Paul Potter knows a thing or two about boats. Fishing for tuna and striped bass and competing in white marlin tournaments off the coast of New Jersey, Potter has a deep appreciation for the function and form of his equipment.
That appreciation led him to purchase his current 31-foot Regulator, a boat legendary for its ability to tame the conditions that Potter often faces both offshore and while navigating the challenging Inlets of the Northeast.
What's the Problem
Potter’s Regulator has a unique hull specifically designed to ride comfortably in rough offshore conditions, thanks in large part to the 24 degrees of deadrise at the transom. In the nastiest conditions, Potter can run slightly off plane, letting the deep-vee hull slice smoothly and safely through chop and swells with no slamming.
With any boat, though, running just off the plane means running with the bow high. At 6 feet tall, Potter’s visibility over the bow was fine, but for his captains and crew, visibility from the helm could be challenging. Visibility means safety, especially when navigating rough inlets where swells stack and steepen over sandbars. Potter quickly started looking for a solution.
An Integrated Solution
The obvious solution was to give the captain a higher platform to stand on, and the good news for Potter was that the boat’s configuration was such that each inch of additional height led to a major improvement in visibility. Potter quickly discovered that a platform behind the helm that was 6 inches high completely addressed the visibility issue when in the bow-high position.
As a building contractor, Potter was more than capable of fabricating something himself, but he wanted a solution that would be perfectly integrated into the high-end fit and finish that Regulators are known for. Knowing that Boat Outfitters supplied many of the OEM components on his Regulator, he reached out to a project manager to discuss solutions.
The project manager showed him some of the designs for helm-risers that Boat Outfitters had previously made for other customers. Some of these were simple, practical platforms that would have provided the height Potter needed, but little more. But when he saw one with integrated storage, his wheels started turning. Very quickly, he knew exactly what he wanted.
Designing a Functional Helm Riser
Thanks to his background in construction, Potter was able to mock up exactly what he was looking for, measuring and building an exact balsa-wood template for the helm-riser he wanted Boat Outfitters to fabricate.
His design would match the width of the helm and fit perfectly in the space allowed.
To add even more function, Potter wanted the entire lid of the riser to be hinged in the back using a heavy-duty, stainless steel piano hinge and supported by gas struts.
A Closer Look at the Design
Inside the riser, he designed the storage to complement and expand his helm storage capacity, ultimately allowing him to move equipment and tools he only occasionally used to the helm riser, opening up space in his helm storage for more frequently used equipment.
Potter sent his mockup over to Boat Outfitters, and over the next few weeks he worked with his project manager to finalize the details. The end result was a perfect complement to his Regulator. Between gas struts and deck latches, the lid of the riser opened effortlessly, but stayed securely closed when underway.
Form and Function
Although Potter opted not to install bulb seals, he was pleasantly surprised by how dry the storage area stayed, even in wet offshore conditions and when hosing down the boat.
Potter had a closed cell foam helm pad embossed with the Regulator logo for the top of the lid, providing traction and comfort and further enhancing the integrated look of the riser. For Potter, solving a functional problem with his new boat was only part of the equation.
Form mattered just as much.
“You don’t spend that kind of money on a boat and then install something that looks jerry-rigged,” Paul explained. “I wanted something that looked like it came with the boat. The fact that Boat Outfitters allowed me to customize exactly what I wanted made it perfect for my needs.”
Helm Riser Basics
The primary job of a helm riser is obviously to improve visibility over the bow and/or console by providing a raised platform for the operator to stand on. Helm risers can also improve ergonomics and comfort and, as in Paul Potter’s case, add extra storage.
Potter’s helm riser — with its complex shape, hinged top and internal storage — was a fully custom build. Boat Outfitters regularly works with customers to design and build one-off solutions like this one, but also offers simpler, rectangular helm risers, which are more affordable and easier to spec and order.
The Boat Outfitters Custom Helm Riser, our basic rectangular riser box, can be built to the customer’s dimensions up to a maximum size of 52” wide and 24” fore-and-aft, with a height of 3”, 4”, 5” or 6”.
It is available in three different white and off-whites, gray, or black, and comes with a 16mm EVA/PE blend foam cushion top. It does not have an opening lid or internal storage.
Mounting is straightforward. Four corner chocks are screwed to the deck, and then the riser “box” is dropped over the chocks and attached to them. Each riser is supplied with a matching template that is used to mark the location of the holes for the chocks. This video shows the process.
Helm risers are manufactured from CNC-cut King Starboard, which is impervious to moisture, sun and salt, using all stainless steel fasteners and designed to last the lifetime of your boat.