What specifications did we order, and why did we order it?
As I mentioned above, I went with a white hull. I just prefer it. Its traditional. I like the colors I've seen too, but just prefer the white on mine. My wife picked the boot strip color, which is navy blue
How you plan to use the boat, what you like and don't like, are all pretty personal choices. For us, this is primarily a boat for the two of us, with an occasional guest / couple overnight, but not often. The H38 has one sleeping cabin and cannot be converted to a two cabin boat. For two cabins you go up to a H43, or down to a H37 (now H38 Sedan). One cabin is fine for us.
Just to complete that thought, the L shaped settee does convert to a queen sized bed. With the adjacent day head its essentially its own cabin but without a door.
In the pilothouse the settee there can be optioned to convert to a single bed or double. We optioned for a single. This is one of those things I question whether we will ever use, but we have it just in case. This involves a drop leaf against the bulkhead of the chart station just forward of the port side pilothouse door. In my brief use of the boat so far the drop leaf is not in anyone's way at all, so having it becomes all upside at a modest cost.
As folks probably know, there are two principle layouts being selected by owners. There is the "island" layout of the galley shown in the Helmsman website. Then there is an alternative some are going with that has one long galley countertop from the fridge to the rear bulkhead, and wrapping the corner to end at the cockpit door. Some like the open aspect of the long galley. I preferred the island arrangement.
Why? 1) We wanted to preserve the spot for a comfortable chair in the "nook" as we are calling it, between the island and rear bulkhead. 2) When underway in even slight seas you want natural handholds even if just to steady yourself as you walk from fore to aft or vice versa. It is a natural thing to leave the cockpit with one hand on the door frame, then with a step reach for the island, then with another step reach for the cabinet on the centerline or the stair railing. Some have chosen to option a handrail along the ceiling of the salon. I am 5'10" and "can" reach there but not comfortably. My wife is 5' even and that would do nothing to help her. 3) I just like the way it looks.
One galley thing we did option that had been done before, as I found when I inquired, was to add a drop leaf at the end of the island for additional work or serving space. My wife wanted this, and it was an easy and cheap addition. We will find out in time whether this is necessary. In the briefest of use of the boat so far, probably not needed. There is plenty of counter space to cook without it.
You can option several different galley sink options. I went with one single sink. I wondered until the day I saw it in person whether it would be large enough. It is. Need to wash a large soup pot? Big enough.
We went with an all electric galley. A microwave convection oven mounted in the cabinet under the stovetop. An induction 2 burner stovetop. More on the why of this in just a bit. The induction choice was a first for us. We have no experience with that. When things settled down a bit I tested it by just boiling some water in a medium sized pot of the size one might heat up a can of vegetables or soup. The water boiled in 3.5 minutes. I timed it. That's fast. No way could I do that on my home propane cooktop. It throws off zero heat into the galley.
The standard engine is a Cummins QSB 6.7 250hp diesel. I optioned up to get a 380hp. This deserves some comment.
We (Me, Scott Helker, and Roger Drill) took the boat on a two day trip up the Chesapeake to my home marina where commissioning was completed. For two days we ran at speeds that would be well within the capacity of the 250hp engine. On the second day we had a time gun to our head to arrive in time for a brief haul out to attach the swim platform so we raised the operating RPM to about 2200 and made good time. We had the fuel aboard to do it, and it was extra money well spent given all circumstances.
To see, feel, and understand how the boat feels at WOT, and to stress the engine just a bit, I asked that we run for just a few minutes at WOT. The engine ran fine. What it confirmed for me was my decision before the order was made to enjoy life at 7-8 knots. We were bucking a tide of roughly 1 knot on the nose but were touching about 11 or so at WOT. The bow rises some, the engine noise rises, and frankly for my personal taste its just not as serene and enjoyable. The boat can do it, and more. I just don't want to. I'm happy with my 7-8 choice.
On the other hand, there are some long runs we may well make where higher speeds get you where you want to go in one long day. The coastline of NJ provides few inlets, and some sprinting may become advisable at some point. Bumping my engine size to 380hp is insurance for that possible need / desire. I hope not to need it, but I have it. Better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it. Why 380, and not a bit less or a bit more? Not a lot of magic there. 380 seems to be the most popular choice, so I went with that sort of by default. Come resale time, maybe it helps, maybe not.
On the Chesapeake and points south (unlike PNW or further northeast) air conditioning is quite simply a must. So that entails a HVAC system that provides AC in summer and heat in winter. To run it you need to either be on shore power at a marina, or otherwise on a generator on the hook or underway. Helmsman installs two units providing two zones (sleeping cabin, and then the pilothouse and salon). They work really well. I was too aggressive in the temp setting in the cabin for the one night slept aboard at this point, as we traveled up the Chesapeake, and froze to death. Too tired to get up and adjust it!
With a generator aboard anyway, it was an easy call to eliminate a fuel, propane, and go all electric in the galley.
Having done that, I am eliminating gasoline by using an ePropulsion engine on my dingy. My boat has diesel fuel aboard only.
For the generator we went Northern Lights, 6kw.
Other Helmsman owners have asked our choices on countertops and leather. We went with Creamy Marfil on the countertops, and #8 on the leather. We are happy with it. The Marfil gave us what we wanted, which was some amount of swirl in the pattern without going overboard, and to my eye its just what we sought. We optioned to have the small backsplashes.
On the center cabinet and cabinet beside the day head some want the teak and others the Caesarstone. We went Caesarstone, with teak fiddles on the edges.
Sleep cabin cabinets have evolved over the years as different owners have sought some different arrangements. Frankly, I really liked the arrangement in the most recent promo videos. In real life I'm even more happy.
Helmsman can do a lot of cabinet customization for you. We didn't stress them at all. I liked the standard island, and standard sleeping cabin. I liked it a lot. No changes other than the addition of the drop leaf in the galley. And I'm still happy with it in our scant use so far.
In earlier days a hobby of mine was making furniture. Generally mahogany queen anne traditional pieces. The finish matters a lot in the final product. I have to say I am flat out plumb tickled with the quality of the woodwork and finishing of the interior wood surfaces. I can be pretty picky about that. It drives my wife nuts when we shop furniture. I can't yet say I've studied every square inch yet, but I have yet to find a single flaw. The quality of the finish work is excellent.
We did option additional handholds in two spots, at my wife's request and strong agreement from me when she suggested them. 1) You will find that someone will often be standing at the chart table on the port side, beside the door. Just below the chart table edge we had installed a teak handhold. I am extremely glad we did. Execution of that was excellent, and I found myself holding it regularly. I highly recommend that. 2) My wife is always concerned about emergency exits, and in this case through the sleeping cabin hatch up to the deck. She wanted something to hold onto as one hoists oneself up. In my case, coming from a sailing background, I'm used to needing / wanting handholds on the foredeck in seas. In seas if you want to "bail out" and park your tail on the cabin top for a moment you need something to hold onto. Bottom line is we had Helmsman install two handhold rails running fore and aft beside the hatch on cabin trunk. Others may not see the need. We wanted it and I'm happy with the result.
A core checklist need for me was to carry the dingy up top. We optioned the Jackson davit crane, mounted on the port side. The dingy isn't on yet so its not yet been used.
A radar mast was the original design, but many have migrated to a radar arch. We did too. Happy I did. It opens up the flybridge area. We optioned deck lights be installed on the arch.
That arch is substantial. I have not tried to lower and raise it, but load it up with radar and other gear and its not a minor thing to do. Being able to fold it down makes the boat capable of The Loop. I would not want to get involved in lowering it on a daily / regular basis. Its a job for two men. Helmsman says you can organize some rigging to assist. My plan and hope is to leave it alone.
There are two main flybridge layouts. A U shaped settee with one pilot seat to starboard is one. The second is an L shaped settee, pilot seat centered and a co-pilot seat to starboard. I was fine with either arrangement and left the decision to my wife. She wanted a seat next to me, and so we have the L shaped settee with two pilot seats. I have not operated from there yet, but the seating is pretty comfortable in my brief sitting.
Speaking of seating, the salon seating looks like it can be comfortable or hard. Its comfortable! If you slouch down you will want a throw pillow behind you, but I'm pretty happy with it.
My wife and I differ on one habit. When she isn't around the TV is rarely touched. When she is around it is on constantly. She is nuts about watching movies. We optioned the TV cabinet that drops down in the salon. My wife also wonders if we might prefer mounting it on the bulkhead above the door to the day head. I am doubtful the bulkhead mount will be preferable, but either way I bought her options for either and we can take our time to decide. We also optioned the drop down cabinet in the sleeping cabin, in case we want to just lounge and prop up comfy in bed and watch. There are few pics around of that option and I didn't understand it until Scott shared a pic with me. I'll post a pic or two once I've taken them. Before it was better explained I just pictured something that would be too intrusive when not in use. It isn't.
As I said, my wife is short. The bulkhead mirror in the head of the sleeping quarters is normally mounted higher than useful for my wife. We had Helmsman lower it. I'm really happy with that. I can't imagine it being higher.
I wanted a Vulcan anchor. Helmsman credits back money if you provide your own. I won't go deep on this aspect yet. Suffice to say I had qualms about how well it would fit. It does. Just fine.
Swim platform staple rails are an option. We have them. I like them. Pretty sturdy, and pretty. Looking aft when docking they also tell you where the back edge of your swim platform is, a handy plus.
There is a storage area under the forward berth. We optioned gas struts to help raise the bed platform when needed. Really happy with that.
This is a retirement boat. I have to expect that with each passing year I'll be less limber. In the aft machinery area below deck below the salon, its a pretty giant step up to the salon. Or you can scootch up to sit on the edge on the floor and stand up from sitting on the floor. Both are hard options for old bones. I optioned a short one step ladder in that spot, similar to the standard ladder to the engine compartment below the pilothouse. Really happy with that. It turns something hard into something easy.
Under counter lights, below the cabinets, in the galley and sleeping cabin are options. We got both. Beautiful at night. Great nightlights too.
Its an option to get a bar that becomes a combo handrail and towel bar in the day head. Its located on the bulkhead that backs to the engine room, opposite the head. We got it. I recommend it. Some also get a higher bar to serve as a closet rod to hang wet foul weather gear. We didn't.
Some later boats have optioned a fold-down drop leaf table in the cockpit. I initially didn't think I wanted it but changed my mind. I had one made a bit longer as measured fore and aft than some other folks. I'll be putting an electric grill on it at times, I already have the grill, and had it built to a size sufficient for that use. With an outdoor GFI plug next to it.
When I started this post I didn't expect to be of epic length. Sorry about that! If I think of an additional item later, I'll add it.
