David, you wrote about Fanshi:
«That kind of hinge-down door doesn't suit me, and I wouldn't choose the watertight hatch kind of companionway, either, for easy coastal cruising, though I might for more serious offshore cruising.»
So there you are, very close to my original thinking. Actually, I think you made a fine combination on Tystie, by both having a conventional companionway, plus that PJR-style pramhood fitted to the sliding hatch.
Even Badger was modified with a small companionway, back in 1999 (Read Alan Parsons’ story in NL 41): They had to cut out a little aperture in the bulkhead anyway, to allow the new diesel to come aboard. Then followed a sliding hatch. They kept that companionway, and later, after having returned to England, they built a hard dodger with proper windows. The photo below of Robin Blain on Badger, in Stavanger 2006, shows how it looks.
For my modest needs, I have recently gone for “a poor man’s inside steering position”: Last summer I simply made a companionway seat, which lets me sit sheltered, and in easy reach of charts, binocular and coffee, and still have a 360° view. Having no windvane, I will instead lead a couple of steering lines forward. This lets me sit snug and warm most of the time, in contrast to when sitting at the tiller. No need for more than a sweater and a windbreaker to keep me dry and warm.
Then it was that glass windscreen - not quite as easy to get right...
Arne
Robin on Badger in Stavanger in 2006
May 2019: New companionway seat for Ingeborg...