Building a wheelhouse

While I like the idea of an open cockpit in a sports cruiser, in reality it doesn’t work for me – it's an impractical layout in the UK, especially if a boat is intended for use in all weathers.

I also don’t like complicated canopies that can be a challenge to erect and the fact that many look awful when the boat is under way, especially those with high-fronted tops designed to increase the living space in the cockpit.

Similarly, those vessels with split fore and aft canopies and a radar arch are very often seen with the forward section more or less permanently erected to provide shelter from spray.

In my mind the much better option is a fixed forward shelter with a single-section aft canopy and no frames to get in the way. That is only my opinion of course, but it's the reason behind this major alteration.

The first decision to be made was the construction method. One option is to mock up the shape and size, then build a plug, from which I could fabricate a mould and then lay-up the whole wheelhouse in one piece.

But that seems like a lot of trouble, time and effort for a single unit, especially considering that the completed shell