First_Mate wrote:
Perhaps my comment was a little stronger than I really meant.
Don't get me wrong. There are a lot of things I really like about my boat, but there are others that make me wonder if anyone tests and uses these things before the designs are finalized.
In addition to the pooling water, the fuel fills are in bad places. You either have to reposition the boat or reach around the radar arch to fill. They could have put them at the rear or better yet, put both on one side.
My shower doesn't completely drain and the glass shower door doesn't prevent water from going to the vanity/sink side.
Storage could be better, while we love all the cabinets, I wish there was a place to store things like the cockpit table and its sunpad and the cushions that fill in the sofa.
CO. My detectors are almost guaranteed to go off if we run the generator unless there is a breeze. My suspicion is that this is due to a companionway door that doesn't seal enough. You can put up the entire camper canvas and that will help, but it also makes the cockpit very hot on summer days.
None of these are showstoppers by any means. I still prefer my boat over other cruisers in the size range. It just seems to me that these annoyances could easily have been avoided.
Firstmate,
Those are all legitimate gripes and something that if FW does listen, should address on future boats. The pooling water issue could be resolved by adding a flush stainless scupper at that location. But then you have another laminate penetration to worry about. I've been throughout my 248 with a fine tooth comb and I am amazed at how well FW builds thier boats. If anyone has ever followed any of the rantings from David Pascoe about mainstream boats, and then looked over your Vista you will see that they "got it right". Things like true water channels in the engine hatches that drain overboard via scuppers. Smooth bore hoses for bilge and scupper lines (not the chintzy pleated plastic). Fully gelled lower hulls, Backing plates on all load areas. No funky plexiglass windows in the upper deck, in fact NO windows in the deck at all, they are all in the Hull where they should be!
There are minor engineering issues that can and should be rectified in future models. But these are not custom boats, and some flaws only creep up after a hull is in service.
The genset setting off the CO Alarms is not something minor and it should NOT happen! You really need to look into why it's happening. You could have a leaky exhaust pipe from the genny to the lift muffler or from the lift muffler to the thru hull. I don't have a genny but I run a Honda EU2000i on the swim platform of my 248 and I've never heard a peep from the CO alarms in the cabin or mid cabin, when the companionway and all hatches are closed.