When you’re evaluating a performance cruising catamaran, the helm station is one of the most consequential design decisions on the boat — and one of the least understood. It affects not just how you sail, but how safely you dock, how comfortably you passage-make, and how much you’ll actually enjoy being at the wheel. In episode three of Catamaran Conversations, Phil Berman (founder of Balanced Catamarans), Patrick Shaughnessy (president of Farr Yacht Design), and sailing journalist Herb McCormick break down the major helm configurations and their real-world trade-offs.
The Main Helm Configurations — and Their Compromises
Every helm station on a catamaran is a compromise. The question is: which compromises can you live with?
Dual Corner Helms
Made popular by French production builders, dual corner helms place a wheel at each aft quarter of the boat. The appeal is direct access to sheets and control lines, but the downsides are significant. You’re running two wheels, two sets of instruments, and duplicated electronics — all of which adds cost and complexity to your deck plan. Worse, when you’re on a port tack navigating a narrow anchorage, you’re completely blind to the starboard side of the boat, and vice versa. Weather exposure is also a serious issue: there’s little shelter from sun or rain, and any attempt to enclose the station results in an unattractive, cluttered arrangement.
Forward Cockpits
Designs like those from Chris White and the Melvin Morelli/Gunboat lineage place the helm forward, ahead of the mast. For a trimmer, this is excellent — all halyards run straight down with minimal friction, sheets are right at hand, and visibility of the sail plan is superb. But for the driver, it’s a different story. On early Gunboats, you literally couldn’t see the mainsail trim from the helm without opening a door. When tacking, you swapped which door was open to manage ventilation — a clunky workaround that highlights a fundamental flaw.
The forward cockpit also creates a serious stern visibility problem at the moment you need it most: docking. Catamarans are always backed into their berths, and if you can’t see your sterns clearly, you’re relying on cameras or hand signals — neither of which is ideal. At 60 feet and above, a forward cockpit can coexist with a large salon and aft cockpit. In smaller boats, it consumes enormous deck footprint and sacrifices significant storage space.
Flybridge Helms
The flybridge offers exceptional 360-degree visibility and makes a fantastic social platform once anchored. That’s exactly why it’s been so successful on charter boats — guests love it. But for a shorthanded cruising couple, it has real drawbacks. Sail handling from up top requires crew who can physically manage the rig from that height. Wind and weather exposure is pronounced. And on performance cats, the aerodynamic drag penalty of a full flybridge is meaningful. This is why many builders have migrated toward “fly lounges” — a comfortable deck space aft without full helm functionality — rather than full flybridge configurations on smaller boats.
Single Bulkhead Helms
The single bulkhead helm — typically positioned on the starboard side — has become the industry default for good reason. It consolidates all control lines, sheets, and instruments at one station, eliminates the complexity of splitting rigging across two helms, and provides a clear working platform. Production builders like Lagoon and Fountaine Pajot have refined this layout over decades. The primary drawback is weather exposure: in rain or cold, you’re either sitting in it or you’re forced to enclose the station with dodgers and glass panels — which compromise sightlines and aesthetics.
The VersaHelm™: A Purpose-Built Solution
Phil Berman developed the VersaHelm™ after years as a yacht broker sailing catamarans across 60 countries and recognising that every conventional helm configuration left something significant on the table. The concept is mechanically elegant: a single wheel on a pedestal that rotates through three distinct positions.
Raised position: The wheel pivots up to a traditional elevated helm, giving the helmsman a clear view over the coachroof, access to all control lines and sheets, and sightlines to all four corners of the boat.
Intermediate position: The wheel drops one step, further improving ergonomic access to sail controls while maintaining good visibility.
Fully lowered position: The wheel comes all the way down, the hard roof closes overhead, and the helmsman is fully enclosed — warm, dry, and steering through the cabin. Throttles are accessible in this position, making it practical for motoring, docking in rain, or cold-weather passages.
Critically, the VersaHelm™ is a mechanical system — cables and pulleys rather than hydraulics. This is a deliberate design choice. Hydraulic steering strips the feel from the helm, and on a performance catamaran, helm feel is what keeps sailing engaging and, in heavy conditions, keeps you safe. The mechanical connection means the boat talks to you through the wheel.
One genuine limitation: because the VersaHelm™ is positioned on the starboard side, on port tack you’re looking at the leeward side of the mainsail — not ideal for reading sail trim. On Balanced’s 75-foot model, this is addressed with a secondary fixed wheel on the port side, allowing the helmsman to move across and assess sail shape directly. At smaller sizes, repeatable sail trim settings and instrument data compensate for this limitation in practice.
The Case for Consolidated Controls
An underappreciated aspect of helm design is what happens when you split your control systems between two stations. Dual helms require duplicated electronics, split throttle controls, and rigged sheets at multiple locations. The complexity compounds quickly and translates directly into additional cost, additional maintenance points, and a more cluttered deck. A single consolidated helm keeps everything in one place — and as Patrick Shaughnessy notes, accessibility drives behaviour: if your reef controls are right at hand, you’ll take a reef earlier. If they’re inconvenient, you’ll delay until conditions force the issue.
A Note on Autopilot and Shorthanded Sailing
It’s worth acknowledging that most cruising couples will be on autopilot for the majority of a passage. Does helm design matter if the autopilot is doing the work? Yes — for several reasons. First, someone still needs to keep watch, and the ergonomics of where you’re standing or sitting during that watch matter enormously over a multi-day passage. Second, a helm that’s genuinely enjoyable to drive will get used more. The more connected you are to the boat’s behaviour through direct steering, the better your situational awareness — and on a catamaran, where the correct response to a sudden gust is to bear away rather than head up (the opposite instinct to monohull sailors), that awareness can be the difference between a controlled sail and a serious incident.
What to Look For When Evaluating a Helm Station
If you’re a prospective buyer comparing catamaran models, these are the questions worth asking at any helm station:
- Sightlines: Can you clearly see all four corners of the boat from the helm? Can you see the mainsail without leaving the station?
- Weather protection: Where do you go when it’s cold or raining? Is there a genuinely functional enclosed option, or just a dodger?
- Control consolidation: Are all your primary sail controls — mainsheet, jib sheet, halyards, reefing lines — accessible from a single position without complex rigging splits?
- Docking visibility: Can you clearly see both sterns when backing into a berth?
- Steering feel: Is the system mechanical or hydraulic? For a sailing-focused cat, mechanical steering preserves feedback.
- Long-passage ergonomics: Is there a comfortable position for an extended night watch, with instruments visible and controls within reach?
No helm configuration answers all of these questions perfectly. But understanding the trade-offs specific to each design will help you make a far more informed choice about the boat that’s right for you.
This post is based on Episode 3 of Catamaran Conversations, featuring Phil Berman of Balanced Catamarans, Patrick Shaughnessy of Farr Yacht Design, and sailing journalist Herb McCormick.
