Doug once claimed that 1st series boats had small cockpits and Thom
continues to labor under that delusion. Here are the facts....

http://members.aol.com/bobsprit/images/suzy2weby.jpg

The Heart of Gold cockpit is plenty long. Note that Julia and Thomas
sit side by side. Thomas is crosslegged and there is still room for
another person. The cockpit seats 5-6 easily plus the helmsman and
thats without using the WIDE coamings which further add to the space.
Side decks blend into the coamings (and become level when heeled). As
you can see it makes for nice additional space. Suzanne at the helm
gives an indication of how nice this area is. There is plenty of room
and the high side seating works perfectly. No matter where you are, the
wheel is at your fingerstips. The wheel does carve up space a bit, but
I can still stretch out in the cockpit. Visibility on deck is
fantastic. Behind her and out of sight is the large swim platform. Our
friend, Karen is sitting back there, dragging her dainty feet in the
water and slowing us down!
Storage is beyond excellent. Suzanne is standing on the aft lazzerette,
which is huge due to the lack of a cable based steering system. The
port side storage is shallow because of the aft cabin, but starboard
side is the biggest I've ever seen on ANY boat up to 40 feet.
Perfect amount of space and security for Thomas. Wonderful room for
guests. Fantastic "big boat" sailing feel at the helm with the awesome
R&P steering system.
Later this week, probably Wednesday, we're taking 11 people out. I'll
post pics with the 35s5 cockpit showing that it CAN'T handle 11 people!
Luckily deckspace is also great.

Heart of Gold ROCKS!


RB
35s5
NY