Can anyone explain this "feature"?

Setting aside the novel increase in forepeak deck space, it appears more of a styling exercise, however it could offer some spray deflection benefits.

Every inch that you can avoid building translates into dollars. They learned that way back when they started incorporating swim platforms and bow pulpits into the hull, making what was once say a 43 into a 46. Plus I think the industry is in a quandry trying to find the next big style change (such as when the European style came in. Remember the Woody-Woodpecker Marquis? (Believe it's a 42). Sort of like the music industry. Some pretty god, but no more Stones & Beetles.

As for this particular style, look at the cars. I've been renting a lot of new cars the past few months. What they all have in common is bulky sides and sloping front and back. (How do people know where the front and back of their car is when they're parking these days unless they have cameras and sensors. I'm still driving my '02 Sonata, because I love its style. Wonder how many are still holding their '02 boats because they don't like this style.

If the bow delights you so much,

you must be jumping for joy with the Astondoa's stern.

ASTONDOA TOP DECK DY63 . Astondoa Yachts . The magic of seduction

Ok, we'll admit to a certain fascination with their Top Deck. Just such a unique and interesting boat, but we've resisted and I think will continue to resist.

Perhaps they'll have one at FLIBS

and you will rethink your resistance.

Interestingly, when I saw the pics,

Belle, you, the ICW, and your friends came to mind.

They kind of look like my old Kayot deck boats...

Did I hear my name....? Well, now you have to admit that compared to his Hinckley's boat just picnics a sandwich. But I'm not like real sure how secure I feel with all the parts that fold down always folding back up. But for a day boat....nice design.

On the other hand, we like to run outside and how a boat rides does count. I mean I liked Pershing until nearly bounced me to death in conditions the Riva handled perfectly. We never gave into pontoons on the lake so might still resist.

Plus we don't really have time for it for the next year so maybe later, dude.

Anyone ever actually been on one of these boats? I mean underway, not Flibbing around.

Hubby told me to repeat after him, "No more boats". But not sure he's really serious. Maybe just another tender or something.

Good thing we will probably be out of town for FLIBS again. A coastal equivalent of a lake deck boat. Then Wider fits somewhere in between. I don't even know if they've sold any. I'm conservative when it comes to trying new designs, but thanks for stirring things up a bit. Now I think it's time for us to eat dinner.

How come they'll put depth in meters & feet, but all other measurements in meters only?
"MAIN SIZES
Length overall, LOA (ISO 8666): 19.12 m.
Hull Length, LH (ISO 8666): 18.90 m.
Waterline lenght:
Maximun beam: 5.09 m.
Maximun depth: 1.46 m. / 4.8 FT."

Kind of looks like a 50' with a 13' swim platform so it can be called (and undoubtly priced as) a 63. Sawzall anyone?

Definitely not equal to a 60'+. Displacement is nearly 20,000 lbs less than our current 63'. I'd say your 50' is very close to it's equivalency.

30,000 lbs. less than Valhalla (a 56' with a 60' LOA).

Once fought with an office designer in NYC who only wanted to run the file cabinets up to about 6' tall and then just have a facade to the ceiling. He couldn't grasp that with the limitations of space that extra 2', basically an additional 33% of storage, was too valuable to throw away

Back in about '83 I bought my first house, a cottage, and was putting in a new kitchen in a small room. Storage space was at a premium. I looked at the soffets and told the cabinet maker to make my cabinets about 10 inches taller and put in an extra shelf. He looked at me like I had 3 heads. The top shelf is at the top of my head with 8' ceilings.

"Yes every inch build is $$ so why not make it usable? Why loose a couple of feet of deck when you ve already build the 2 feet?"

I didn't say square inch. I said inch of length. Square inches cost a lot more to build. Basically you're being charged for a room and you're getting a floor. That's why they don't build them like your Hat anymore.

It allows the deck to be wider with out feeling precarious. If the deck came right up to the freeboard all along the top it would feel a bit like an aircraft carrier and people would be uncomfortable approaching the edge. With that slope there is feels more like a hill top than a ledge, and people let themselves hang nearer to the railing. Those fet extra feet at the pointed front are the most expensive square feet on the boat when you consider marina fees. On a 60 foot boat going with a pointed bow might give you an extra 6 square feet of space, but round that 3 feet off and suddenly you've got a boat that is 5% cheaper to dock. Or instead of rounding it off you flesh out the deck space to the sides, and suddenly you've got dozens of extra square feet of deck space. One extra foot of deck beam goes way further towards deck area than one extra foot of tapered deck length.

I think you may be concentrating on the squarring of the bow. I was referring to the slopping down at the end of the deck, and the forever swim platform on the 63 that Old Phart showed. That's "style", and less boat for the number of feet.

Sloping the edge tales space away from the interior of the boat and from the deck. It also gives you a hazzard as you work lines, easy to walk off. Going to the edge of the deck you expect to find it below the rail, and it's even nicer when you find a toe-rail there. Knees against the rail, toes against the toe rail and you don't need to watch your feet as you're watching the dock. Having the deck go relatively flat to where it meets the freeboard has worked well for boaters for almost as long as there have been boats.

The general practice is that a model's length does not include the bow pulpit nor swim platform unless they're integral to the build. Those are added to the LOA if not. the 56 I run has a LOA of 60'. If the platform and pulpit were integral to the build I'd have a LOA of 56 and the house of a 52. Much cheaper to build, but I'd be buying a "56" either way.

The sloping of the front deck makes it so you can see where the hell you are going from the lower station on a flybridge boat or the only station on an express. It makes a huge difference in visibility on some boats with a high running angle. I would say that proper visibility while transiting would trumph any inconvenience of walking up there when docking for the 10 minutes a day you might be up there tieing and untieing lines.

You're kidding right? It may show you 1' more of the water immediately in front of the boat. If you haven't caught whatever is there by the time it's that close, you're hitting it. To say that that trumps the safety of a deckhand is ludicrous. Nothing trumps the safety of passengers and crew, even if it's for only 10 minutes out of a day. P.S. That's a pretty critical 10 minutes. If your deckhand trips or slips while docking you've got all sorts of problems.

You seem to be forgetting the placement of the railing.


Take another look at the pic in post #1.