Stern types.

[Ray T]

Edited; posting pictures of individual CRT staff members could be construed as bullying, and so this post has been removed.

Edited September 6, 2013 by FadeToScarlet

[Ange]

I wanted a cruiser stern for the socialising, Dave wanted a trad stern for the extra space indoors. We decided to let the boat choose for us and Iona's a trad stern. As full time liveaboards I'm glad we did. There's about 7-14 days per year when I wish we had more guest space, the rest of the time it doesn't matter. The steerer is warmer and dryer in inclement weather. The engine is a bit of a bugger to get to for maintenance (so Dave tells me ) but at least he's in the dry when he's working on it.

 

That's our story - like so many boaty things there are no wrongs or rights. I posted a thread when we were debating the issue and I made a note of numbers for each type of stern, it was an equal match between cruisers & trads with a few favouring semi-trads. I have to say that amongst those favouring the cruiser sterns the overwhelming majority were non liveaboards.

 

Maybe do what we did, look at all types and let the boat choose you.

[RLWP]

I'm very partial to the fantail stern

 

 

Richard

[Pykebird]

I started off with a cruiser stern for the social side and the fact that I had a dog. It was easy to work on the engine(just as well)!but I did hate having to go outside to turn the engine off. If I had to move her in the rain, that was a pain too.

Having collected 2 more dogs we borrowed a friends trad and actually found it worked well.

A week end later and a plasma cutter later, she was transformed into a trad.

The engine is really easy to get to both from the top, side and front. It can also be worked on in the dry.

Now only 2 dogs, when travelling both sit on the back deck, whilst I sit either on the roof or stand inside the hatch. They stay on the boat until told to move and don't get in the way.

When friends come there is room to stand in the large hatch or plenty of room in the galley making tea!

[jtposs11]

After experiencing all styles of sterns as i use to sell narrowboats for a broker, Traditional stern with a wide hatch would win hands down for me as it gives you the extra cabin space and keeps you a little bit warmer in the winter as you can shut the doors at the back and pull the hatch across with the stove - it keeps you nice and warm while cruising.

 

The main thing i do like about a Trad is it keeps the engine bay a lot dryer and cleaner compared to semi-trads and cruisers, ok you can have covers or Pramhoods made but i don't like them. I personally think it ruins the look of a boat and it can be a lot of hassle taking them down and storing them away when you don't want to use them. The one main problem on a trad is the engine accessibility and batteries this all depends on the setup and something worth considering. Make sure the weed hatch is easily accessible as i have seen some boats where you have to crawl through a small hole to get at the weed hatch which is ridiculous ! On my boat we have a lid on the counter which lifts up to give easy access.

 

My least favourite is the cruiser stern as you feel very exposed and the positioning of the morse control i find too low down on most boats so you are constantly bending down when you want to change gear. Its all pro's and con's just make sure you buy a boat for yourself and not for other people, like friends or family who may come once or twice a year.

 

Best Regards,

James Postlethwaite

[RLWP]

positioning of the morse control i find too low down on most boats so you are constantly bending down when you want to change gear.

 

{snip}

 

Best Regards,

James Postlethwaite

 

Amateur - you change gear with your leg!

 

Richard

[WJM]

 

You must faint at the sight of white water rafting.

LOL - when I am not narrowboating, I do Wild Water Racing at National and International level. That is an activity that really focusses the mind on risk management!

[Ray T]

 

Amateur - you change gear with your leg!

 

Richard

 

Ever had a Morse lever stuck up your trousers? I ripped a trouser leg doing that.

 

Admittedly I was climbing down off the roof of the boat at the time.

[nebulae]

Had two cruiser stern boats .At the time,budget restraints meant it was all I could aford. Hated them both. Now got a" trad"style and love it. Cant afford an ex working boat with a separate engine room,but that would be my ideal.

[ditchcrawler]

From what you say there is no question in my view. You need a trad stern.

That will give you some more useful cabin space, but above all you will be vastly more sheltered and warmer on the tiller in bad weather.

We have a trad and wouldn't change it. We boat all year round and see steerers frozen on the open decks of cruiser stern boats when we are warm on our back step.

We have hired cruisers too, so have direct experience of these. They are lovely on the rare warm summer days when you have a crowd aboard to share the back deck. How often will that happen for you?

Semi-trads seem to me to be the worst of both with few of the advantages of either trad or cruiser.

I go along with all that. Also I don't think an engine room is a waste of space.

Only one of the deaths that I know of was a hirer. You must know of another one.

 

Good safety comes from eliminating the risk - not by attempting to contain it. It is the logical corollary of Murphy's Law.

Well I can think of three unless you dont count timeshare as hiring.

 

I have found that generally the 'stand on the engine' trad is the worst to work on, and the most awkward to get into the boat. Th semi-trad is often difficult to get around the engine, the cruiser stern is usually a doddle. Clearly the best for maintenance is the engine in a separate room - as long as that room doesn't also include a washing machine, toilet, drying rack, workbench, a dozen coats....

 

Richard

Have you been looking in our boat, you forgot her washing lines.

I'm very partial to the fantail stern

 

 

Richard

That two pack didn't adhere very well

[Guest]

You could dispense with the seatbelt in your car if you focus very carefully on not crashing it.

But if someone crashes into you?

[WJM]

But if someone crashes into you?

You are not following the logic - if you are careful enough then you don't need to eliminate any risk because careful people NEVER have accidents, or so some other posters on this thread are suggesting. My argument is; if it is easy to eliminate a risk then do it. Dispense with the cartwheeling seat before it throws you head-first into the prop.

 

Given long enough to exhibit, Murphy and his Law are infallible!

[Guest]

You are not following the logic - if you are careful enough then you don't need to eliminate any risk because careful people NEVER have accidents, or so some other posters on this thread are suggesting. My argument is; if it is easy to eliminate a risk then do it. Dispense with the cartwheeling seat before it throws you head-first into the prop.

 

Given long enough to exhibit, Murphy and his Law are infallible!

 

Your argument and logic is flawed though.

 

You are basing your opinion that 'Cruiser sterns are dangerous' on a theoretical risk backed up by an infinitesimally small number of boating incidents.

 

There must me thousands of cruiser stern narrowboats on the system, or boats like ours with seats and they regularly venture out without any incident what so ever and no body has cartwehheeled over the back.

 

When considering 'risk' you need to consider likelihood and in this case it is extremely unlikely, you are more likely to die in your car driving to your boat, much more likely in fact.

[carlt]

I'm very partial to the fantail stern

 

 

 

It's surprising how quickly you can go off them when you are trying to bend a plank into one though.

[WJM]

 

Your argument and logic is flawed though.

 

You are basing your opinion that 'Cruiser sterns are dangerous' on a theoretical risk backed up by an infinitesimally small number of boating incidents.

 

There must me thousands of cruiser stern narrowboats on the system, or boats like ours with seats and they regularly venture out without any incident what so ever and no body has cartwehheeled over the back.

 

When considering 'risk' you need to consider likelihood and in this case it is extremely unlikely, you are more likely to die in your car driving to your boat, much more likely in fact.

There are literally millions and millions of cars on the roads - yet only a tiny minuscule number of them ever crash. So compulsory seat-belts is a total over-reactive overkill. Statistically cars almost never crash, just as boaters almost never fall overboard.

 

That is one solid argument. I go with the other one; it has happened to others, it might happen to me. Preventing it is really simple. Clunk-Click. I am old enough to remember the outrage when seat-belts were made compulsory, and to remember all the arguments about how unnecessary they were.

[Guest]

There are literally millions and millions of cars on the roads - yet only a tiny minuscule number of them ever crash. So compulsory seat-belts is a total over-reactive overkill. Statistically cars almost never crash, just as boaters almost never fall overboard.

 

That is one solid argument. I go with the other one; it has happened to others, it might happen to me. Preventing it is really simple. Clunk-Click. I am old enough to remember the outrage when seat-belts were made compulsory, and to remember all the arguments about how unnecessary they were.

 

No they aren't, that is not a solid argument at all.

 

Seat belts airbags etc have contributed to a massive reduction in the number of people killed in vehicle collisions despite an exponential increase in the number of vehicle on our roads. In the 70's it was around 8,000 deaths per annum, currently it's around 1,700 pa.

 

Besides all you have to do to do the equivalent of 'clunk click' on a cruiser stern is keep out of the arc of the tiller.

Edited September 10, 2013 by The Dog House

[Nine of Hearts]

I'm very partial to the fantail stern

 

Richard

 

Me too!

 

[Guest]

 

No they aren't, that is not a solid argument at all.

 

Seat belts airbags etc have contributed to a massive reduction in the number of people killed in vehicle collisions despite an exponential increase in the number of vehicle on our roads. In the 70's it was around 8,000 deaths per annum, currently it's around 1,700 pa.

 

Besides all you have to do to do the equivalent of 'clunk click' on a cruiser stern is keep out of the arc of the tiller.

I often wonder if more stringent drink driving laws have helped bring the figures down too?

[Guest]

I often wonder if more stringent drink driving laws have helped bring the figures down too?

Yes I would agree, hence I was careful to use 'contributed'. Improved road layouts, signage and junction design will have made a contribution too, along with advances in trauma medicine.

[Guest]

Yes I would agree, hence I was careful to use 'contributed'. Improved road layouts, signage and junction design will have made a contribution too, along with advances in trauma medicine.

I often wonder if the standard of driving has improved, or not. Can't make my mind up on that one, though can say that my standard of driving has deteriorated.

[Guest]

I often wonder if the standard of driving has improved, or not. Can't make my mind up on that one, though can say that my standard of driving has deteriorated.

My gut reaction to that is no, it's deteriorated, ironically brought on by all the safety measures referred to resulting in a degree of complacency. I have no evidence to support that though.

[Jerra]

it's deteriorated,

To me it has definitely deteriorated. Round here you have to stop a cars length back from T junctions as drives don't seem to know how to take a corner without cutting into the other carriage way! (along with many other examples of bad driving - reckless overtaking etc)

[Guest]

I can't make my mind up on that one. There are many more cars on the road than when I first started driving (motorcycles) and I wonder if we just tend to notice poor driving and good driving is "invisible"? The mini roundabouts bring out the worst in drivers where I live; it is entertaining watching people deal with them.

[Southern Star]

It's these bloody Juggernaut drivers that irritate me.

[Guest]

It's these bloody Juggernaut drivers that irritate me.

Best drivers on the road. Well so my mate tells me.