LOUSY HELMS

I attended FLIBS yesterday and was casually looking at dayboats/weekenders to possibly replace my Boston Whaler 350 Realm.

What I found over and over again were helm seats that were remarkably uncomfortable and helm stations that were poorly designed. The European boats were the worst -- expensive boats from brands like Invictus, DeAntonio, Wisznewski, and some Scandinavian brands like Fjord had seats with zero or minimal fore and aft adjustment, steering wheels with zero or minimal up and down adjustment, poorly-placed footrests, inadequate flip-up bolsters and throttles and j0ysticks poorly positioned for ease of use. Some USA/French boats like Wellcraft were barely fair, Nimbus was meh, and Jeanneau lousy. American boats like Pursuit, Regal and Boston Whaler were much better, but still there is room for improvement.

We expect front seats that have extensive fore and aft, up and down, recliner movement and even lumbar support adjustments in any mid-tier car we buy for $40K on up, with truly comfortable seats in upper tier cars. So why are we putting up with lousy, non-adjustable helm chairs that are worse than you would find in a teensy Fiat or Smart Car in boats costing in excess of $1 million?

How hard would it be to equip a boat costing upwards of $500,000 -- more than 99% of high-end cars -- with a really comfy helm chair that adjusted fore and aft, up and down and had a reclining back? And all boat builders should copy a few Scandinavian brands like Targa and Sargo that have the steering wheel and throttles on a flip-back console so it is perfect for use standing and also comes right to hand when you are seated. Brilliant.