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 Pilot Boats 29 to 42 |
 Marine Ambulance |
 Seaward Nelson 42 |
 Seaward Talisman 49' |
Seaward Marine Limited are boatbuilders who produce a range of seaworthy offshore motorboats and motorcruisers for use in the rough weather often found around the shores of Guernsey (where the company was founded) and the other English Channel Islands.
People new to boating often wonder what it is in a boat's design that will make it more seaworthy and to have much better seakeeping than other similar size or even larger craft of other designs. What is it that will make one boat more safe than another?
Those are important considerations when choosing a motor cruiser to take your family to sea in. By the way, this is also of great importance to those involved with commercial craft used for fishing, angling, rescue or pilot vessel duties.
It would be unfair for Seaward to say another make of boat is not as seaworthy or is not as capable of going out in rough weather. What we would prefer to do is to draw your attention to some of the important things that will help you to decide for yourself whether or not a particular type of craft is more suitable for use in rough weather or if it does not have such good seakeeping
These are the guidelines that will enable you to weigh up and choose the right boat, even if you have no idea at this very moment what a boatbuilder can do to make his boat have better seakeeping and to be more safe.
Let us compare boat for boat two different types of cabin cruiser and see if we can find the obvious way to find out which is the safer and will have the best seakeeping.
Check 1.
Compare the weight of both boats. Let us say boat 1 has been designed
to be easy to trailer and easy to launch. Boat 1 will be light,
light in construction and light in strength. Boat 2 on the other
hand is not required to be launched from a trailer every time
it is used. The hull on boat 2 is much stronger and heavier. As
a result of the extra weight, boat number 2 will be less lively
in a seaway and more comfortable for its passengers and crew.
Bear that in mind if you are likely to be spending time stationary
when you are angling or even more important, if your boat is a
family cruiser and the whole family want to sleep in comfort.
Too much rocking about on a mooring or anchorage may cause the
occupants to feel the boat is not safe.
Check 2.
Compare the engines. Boat one is likely to have an outboard motor
mainly because it is lighter. Unfortunately the engine will run
on petrol. Petrol engines are not as reliable as diesel engines
and are more prone to break down through dampness. Petrol fuel
is of course more hazardous in a boat as any leaks will cause
a build up of petrol vapour. Whereas the other vessel has twin
screw inboard diesel engines. The twin screw engines in this boat
also have their own separate fuel tanks and batteries. So if one
engine should break down you can still get back home with the
other. Fuel cocks are also arranged so that you can use the fuel
from the broken down engine for the engine still running. Similar
cross connections are also included for the batteries whereby
if one battery is flat you can start that engine from the other
engine's battery. Twin screw boats are also much easier to manoeuvre
and they will turn in their own length with one engine running
ahead and the other running astern. Because the propellers are
contra-rotating, the craft handles exactly the same whichever
way you turn her. In boat 2 you will be much less likely to have
to call out the rescue services.
Check 3.
Compare the hull type. Boat 1 will have a hull shape known as
a planing hull, whereas boat 2 will have a semi displacement hull.The
planing hull skims along the water surface and because of its
lighter weight will generally travel faster than the semi-displacement
hull that keeps a substantial amount of the hull buried in the
water when under way. The disadvantage of the planing hull is
that it bumps and slams as it passes over the waves and will become
too unpleasant for its occupants long before this happens with
the semi-displacement hull. The semi-displacement hull will be
able to maintain a higher speed in rough weather than the planing
hull which will be forced to greatly reduce speed to make the
ride bearable for its occupants.
Check 4.
Check the Category.
You could ask the boatbuilder salesman if the motorboat or motor
cruiser you have in mind is suitable for offshore use. The word
OFFSHORE is significant because under the new European Recreational
Craft Directive, all boatbuilder companies are obliged to comply
with one of 4 categories. Vessels in Category D are craft suitable
for lakes and SHELTERED WATERS. Category C is for vessels for
use INSHORE, Category B is designated for vessels for use OFFSHORE
and in wind speeds up to force 8, whereas Category A is designated
for vessels for use in OCEAN waters, where vessels may spend long
periods away from help from land based services and need to be
self sufficient.
I will not go into the detail here about category A boats but this category is more appropriate to sailing yachts where they are able to use the wind to carry them around the world if necessary. Whereas Motorboat and Motor Cruiser users are likely to be restricted by the fuel they can carry and their range under engine power alone. As most motor cruiser type vessels do not carry enough fuel for a trip of more than a few hundred miles it is somewhat of an overstatement to say a craft without enough fuel capacity to embark on an ocean voyage should be categorised as being in the OCEAN category. The lessen to be learnt here is that the Categories as stated in the European Directive are applied in some cases by boatbuilder companies as a marketing tool. Do not take it in isolation that a category A or B vessel is going to have really good sea keeping unless you have applied the other evaluation checks.
Check 5.
How does the boat feel?
The golden rule about buying a boat is to "try before you
buy". You may not have known very much about boats before
you read this article but by now you should be starting to have
enough knowledge to set you off in the right direction, and hopefully
you will not fall prey to the sales pitch that some sales people
might employ to convince you to buy "their" boat instead
of another.
So let us check how the boat feels. Stand on the side of the boat and gauge how much the side dips down with your weight. Put all the boats on your short list to this test. It is better to carry out this test in calm conditions. A boat that is stiff in the water will generally make a nice comfortable cruiser or angling boat and will give a natural feeling of being more safe to your crew. With only limited or no previous experience it will be a good idea to try out several boats before making your final choice.
Check 6.
Check the pedigree. Boats built by Seaward Marine Limited are
built to suit the local conditions of exposed seas and fast tides
of Guernsey. Such sea conditions are taken seriously by commercial
craft operators when fishing as well as by pleasure motorboat
users.
The rescue services in Guernsey are kept very busy during the summer boating season. So it is always a good idea to check and see for yourself which boats the professionals are using. Seaward Marine have an enviable reputation even by Guernsey standards of boatbuilding.
Seaward were called upon to build the now famous marine ambulance launch "Flying Christine III" operated by the local St John Ambulance and Rescue Service that is called out to passing ships and nearby islands in all weathers all year round. The new St Peter Port pilot cutter "Golden Spur" was recently handed over to the local pilot company and also operates all year round in the most arduous conditions.No doubt the owners thought carefully before placing their orders for these boats.
We will leave it to you now to go in
search of the ideal boat for you. Why not check out the Seaward
range in detail and use our twin screw boats as your benchmark
for comparing with other makes.
Owners Club
Seaward owners have formed an owners club run by John Hickman
who keeps his Seaward 29 cabin cruiser at Hythe marina. All owners
of Seawards are invited to join the owner's club and there are
no fees. There are more details on the owners club elsewhere on
this web site.
Insurance
The Seaward owner's club have arranged discounted insurance rates
with Allianz Cornhill for Seaward owners through Everard Insurance
Brokers Ltd in Kent. Contact Peter Latchford on 01322 394500 or
email: peter.latchford@everardinsurance.co.uk for further details.
Brokerage
Brokerage has become an important sideline for Seaward Marine,
who only deal with Seaward built boats on their brokerage list,
which is updated on a regular basis on this web site. Check the
brokerage page to see if there is a cabin cruiser available for
you. Almost all Seawards are twin screw.
We really would be pleased to hear any comments you have about our web site.
Yours sincerely,
Barry Kimber
Founder and Managing Director.
