Original design had a double sided drop leaf table attached to the mast compression post. Settee bunks along both sides provided the sitting for six people. Being a left handed person, I always create problems at dinner tables, let alone cramped ones. There was some storage under bunks, however there wasn't much storage for everyday use items, especially in the galley, More readily available cupboard space was needed.
Another major challenge with the original layout/design in the galley was the lack of food preparation area. While cruising, we will be preparing, and cooking on board for most of the time. Unless we stick with instant noodles as our staple diet, more food preparation surface will be needed.
Re-designing the main saloon layout was to make to boat more suitable for living aboard. This meant addressing the galley concerns. It is not our intention to have many people staying on board for any length of time, so sacrificing the seating area seemed the logical step.
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| New layout for cruising |
The port side settee berth would remain the same, except with the addition of lee cloth to provide a good sea berth during overnight sailing. The starboard side berth will be converted into just a settee, being shortened to 1400mm long. The shortening will allow the galley area to be extended to give the extra food preparation area next to the sink. The area under the galley bench top will become a cupboard for longer term storage. The table will be attached to this new cupboard providing even more preparation area. Suspended under the aft portion of the table, another cupboard will be built for everyday galley storage. Outboard of the sink, an additional cupboard will be built for more everyday use items. A drop leaf will be attached to the port side of the table should additional dinning seating be needed along the port settee.
To lighten the interior and simplify cleaning, the galley bench top, table, and drop leaf are all made from a light grey coloured Corian (solid surface benchtop).
Out board of the starboard settee, the existing cupboards will remain, with an addition of two small shelves forward of the cupboards (top shelf for book storage). Electronic books is means that so much valuable space can be saved. The existing cupboards will remain on the port side as well. Forward of the port side cupboards will be the LCD screen. This screen will serve multiple purposes, TV display for entertainment, as well as a display for the laptop. The laptop chart plotter will be one source of navigation aid (certainly not the only), and having a larger display will help with the planning of passages and anchorage locations. With the advent of electronic chart plotters, and waterproof displays, the demand for a dedicated navigation area is reduced. The person on the helm can instantaneously see where they are located. During passages, paper charts will be used as backups, with position updates done at the settee.
