gwkiwi
Guru
I'm 4,000 miles into the great loop and spend a lot of time with people who use their boats all day every day. My impression is that the pilot house folks really love the design. When you live on a boat, the ability to get away from each other is as important as seaworthiness. The layout also tends to work well for indoor entertaining. While I really like my double cabin, flybridge, lower helm in the saloon design, I can certainly see the appeal of the pilot house.
I urge you to have a clear vision about how you will use the boat. The beautiful boat with the large interior is often a horrible choice for long range cruising. Conversely, a perfect LRC can be an awful dock queen.
I grew up in Southern California and have boated there. I have cruised the San Juan Islands, Caribbean, and now the east coast, Great Lakes, and the river system. For those of you in SoCal,I mean no offense, but you have nowhere to go. Weekends in Catalina can get old fast. I mention this because, in my opinion, as live aboards your boat isn't likely to move often or far. With that in mind, I would make comfort the primary objective.
If on the other hand you are looking to do long range cruises, then consider spending time with folks that use their boats that way. Have your Admiral talk to the women who cruise. What they want in a boat changes a lot once underway. They will be happy to have you aboard and share their experiences.
Best of luck, fair winds, and have fun,
Arch
Thats proven true for us, actually better than expected as my wife who is now working remotely is able to set up her computer, printer scanner and fax and calls from the pilothouse while I work elsewhere on the boat doing engine work,etc, etc.
She feels like it is her office and when under way she can still work away while I run the boat and yet she is able to jump behind the wheel while I am on engine room checks etc.
No boat is everything and the stairway down from the pilothouse could be an issue for some but we are still young (relatively)