Once we decided that the 1160 was for us, we looked forward the option selection process. Little did we know that this would be a bit of a challenge.
Our dealer The Multihull Source in Wareham MA, was a lot of help in this process. Thanks Ira and Bob.
We were first presented with an options spreadsheet where we could pick the options we wanted. What was lacking was any description of the options listed on the spreadsheet.
Before choosing or passing on a option I wanted to know all the specifics of each option. So started a journey of discovery for both myself and my dealer.
When evaluating the options at first glance they seem to be priced a little high till I figured out that the price for the option was the equipment cost with the Seawind labor to install combined. When one considers this many of the options are very attractively priced.
We found that it took several weeks with lots of questions sent to Seawind to get answers to most of our option questions. Overall it was not a horrible experience but could have been much nicer. My dealer would send questions that would sometimes have to be ask several times for a reply. I believe that Seawind should work on improving their communications with customers about their options. This seems to be their biggest fault.
I have had a few months with the boat and I am very pleased with its construction and the installation of it's systems. If I were to order the boat now I would trust that the equipment would be good quality and the installation would be done properly. Had the communications process been less onerous I would have chosen some options that I will be installing myself.
We ordered an 1160 with a mix/match of the options and some standard equipment not included. Seawind was great in crediting us for the standard equipment that we opted not to get.
Third reef kit. This includes the blocks, clutches and lines that are needed for a third reef. have already used this.
Lighting dimmers!!!. The led lights used in the salon, cabins and cockpit are really bright. To the point that they are not really usable unless you want to wear sunglasses at night. We had Seawind add dimming to all cabins, salon and cockpit. I generally feel this is a MUST have given the brightness of the standard led lighting. The cost of the dimmers was a surprisingly far less than i would have thought.
Yamaha 25hp Outboard. So far they have been great. we'll achieve 7.0 knots on flat water. Pushing the engines we burn about 2 gallons/hour.
The cockpit helm seat. I was not interested in this but was overruled by Deni so we got it. I am glad we did. We opted for the frame but not the upholstery. My upholsterer was far less and gave us options for color and fabrics.
Hatch Screens and Shades. We did get the privacy shades and hatch screen/shades in the state rooms. These are very nice and allow for partial shade and screen. We opted to not get the privacy shades or the hatch screen shades in the the mid ships sections. If you are going to spend time on a dock the mid ship privacy shades are a must.
Guest Head. Although the price seems high a lot of work was done to design this head and the wall finishing. The Head is very nice and very functional. I have been surprised by just how well the space works.
We opted for the base navigation package. We never did get a complete description of what components were included in this option. Normally I would have opted out of this and installed this myself. I hoped that getting this option would get me the n2k backbone installed the easiest so I gambled on this. Fishing the cabling for a n2k backbone into a finished boat can be challenging.
The navigation package came with a B&G Zeus2 MFD without charts, Triton3 gauges. I had asked for a N2k Tee at the starboard Helm station and no gauges there. Seawind complied and the tee was exactly where I expected it. Overall this option package was everything I thought it would be but...
The Zeus2 MFD did not come with any charts. I feel a chart option should have been offered. B&G offers a Zeus3 MFD with Americas charts installed for just about the same price as the Zeus2 MFD without charts. I wished Seawind had at least offered me this upgrade. The Zeus3 has a higher resolutions screen and had been available for a year at the time of my ordering.
The cockpit seat should be pinned for easy removal when one needs access to the outboards. As it was installed its in the way when accessing the port outboard.
I plan on creating Delrin posts that will mount to the engine cover. I will remove the bottom flat mounting plates that are welded to the seat frame and just leave the tube open so it will slide onto my new Delrin posts. I will use pins to secure the seat frame to the posts.
The standard number of sockets is not enough with all the devices that we have in today's world. I had Seawind add several and will add more to make using my sockets more convenient for 6' cords.
The location of the 12v socket in the owner's cabin is not the best. Its at the foot of the bed on the right side where you climb up to get in bed. If you have something plugged into this socket when you climb out of bed you run the risk of hitting it and braking it. It should be under where the fan is mounted. Optimally it would be nice to have one on each side near the head of the bed.
We did not get the engine tachometer options as they would have taken up a lot of space at the helm. Instead I plan on integrating the engine monitoring into the n2k bus.
I wish Seawind had a option to integrate the tachometer into the Nk2 bus so that the RPMs would show on the chart plotter. I would have gladly paid for this option instead of sorting it out myself.
We opted for the standard windless and controls. This includes the windless, circuit breakers, a up/down switch at the port helm and a up only foot switch on the bow.
We passed on the down anchor switch at the bow. We do want this but I thought the option price was a little high. The switch is ony $50 US and the installation looks pretty simple. So I will add this myself.