Mark Mills, architect and designer, designed two units on the revolutionary bridge. To facilitate the movement of the sails on deck during matossing, the deck is gently sloped from the main beam of the sailboat to the transom. The deck edge follows this gentle curve which makes the deckhouse completely disappear.
This removal of all the steps must have made Philippe Briand think about designing the new Sun Odyssey 440 and 490 . Indeed, the gangways of these two cruising yachts descend gently from the cable-stayed chainplates to the rear of the cockpit.
Thus you can climb on deck without ever crossing a step from the cockpit, passing behind the helm stations, to the mast base. Unlike the Wally, the deck edge remains horizontal so that the beginning of the gangways is largely protected by the bulwark and the lines that reach above the belt.
Even if inspired by Wally, this innovation will make it easier to travel on board these cruising yachts. The loss of volume under the deck at this point is not detrimental either for the fittings (we are in the aft cabins), or for the storage volumes (the trunks are under the benches).
To further facilitate circulation at the shrouds, the lower shrouds are mounted on an inner chainplate at the deckhouse level while the outer shrouds are mounted on a chainplate at the shell plating level. Thus the crew members (but also the genoa for the tucking in) pass easily between the shrouds. This more complex construction solution (2 separate chainplates are required at deck level) is often neglected by the construction sites for cost reasons.
With its "intelligent" decks and its modular cockpit the new generation Sun Odyssey show that it is still possible to innovate in the ergonomics of cruising yachts.
