42 PROFESSIONAL BOATBUILDERDETAILS: From the ShowsNew England boat shows o en coincide with the o shore
shing season, and every year I collect new stories and the
occasional all-too-personal experiences from friends about
what can go wrong when it gets a bit too sporty out there.
Transom boarding gates on most recreational powerboats
are o en called “tuna doors,” but that’s typically a salesman’s
misnomer. Primarily they function as convenient passenger
entry points, not a way to slide big sh into the cockpit.
Occasionally having had more water than makes me com-
fortable in the cockpit of boats I’ve been shing, I am in
favor of outward-opening transom doors that can be
unlatched, allowing a cockpit load of water to be dumped
out with a push of the throttles.- e vast majority of transom doors I see at boat
shows on recreational cra (but not on hardcore shing
boats) open inward, and are framed, hinged, and latched so
they cannot open outward. I’m sure that there are valid pas-
senger-retention considerations informing this setup. A sub-
stantial latch would no doubt be required for a passenger-
safe outward-opening design, but I think the resulting safety
bene ts of being able to quickly empty a ooded cockpit
through such doors would be worthwhile. A substantial
latch holding an inward-swinging door open could be a safe
and e ective compromise design.Transom Doors
20.your le hand on the steering wheel, you decide the ride can
be improved by adjusting the trim tabs. You must: Move
your right hand o the throttles and onto the steering
wheel; let go of the wheel with your le hand and operate
the trim switches; put your le hand back on the wheel;
and let go of the wheel with your right hand and put it back
on the throttles. Even worse, I have operated a number of
small boats where the trim controls were located well inside
the circumference of the steering wheel, not slightly outside
as shown in this photo.- Here’s a sensible setup. Mount switches for the trim
tabs (red arrow) near the throttles so you don’t have to
change hands to steer and adjust the tabs. You can simply
reach ahead of the throttles, adjust the trim as required, and
then quickly return your hand to the throttles.
One of my pet peeves about instrument panel layout is
the poor location of trim tab switches. Some of my favorite
builders continue to install the switches on the opposite side
of the steering wheel from the throttle and shi controls. I
don’t get it.- Why is this an issue? In military aircra , the controls
are con gured for HOTAS (hands-on throttle and stick) at
all times for control. For fast small boats like this one,
hands-on throttle and steering makes good sense (see
“Designing Consoles for Speed,” Professional BoatBuilder
No. 14, page 62). So, imagine you are running this boat in
rough conditions, on and o the power with constant steer-
ing corrections. With your right hand on the throttles and
Trim Tab Switches
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