Staying warm and sailing dry
From the early 1970s Scandinavian yacht builders started moving into the market for wheelhouse cruisers with a vengeance. They appreciated the demand for yachts that could perform satisfactorily yet also keep the crew comfortable when cruising in cold and windy northern latitudes.
I spent a week on a charter yacht in stormy Scandinavian waters one unseasonally chilly June a few years ago and soon learnt the sense in this.
Life would have been far more pleasant if we could have sailed and motored from the snug and cosy comfort of a wheelhouse when big winds were chucking cold water at us.
LM yachts of Denmark
LM Glasfiber in Denmark was an early market leader in wheelhouse cruisers. It produced several successful models before abandoning boatbuilding in favour of the more profitable pursuit of moulding monster GRP blades for wind turbines.
The smallest LM to have been imported into the UK was the 24. Developed from the 23, the LM24 had more freeboard and a deeper keel than its predecessor. It sold well, with around 660 being built.
As is the case with later and larger LM models, the sailing ability is often described as ‘considerably better than expected’. The LM24 is an appealing two-person cruiser (OK, four if you include cockpit berths under the weatherproof cockpit tent) and – in common with all its larger sisters – has good quality woodwork and joinery courtesy of LM’s earlier experience as a furniture maker.
All the LM models have a similar look – canoe wrote ‘every owner we talked to said that the boats sailed better than they expected – an experience that we shared on our test sail. Despite the boat’s appearance, owners don’t regard them as motor-sailers.’
