John

Seeing on yachting world the lovely pictures of Swagman I have noticed that you have installed raymarine equipment which I also prefer (since I am a raymarine software beta tester ). You also seem to have a 6000 autopilot head and hence presume an s2 or s3 autopilot. My question is, which drive motor did you use a raymarine one or jefa? On the 370/400 you need to use a jefa drive control since it is the only waterproof drive unit and in the 370/400 the drive unit is exposed to water. Furthermore, the radar pole which is very neat, is it custom made?

Shawn

Hi Shawn,

Thanks for the compliments.  We actually did not think the pictures do the 461 justice - headsail luff too soft for the conditions, boat overpressed and on her ear etc........still can't have everything and nice to see the feature.

We went with an Autohelm / Raymarine drive but not the standard linear G3 unit.  We chose to fit a hydraulic drive to our main rudder stock for two reasons.

1.  The proposed linear drive would have stuck out in the aft cabin due to silly design of wheel / linkage brackets by Hanse (IMO could have been done another way).

2.  If any issues with wheel linkeage whilst underway, we can steer the boat direct from the stock using the drive unit.

Yes - the radar pole was custom made.  We considered all our needs and believed we could design one for multiple needs that still looked better than the strut type jobbies and for about same costs.

Ours is in 60 mm tube which as you can see carries also GPS and Navtex OK.

With the addition of an arm and block etc (you can now see these in  the picture below), it also doubles as a derrick to lift heavy items (dinghy, 8 hp outboard etc) from the lazerette to the deck or down to the boarding platform.

With a movable stainless collar that's also adjustable up and down the pole, we can also pin our paserrelle to it when in port if needed, and but moving this collar maintain a fairly horizontal angle to the shore when the jetty is way above the normal transom position.

And finally that derreck arm (shown above for lifting items) also doubles as a handhold / support arm when lowered and attached to the end of the passerrell.  The hand rail seems appreciated by most ladies when using the  paserrelle from its normal transom position off the aft deck!

Cheers

JOHN

hi John

thanks for the tips. if you have any raymarine issues let me know as i know them inside out. Another question I have for you is: the bimini and sprayhood are not standard hanse. I think from the little lable they seem to be c&j. Can they supply them as a standrad kit now for the 461 or were made custom? Also can you recall the cost?

furthermore, is there enough space to fit an air condition unit under the setee? all i need is 10 inch in height

Shawn

Hi Shawn,

Yes, we sourced bimini and also cockpit cushions from C & J and I'm sure they can duplicate the patterns used for ours with few issues.

I'm not often impressed with suppliers but have to say C & J got it right first time and it needed no adjustments to fit straight on.  All our bills are out on the boat in Mallorca so if you want the price email them and refer to our order for Swagman under my family name (Allison) or company name (JERAUK Ltd).  We placed it January 2005 and they delivered / fitted March.  As you can see below when deployed - it is huge - but we do use it up under both sail and motor.

Yes - can confirm lots of space under both forward and side settee's  but you'll also be stunned about how much under-floor space you can also use on the 461 rather than wasting lockers for fixed kit. 

We've had our Katadyn Watermaker (a cased unit approx 24 inch x 20 inch x 12 inch deep) fitted under floor and close to galley area. Just lift a floorboard to access and it's kept nice and cool in that location.  Also suspect better for you for plumbing and electrical connections.

FYI we've also stored 120 foot of extra chain under the floor inside the keel web frame as we considered this the best location to keep the boat balanced.

Regards

JOHN

Silversailor

I was at the Paris boat show and had a good look both at the 370/400 which share the same steering sytsem. The space seems designed to fit the Jefa one as the compartment is exposed to water and pretty low and no raymarine drive unit can fit in there. I guess you can consider the hydrolic drive but to give you an honest answer one would need to have a good luck under the transom.  As regards to the display mount it's pretty tricky. I can suggest a company called Navpod which I have used in the past but the E80 is pretty large (compared to the C70) and estetically I think will look ugly as you will end up with a 'tower' in front of you.. I know there is a space on the port side where you can fit a unit. I have seen a 400 with a c70 fitted there. Try to get hold of the measurments and particulatly the depth of this area as it could be an option.

Shawn  

Hi Silver Sailor,

As you can see in pictures above, we opted for the 18 inch randome and located it on an aft mounted custom pole.  Works fine at all angles of sail, no moving parts / cables, no appreciable blind spots, and keeps the weight as low as is practical.

Cheers

JOHN

Silversailor

I Agree with John and most installations I did all they were all installed on a pole. it is far easier to handle the pretty thick radar cable if is passed throgh the pole and also you can mount an array of other stuff, from Antennas to emergency vhf aerials.

Shawn

john

how long have you had swagman for?

Shawn

Hi Shawn,

Ordered at Southampton Boat Show September 2004, took delivery on River Hamble January 2005, sailed from UK May 2005.

Cheers

JOHN