Hi Mark,

Any more details on that one?

I was aboard the 55 at the Annapolis show last fall, I forget whether it was the Sense, or the Oceanis...

Standing at one of the helms, I could not believe the distance between my position, and the forward panel of the dodger, it seemed close to 20 feet... To the bow of the boat, it felt like a mile... (grin)

There was a light drizzle falling, and the dodger was covered with droplets of water, which rendered the visibility from the helm totally useless... This boat had one of those massive canvas overheads, so there was no way to see over the top of, or effectively around the thing... My first thought was how impossible it would be to see anything at night, or in dirty weather, from the helm...

My second thought, was how difficult it would be to read the water, for piloting in places like the Bahamas, or the Bay Islands... Seems the only way to do it, would be to stand up on the foredeck with a handheld AP remote, or something...

So, it's not hard at all for me to imagine how easily such a boat might hit a coral head, or whatever...

best regards,

Jon