Wayne, Before purchasing our "classic" ( trunk cabin) style double cabin 45' trawler we considered both the trunk cabin and the sundeck styles. Factors we considered and updated by our experience are listed below, many of these items are individual preference and are strongly influenced by the manner in which we cruise. We cruise in the northwest, Washington and British Columbia waters spending most of our time north of Desolation Sound. 1) Ease of handling lines and fenders on deck seems to favor the trunk cabin style although individual boat design may have greater significance. 2) An easy-to-use alternate means of egress from the aft cabin in the event of an emergency was desired. Our two previous boats were sedans and emergency egress from our stateroom was up through a 20" square hatch, this was always a real concern. Our current boat has a companionway from the aft cabin up to the cockpit. We did not see any sundeck models that offered such a companionway although this would be feasible if the boat had a cockpit. 3) We wanted the generator set to be located in the lazarette to reduce noise/vibration in the center cabin where the salon is located. Only those sundeck models which also had cockpits would allow this. Servicing the generator located in the lazarette can be more difficult due to space constraints. My feelings on this subject could well be different if I had experience with a modern generator set. I believe that considerable improvement has been made in the operating noise/vibration of these units compared to my 17 year old Onan (with sound enclosure.) 4) I wanted easy access to the rudder posts, quadrants and stuffing glands and steering hydraulic ram for servicing same. I also wanted easy access to the hose clamps attaching the exhaust hose to transom through hulls. Designs with a cockpit and lazarette seem to offer better access compared to sundeck models which carry the sundeck all the way aft to the transom. Individual boat design could well mitigate this factor. 5) We cruise with two small dogs and make many trips ashore. Access to the dinghy in the water via a transom door from the cockpit is much easier than climbing down a ladder (holding a dog) from a sundeck to transom step. 6) We wanted a low profile to minimize windage, the trunk cabin style has less windage particularly compared to sundeck models with weather cloth or full canvas around the sundeck. 7) We wanted the center of gravity (cg) to be low from a stability standpoint. The difference in the height of cg between trunk cabin and sundeck designs, in actuality, is probably quite small in boats over 40' but I do believe it could be significant in smaller boats. 8) Our flying bridge has a bimini which we leave up all summer (too much trouble to fold it back) hence we do not have a good place to relax and enjoy the sun. The companionway hatch and an 8 foot rowing dinghy occupy most of the top of the aft cabin. We do experience probably a dozen days each year that we really would enjoy having an uncovered sundeck, one's cruising grounds are most important in weighing this factor. 9) All other factors being equal I believe the sundeck model is probably easier to sell, the larger aft cabin in combination with the availability of the sundeck would be more appealing to the majority of purchasers. 10) A practice we have observed is positioning a crew member on the transom step for docking maneuvers. It would seem that the skipper of a sundeck would have a more difficult time seeing that crew member from the helm. We don't do this so I do not have direct experience. Regards, George Brooks LaConner, WA Nereid V gbrooks@ncia.com -------------------------------------------------------------snip----------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------- >If I understand fore and aft cabin styles correctly, the aft cabin of a >sundeck runs gunnel to gunnel to stern while a Classic provides for deck level >walk around. I would appreciate hearing which you think is better and why? -----------------------------------------------------------------snip------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------