sea-going sail boat cockpit layout include:~

  • Seatbacks that are at least 350mm high and angled such that you can remain sitting upright on the windward side when the boat is heeled;
  • Seats wide enough, around 500mm, to provide adequate support under the thighs;
  • Seats that are parallel and close enough together to enable seated occupants on the windward side to comfortably brace their feet against the leeward seats when heeled;
  • Moderate volume and adequate drainage. For an aft-cockpit boat, the most efficient drainage is through the transom. A couple of 50mm diameter holes here will drain a moderately sized sailboat cockpit inside two minutes;
  • A bridgedeck to at least the height of the seats, which not only reduces the volume of the cockpit well but also provides a step-up to the companionway sill;
  • The companionway sill should be at least as high as the coaming, thereby preventing a cockpit full of water from finding its way below;
  • A main hatch, preferably on the centreline, with moderately angled sides. Washboards in a heavily vee'd hatch only have to float up a short distance before they fall out.

Artwork by Andrew Simpson

A Cockpit Table?

The final embellishment for the perfect sailboat cockpit is a cockpit table, which four people can sit around comfortable.

Many sailboats with wheel steering have a fixed table attached to the pedestal as shown here, but my preference is to keep the cockpit clear when underway, and have a table that folds down against the pedestal.

Tiller steered sailboats usually have a removable cockpit table for use at anchor or in harbour.

Read here the argument for  where the sailboat cockpit is best placed - centre or aft?

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Cockpit Tables

Edson's cockpit tables turn your sailboat cockpit into the social center of your boat. The many different styles available are all constructed of solid teak or white poly and come complete with stainless mounting hardware. The different mounting options ensure that an Edson cockpit table fits nearly any boat, not just those with Edson pedestals.

Edson's Cockpit Tables have earned the reputation as the highest quality, best built tables on the market! Available in drop-leaf and luncheon styles. 

Hardware Kit for Drop Leaf Table - Guard Mount  with 9.5" Guard Spacing

Hardware Kit for Drop Leaf Table - Guard Mount with 9.5" Guard Spacing

White Poly Fold Down Luncheon Table

White Poly Fold Down Luncheon Table

Teak Fold Down Luncheon Table (Unvarnished Natural Teak)

Teak Fold Down Luncheon Table (Unvarnished Natural Teak)

White Poly Fold Down Drop Leaf Table

White Poly Fold Down Drop Leaf Table

Teak Fold Down Drop Leaf Table (Unvarnished Natural Teak)

Teak Fold Down Drop Leaf Table (Unvarnished Natural Teak)

Hardware Kit for Luncheon Table - Guard Mount with 9.5" Guard Spacing

Hardware Kit for Luncheon Table - Guard Mount with 9.5" Guard Spacing

Hardware Kit for Drop Leaf & Luncheon Table for Consoles

Hardware Kit for Drop Leaf & Luncheon Table for Consoles

Console Table Mounting Bracket

Console Table Mounting Bracket

Drop Leaf Table Hook Lock

Drop Leaf Table Hook Lock

Stainless Steel Wire Clip

Stainless Steel Wire Clip

Stainless Steel Hinge

Stainless Steel Hinge

Wire Form Table Hardware

Wire Form Table Hardware

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Stainless Steel Hinge Strap (A-2174)

Stainless Steel Hinge Pin (A-1309LG)

Stainless Steel Hinge Pin (A-1309LG)

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1" Guard Pipe Table Clamp

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Universal Clamp-On Table Mounting Hardware

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Available to fit almost any sailboat pedestal! Edson’s Fold-Down Drop-Leaf Tables turn your cockpit into a comfortable dining area. They fold down and clip against the guard when not in use and easily remove for storage. By simply swinging the...

Available to fit almost any sailboat pedestal! Thanks to high demand and painstaking construction, teak fold-out tables are available for mid-September delivery. Edson’s Fold-Down Drop-Leaf Tables turn your cockpit into a comfortable dining area...

Edson’s Teak and Poly Drop Leaf and Luncheon Tables use a Console Table Mounting Bracket that attaches to the Pedestal/Console allowing the Hinge pin to secure the table. Edson's 960-B-1208 Stainless Steel Hinge Pin will...

Edson’s Teak and Poly Drop Leaf Tables use a stainless steel hook lock to keep the table from folding open while in the down position.  Edson's A-1340 Universal Clamp-On Table Mounting Hardware will replace any old, broken or...

Edson’s Teak and Poly Drop Leaf and Luncheon Tables use a Stainless Steel Wire Clip attached to the bottom of the table that secures the Wire Form that acts as a table leg keeping the table from folding down while in use...

Edson’s Teak and Poly Drop Leaf Tables use a Stainless Steel Hinges that attached the leaves of the table to the center table. Edson's 960-A-2097 Stainless Steel Hinges will replace any old, broken or lost Hinges on an Edson...

Edson’s Teak and Poly Drop Leaf Tables use a Stainless Steel Hinges that attached the leaves of the table to the center table. Edson's 960-A-1259 Wire Form will replace any old, broken or lost Wire Form on an Edson Drop Leaf...

Edson’s Teak and Poly Drop Leaf and Luncheon Tables use a Stainless Steel Hinge Straps that attached the underside of the table allowing the Hinge pin to secure the table to the pedestal or console. Edson's A-2174 Stainless Steel Hinge...

Edson’s Teak and Poly Drop Leaf and Luncheon Tables use a Stainless Steel Hinge Pin that slides through the Hinge Strap on the underside of the table and the Mounting Hardware on the Pedestal/Console securing the table in place...

Edson’s Teak and Poly Tables that mount to Pedestal guards use Table clamps to secure the tables to the pedestal guards. 

Edson’s Teak and Poly Tables that mount to Pedestal guards use Universal Clamp-On Table Mounting Hardware to secure the tables to the pedestal guards.  Edson's 860-100-125 Universal Clamp-On Table Mounting Hardware will replace...

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  • Belowdecks & Amenities

Sailboat Cockpit Seating

The proportions of the human body are the basis of all design. Cockpit seating, as with any seat or chair design, is one of the most complicated problems facing the designer. Niels Diffrient, an industrial designer and one of the world’s leading authorities on aircraft seating, says that, “Chair design is the acid test for designers”. If you’re a typical sailor, it has been estimated that you spend most of your valuable and limited time on the water in the cockpit.

Cockpit seating and layouts on sailboats need not only accommodate a wide range of body types, but also conflicting task requirements including steering, sail trimming, navigating, sitting while eating, lounging while socializing or reading and perhaps sleeping both at anchor and heeled 20° to 30°.

The amount of clothing worn also can have a considerable impact on seat function and comfort. Non-skid can be quite uncomfortable while wearing bathing suits or other thin clothing. Likewise, in cold conditions multiple bulky layers of clothing can substantially change your body’s proportions, requiring different seat dimensions. Seats may also have to function with and without cockpit cushions, which will additionally alter their dimensions and comfort.

Aesthetic considerations must be considered, too. Unfortunately, this often means that coaming/seatback heights are lower than ideal. Given the many variables, tasks and body types to take into consideration, one begins to understand the true complexity of this design problem.

Assessing a comfortable seat is a more complex problem than it may seem. Rarely is a seat that seems comfortable initially, ideal in its support for long-term comfort. It’s no accident that the best of today’s firm and contoured office chairs, including those from Herman Miller and the late Sunar Hauserman that are designed for eight hours of continuous use, have very little in common with the often poorly designed soft couches and chairs commonly found in the home.

Because sailboats are constantly in motion, round corners are the first step toward a well-designed cockpit. Round corners are easier on the body, inherently stronger and are more durable over time.

All vessels “work” or flex in a seaway to a certain extent. These stresses become concentrated in sharp corners into what is known as the “hinge effect.” Although it is rare, if a vessel sees enough stress cycles, sharp corners can weaken and potentially fail. Round corners are also easier than sharp corners to build in fiberglass. So why are sharp corners seen so often? Usually it’s a matter of the designer wanting a crisp look or style; it’s also somewhat easier to produce tooling with sharp corners although the gain is more than offset by the difficulty later of laying-up the fiberglass cloth into these corners on the mold without creating voids.

Cockpit seats should be 6′ 2″ to 6′ 6″ long to allow three people to sit side by side, or one person to sleep in relative comfort.

The cockpit seat faces (or footwell area) should not be much more than about 28″ to 30″ apart or you may not be able to brace your feet when heeled. The minimum footwell width is 24″. Footwells less than 27″ wide, however, do not allow people to comfortably sit directly opposing each other. Cockpits with permanently mounted cockpit tables can be wider as the table structure provides foot bracing. The seating area forward of the table, adjacent to the companionway, is often a problem as neither the table nor the opposite seat provides a foot brace.

According to Niels Diffrient, seat lengths less than 13″ do not give adequate seat support under the thighs, the load on other tissues is consequently increased and the resulting discomfort is reflected in shorter sitting times. Seat lengths greater than 16″, however, do not accommodate the small person as the front edge of the seat comes in contact with the back of the leg, forcing him or her to sit toward the front or to slide forward away from the backrest support, resulting in poor posture. Diffrient’s research points out that if the seat comes too far forward it will put pressure on the bottom of your thigh at the point where there is a nerve that crosses under the thigh over a bundle of muscles. Pressure on this nerve over a period of time can cause your foot and leg to go to sleep. For long-term comfort there should be a gap of about 2″ between the seat edge and the back of your lower leg.

The front of a seat should be rounded with a minimum radii of 1″ to 2″ to further reduce tissue pressure. In a well-designed seat the sitter should not be aware of the front edge of the seat. The rounded seat edge is also easier on the feet when the leeward seat is used as a foot brace while going upwind.

A fixed seat height of 17″ accommodates the largest number of adults, while seats lower than 15″ are hard to get up from. Seat flat angles from about 1-1/2° to perhaps 8° would be appropriate for cockpit seating.

An angle of about 3° is desirable from the front edge of the seat down to foot level, as an assist in rising. This feature, unfortunately, is not seen very often in fiberglass boats as it requires a more complex and therefore costly two-part mold.

Correctly contoured seats and seatbacks (on which much study has been done, and an abundance of information is available) are the ideal in terms of long-term sitting comfort. Seat flats with as little as 1/2″ curve toward the rear of the seat can substantially increase long-term sitting comfort and security while still allowing the seat to be walked on and slept on.

A backrest that does not maintain the natural curvature of the hollow of the back (the lumbar region) may induce backaches. Backrests under 15″ high are too short for relaxation comfort. Backrest-to-seat angles of 95° to 120° are recommended.

Because cockpit seating is not as task specific as chair design, the above dimensions derived from Diffrient’s research are, we believe, somewhat on the small size.

Diffrient’s own research backs up our intuitions.

Anthropometry is the measure of humans. Anthropometric data is largely gathered by governments for military purposes and clothing sizing. This data has, we think, some rather surprising findings. We all are aware that the average person’s height in the US is increasing, but you may not realize that people on the West Coast average an inch taller than people in the east! or that offspring of wealthy families are taller than average by more than an inch. This leaves designers in something of a quandry, trying to figure just who they are designing for. Certainly, tall people have a poorer selection when it comes to choosing a boat with adequate headroom, leg room and berth lengths.

We believe seats should be about 17″ or 18″ from the sole and about 17″ to 20″ wide. The wider seat dimension would accommodate backrest cushions and sleeping. If this data seems politically incorrect somehow, it must be kept in mind that by accommodating the average size adult as opposed to the average size “sailor” you are still comfortably fitting only 50% to 60% of today’s overall adult population.

Seat cushions are largely a matter of preference, the potential for added comfort must be weighed against their effect on seat geometry and difficulty in stowage when not in use. They may also require fiddles to keep them in place, making sitting uncomfortable when the cushions are not in use.

Perhaps the best argument for the use of cushions is shock and vibration. When you initially sit down, or as the boat falls off a wave, the shock compresses the discs in your back, leading to strain in your lower back.

Long periods of time are also often spent motoring or with a generator operating; vibration-sensitive people can become ill as a result of vibration.

For maximum long-term comfort, seat cushions need not be more than about 2″ thick. Construction should be comprised of 1-1/2″ medium foam padding glued on top of 1/2″ firm, closed-cell foam. Seat covering material should not be coarse or slippery, but should breathe, resist mildew and have UV protection. Marine acrylics do a good job.

As for color, a non-reflective light gray is the best choice for cushion coverings, for the same reasons light gray non-skid is popular (i.e., it has low reflectance, stays relatively cool and is psychologically neutral). If you find gray too boring, a neutral green or blue green is also a good choice. Green, not only low in reflectance, has been found to have a calming psychological effect and isn’t that why many of us go sailing in the first place?

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Thank you so much this information was certainly helpful. After reading this review, I know how to identify the best boat seats that can provide comfort and support. 🙂

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    Beam:  12'    Draft:  6'
    Beam:  11.5'    Draft:  4'
    Beam:  12'    Draft:  5.5'
    Beam:  14'    Draft:  6'
    Beam:  12'6'    Draft:  5'6'''
    Beam:  12'3'    Draft:  5'2'
    Beam:  13''    Draft:  4''
    Beam:  13.6'    Draft:  4.8'
    Beam:  10.6'    Draft:  4.6'
    Beam:  10'6'    Draft:  3'9'
    Beam:  12.5'    Draft:  6.8'
    Beam:  12'    Draft:  6'
    Beam:  12'6''    Draft:  5'3''
    Beam:  12'6'    Draft:  5'3'

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Search our catalog, go direct, enter a boat reference, seamaster 8 metre centre cockpit, grp cabin cruiser, £ 12,750.00.

  • Boat REF#  ·  336252
  • Length  ·  8.23m
  • Year  ·  1973
  • Construction  ·  GRP
  • Underwater profile  ·  Semi-Displacement
  • Sleeping berths  ·  4
  • Engine  ·  1 x diesel 47hp, BMC 2.5 (1973)
  • Lying  ·  Loddon

Boatshed Norfolk

Boatshed Norfolk

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Extra Details

Designer Seamaster Ltd
Builder Seamaster Ltd Dunmow Essex
Lying Loddon
Fuel capacity 215.0 ltr (47.3 USG) Total - 1 Tanks
Water capacity 180.0 ltr (39.6 USG) Total - 1 Tanks
Holding tank capacity 140.0 ltr (30.8 USG) Total - 1 Tanks
Engine 1 x diesel 47hp
Engine make and model BMC 2.5 (1973)
Engine Hours Not Recorded
Engine Cooled Indirect
Steering wheel
Drive shaft
Prop(s) 3 Blade Bronze
Fuel consumption (approx) 2.0 ltr (0.4 USG) /hour At Cruising Speed
Cruising speed (approx) 5 knots
Max speed (approx) 7 knots

Thermostatic shower valve New engine mounts, prop shaft, propellor, sealed stern gland, fuel tank, fuel lines, exhaust silencer and exhaust outlet. Engine water pump refurbished 2019 Broken tacho cable replaced and tacho head refurbished.

Length 8.23m
LWL 8.00m
Beam 3.18m
Draft Min 0.69m
Draft Max 0.69m
Airdraft 2.00m
Headroom 1.85m
Storage In water

Electrical Systems

12 volt battery, 2 batteries charged by: engine, shore power

Construction

Construction GRP
Underwater profile Semi-Displacement
Finish Gelcoat finish

2016 Cabin lighting converted to LED. 2017 New canopy fitted. (Titan Canopies). All windows (excluding windscreen) removed and re-sealed. (PJH Marine Glazing). New curtains fitted. Inoperative shower drain pump replaced with Whale Gulper 220 diaphragm pump. Failing Jabsco toilet pump replaced. 2021 Electrolux 3-way fridge replaced with Webasto Isotherm CR85 Elegance 85-litre AC/DC compressor fridge. Galley sink taps replaced. Worktop flaps refurbished . All cabin carpets replaced with 'Flotex' (C. H. Barker Carpets Ltd.).

Accommodation

Total # of berths 4
No. of double berths 1
No. of single berths 2
Cabin(s) 2
Sink 1
Shower 1
Heads 1 heads (Manual)

New Isotherm fridge 240v Immersion heater Webasto diesel fired warm air heating

2 burner propane Stove

Stove
Broiler
Oven
Sink
Cooler
Refrigerator
Carpet
Drapes
Cabin heating
Pressurised water system
Hot water system
Non-Smokers
Cockpit cover
Rode
Fenders
Boathook
Swim Ladder

1 anchors (Mudweight) 5.00m of rode

Nav Equipment

Speed
Navigation lights
Depth sounder

Safety Equipment

Carbon Monoxide detector
Horn

3 bilge pumps (1 manual / 2 electric)

BSC until 2028

Broker's Comments

A very good example of this Seamaster 8 metre offering 4 berths in 2 separate cabins and powered by a BMC / Thorneycroft 2.52 47 HP Diesel engine.

She really is presented in lovely condition and is in her original gelcoat both hull and topsides. The upholstery, woodwork and head linings are all very good with no signs of dampness or water ingress.

She has a stainless steel hob, grill and oven and a model isotherm fridge with icebox contained within the well equipped galley area. She also benefits from 240 volt shore power, LED lighting, diesel fired warm air heating and hot and cold water via a calorifier.

She was last out of the water over winter 2023/4 and re launched prior to new antifoul in June this year.

Recent upgrades include a new plastic fuel tank, driveshaft, propellor, fuel lines and sealed stern gland. Her BSC runs until May 2028.

These boat details are subject to contract. Note: Offers on the asking price may be considered.

Owners FAQ's

How long have you owned the boat for, why are you selling her.

Personal reasons

Where have you sailed her?

Norfolk Broads

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IMAGES

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