Introducing the Balance Versa-Helm
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 ก.ย. 2024
- There are many things that set a Balance Catamaran apart, but one of the the first things people notice when stepping aboard a Balance is the innovative new Versa-Helm.
Check out the major advantages of the Balance Versa-Helm in this guided tour by Balance Catamaran president Phillip Berman.
This is by far the best helm or versahelm. Great design.
Great solution! Having been on Lyra Noa with Trevor, Kerry and John I've come to really like these cats and their design. Awesome SA tech! Keep it up!
Thank you!
Very good series of videos the information that is provided about balance yachts is fantastic, just like your yachts
Very cool.
Nice design and presentation, but please, turn off the ambience "music" as it is needlessly distractive.
I like your "versahelm" but do not think as a concept it is new. When I was looking for a catamaran back in the in the mid 2000's, I was really struck by the features of the Alibi cat (I still have all their first brocures and press releases etc from 2008 on my older computer!) Sadly, I think they were too far ahead of their time and possibly cost too much, for them to survive, but amongst their very innovative features, were their "inboard-swivel-outboard" twin bulkhead helming stations that your versahelm now emulates. It is a fantasic system, especially for those sailors for whom no builder designs boats, namely the very-high lattitudes, single handed sailor who is just about as far away as you can get from the main "warm weather" markets that current day catamarans builders ( absolutely understandably!) go for. It is good to see though, just how much thought you are putting into your own line of cats, as in the cases of Balance and Seawind, I can at least see some glimmers of a yacht that has the chance of accommodating the slightly more eccetric requirements of some who put to sea in boats!
Peter, the concept of pivoting helms has been around a long time. What is new about the Versa Helm is that we designed it to function for total visibility in both up and down positions, to design in sight lines for both an up and down helm station. One for fun sailing, the other for protection sailing in all weather. It is about the function of it, how we did it. FYI: A dear friend of mine owns Alibi number 1 and I have sailed on it and the pivoting helm works in a very different manner. It is designed to sit out on the rail for fun, but was not designed to offer a full visibility lower helm station that offers total sun and cold weather protection. I have sailed on that boat many times with her owner. The new Outremer 55 has a pivoting helm too, but does not do what the Versahelm does at all. It misses all of the advantages of what we have done. Key is you must be up close to salon bullhead, have no window in front of helm (a window the opens when you wish to pilot so you are not looking through two panes of glass). As for the Seawind 1600, that boat was first designed in 2008 and built as a Corsair 50 until a few troubled builds. The design and tooling are dated from that period, with a two tiered set up - bimini is pitched on top of the coach top. Helms are exposed on either side, a lot of dated features due to the age of the design. The reason for Alibi failure are manifold! Best, Phil
I want one! Ughhh
I think that it would.be difficult to handle the sails with the roof shut fr the lower position.
Would like to see it on video.
I think the helming needs to be redesigned. Otherwise it's a fantastic Yacht
hablaste demasiado para mostrar lo importante en los últimos dos minutos
Thumb's ☝, for the presentation, but I'd suggest the wheel's ability to telescope upward a few more inches for while you're standing up in that helm station. This may mean those winches may need to be up just a little higher too...maybe. I wouldn't suggest operating them with your foot unless wearing closed toed shoes or strong boot if standing up with torso above that bulkhead hatch, for foot & toes safety. Re 11:03.
Also, just as cars have rearview camera, I'd suggest the same for cams in the proper locations when operating the boat from inside the cockpit. 8" video screen or two may be ideal.
Thanks. We do the winches on both coach top or below it on the 526 and larger, and on 482 and 442 all winches are on coach top. TKS, Phil
Just a well thought out design. Wonder if adding cameras at strategic locations that feed back to the helm would help with tight maneuvers.
fabulous design
enclose the aft section and make the cockpit a central one, fully protected, to sail outside of the tropics
Easy to do. Cockpit surrounds for cold closure are easy to do.