Clutching at an idea
RT and Chris have touched on an issue that we also have been pondering.
The direction of lever pull, combined with the required clutch location, might call for some repositioning thought. :nerd:
I note that all of the "tri cabin" interior designs (E-32-200, late model E-34, E-38-200, Olson 34) have an extended bridgedeck "walkway" to enter the interior. This causes the dodger front to have to be extended forward an extra foot or so to give you headroom when using the companionway. This also lets you reach forward to get to the clutches on either side of the sea hood. You had better have long-enough arms.
On our boat, in particular, it's a faaaar reach to those clutch handles, with a full width dodger.
We plan a slight relocation of the housetop clutch stoppers and winches before doing a final design for a full-width dodger for eventual days at sea. This will involve moving the clutch banks back a lot and the winches back to the end of the housetop. The worse part, IMHO, is filling and gel coating all of the old holes!
Sidebar: I sometimes wonder if there was nearly constant, albeit friendly, tension between the designer and the marketing guys over these later Ericson products -- i.e. the interior cruising layout (I love Martin's recollection of the descriptive word they used!) and the attempt to keep the cockpit winch and line control layout purposeful/useful for high performance sailing (as befits such fast hulls).
Regards,
Loren
RT and Chris have touched on an issue that we also have been pondering.
The direction of lever pull, combined with the required clutch location, might call for some repositioning thought. :nerd:
I note that all of the "tri cabin" interior designs (E-32-200, late model E-34, E-38-200, Olson 34) have an extended bridgedeck "walkway" to enter the interior. This causes the dodger front to have to be extended forward an extra foot or so to give you headroom when using the companionway. This also lets you reach forward to get to the clutches on either side of the sea hood. You had better have long-enough arms.
On our boat, in particular, it's a faaaar reach to those clutch handles, with a full width dodger.
We plan a slight relocation of the housetop clutch stoppers and winches before doing a final design for a full-width dodger for eventual days at sea. This will involve moving the clutch banks back a lot and the winches back to the end of the housetop. The worse part, IMHO, is filling and gel coating all of the old holes!
Sidebar: I sometimes wonder if there was nearly constant, albeit friendly, tension between the designer and the marketing guys over these later Ericson products -- i.e. the interior cruising layout (I love Martin's recollection of the descriptive word they used!) and the attempt to keep the cockpit winch and line control layout purposeful/useful for high performance sailing (as befits such fast hulls).
Regards,
Loren
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