# Cooper pilothouses (353 & 316)



## bobmcgov (Jul 19, 2007)

Any of you PNW/BC sailors met one of these boats? They were apparently designed by Stan Huntingford and built in limited numbers. How well do they sail? Is the structural work up to hard service? Insulation & ventilation okay? Visibility inside the PH, especially at night? Is it possible to keep a good watch there?

Most pilothouses like Fishers and Nauticats do nothing for me, even tho I appreciate the spacious feeling and protection from the elements they offer. But these have a sleekit look that appeals to my Scandanavian bias. Any info welcome.



















(Also, if anyone knows about Bella Coola Yacht Charters, pls share. It might be worth trying a charter.)


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## Faster (Sep 13, 2005)

There were several sizes built - 316, 353, 416 and 508. Only a couple of 50s were built, but the 416 was quite popular.. a very large boat despite it's relatively pinched ends (by today's standards, anyhow) Max beam is around 14' if I recall.
Build quality is average, far as I can tell, very little anecdotal stories of problems, but they are on the rare side.

Non-pilothouse versions were produced under the "Banner" name, and for a short time US yachts had the molds and produced their own versions as the US 35 and US 42.

Finally, a few were produced by a company call Northwest - I saw an example of the 316 done by them, but the company went belly up. Some changes to the deck molds included a Bill Garden-like overhang on the pilothouse roof. It looked nicely done and the owner was quite happy with it.

I think they'd sail OK compared to some other similar boats, the emphasis was on "pilothouse sailboat" rather than motorsailer. Fin keel, skeg rudders decent sized rigs set them apart from their cousin the Seabird 37 e.g.

The 416 esp seem to hold their value here in BC.


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## 76Trombones (Apr 24, 2012)

Just wanted to bump this thread up. I'm considering both of these boats, the 316 and the 343. Bella Coola yacht charters has their 316 listed again this year, and there's a few for sale right now. 

Any info, or experience anyone has with sailing these boats would be greatly appreciated. We're looking for a suitable boat to head north next summer for a few months (from Vancouver). A pilothouse is high up on the list... thanks!!


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## Faster (Sep 13, 2005)

Obvioulsy the PH concept makes a lot of sense in BC waters, esp if you planned much in the way of 'shoulder' and off season sailing. Amongst the various pilothouse designs I think that Stan H did a good job on these boats.

I think you'll find the 316 'smaller' than other 32 footers in many ways. Dimensionally she's not a tiny boat, but the cockpit is on the small side, and it's an unavoidable fact that an inside steering station is going to take up otherwise liveable space. I know that we briefly considered a 353 some years back, and came away somewhat disappointed in the available space, but at the time we were looking for a lot of berths. For a couple it would have been fine.

The 416 is a very popular choice for liveaboards around here.

Another thing to consider: the rampant spread of dodgers combined with full enclosures on many conventional boats may well render the PH concept redundant. Some have even put Espar outlets in the cockpit.. This gives you the same foul weather convenience, with the ability to put it all away in summer, leaving you valuable space below.

If you edge towards the 353 take a good look at a NorthSea 34 too.


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## christyleigh (Dec 17, 2001)

bobmcgov said:


>


 Just wanted to make sure that all are aware that Nauticat makes 2 very distinctly different flavors of Pilothouses. The boxy "Traditional Motorsailors" such as mine that you can see in my avitar, and almost as sleek as the pictures above, the "Pilothouse Sailboats" as pictured below that sail quite well.


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## Faster (Sep 13, 2005)

christyleigh said:


> Just wanted to make sure that all are aware that Nauticat makes 2 very distinctly different flavors of Pilothouses. The boxy "Traditional Motorsailors" such as mine that you can see in my avitar, and almost as sleek as the pictures above, the "Pilothouse Sailboats" as pictured below that sail quite well.


Very true, CL, but with Nauticat we're looking at much higher market value and a bigger budget...

Good to see you posting, btw!


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## AlaskaMC (Aug 19, 2010)

Faster said:


> \
> Another thing to consider: the rampant spread of dodgers combined with full enclosures on many conventional boats may well render the PH concept redundant. Some have even put Espar outlets in the cockpit.. This gives you the same foul weather convenience, with the ability to put it all away in summer, leaving you valuable space below.
> 
> If you edge towards the 353 take a good look at a NorthSea 34 too.


There is a 353 in Seward that has been for sale for a couple of years. Really nice boat in what seems to be great shape. Price is now down almost to 50k. We always are eyeing it since it would really extend our season up here with the pilot house.










But your point about enclosures and dodgers has my attention. Do you think that they are really a match for the PNW, when compared to pilothouses. We were kinda thinking it came down to warm, slow and expensive, vs cold, fast and more accessible. If a dodger and enclosure could even that playing field on the temp front, then it really opens up the boats that we like and can afford.

But that Cooper sure is nice.


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## Faster (Sep 13, 2005)

Personally I'm not sure I'd like a full enclosure, or even a full time bimini when sailing.. but I have been know to hide under the dodger with an autohelm remote on a calm, wet 'chug' home.

We see more and more full enclosures around here. They are not inexpensive - starting from scratch a dodger, bimini, connector and side panels could easily run $10-12K - a significant factor in most boat's prices/values. Of course typically if you buy a used boat with that setup you rarely actually 'pay for it'.

But I do think you'll get a lot of the advantage/shelter a PH offers without the compromises in looks, sight lines, below decks space that are part of that scene.. plus the option (usually) of 'removing' the shelter when weather permits. The other part of this is UV exposure and staying out of the sun, and so most people remove side panels and connector canvas only.


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## christyleigh (Dec 17, 2001)

AlaskaMC said:


> But your point about enclosures and dodgers has my attention. Do you think that they are really a match for the PNW, when compared to pilothouses.


 Well..... I just happened to trade in a fully enclosed Catalina 320 for my NC 331. The boat came with a dodger but the full bimini, side curtains, best Strataglass windows etc... was $5,000. As for heat I had a Dickenson propane in the cabin which did add some heat to the cockpit when buttoned up. I had one of my best sails when it was cold in the spring all buttoned up staying ahead of a larger fully crewed boat next to me while they were bundled up like the Michelin Man. I had ALL controls led to me inside that inclosure including backstay adjuster so I just kicked back Alone with my wife warm inside, in comfort while blasting down the bay. I can not control the sails from inside my NC -


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