Bristol 27

Living Spaces

Image Gallery

Project Logs

Winter, 2010

After templating and planning the major  interior design, I installed the main bulkheads into the entire boat, effectively re-creating the salon.

Research

•  If crew members over 6 feet tall are to be accommodated with reasonable respect, the headroom, at a minimum, must be 6’ 3”, and not just along the centerline…  (Desirable and Undesirable Characteristics of Offshore Yachts, p. 62)
• Pay attention to details. Arrange and install plenty of grab bars and handles so crew members of all heights can support themselves when the boat is heeling…should round off all corners and edges with a full radius.  (Desirable and Undesirable Characteristics of Offshore Yachts, p. 129)
• Design your salon as liberally as you like…but be warned: most people who build their own cruising boats have never cruised before. Being unfamiliar with the reasons for the confined space of a small boat they spread out their settees and berths and end up with a storage-spaceless, grab-supportless barn with uncomfortable narrow outboard settees joined only by air. To imagine the consequences at sea you need only close your eyes and picture a barrel of about a 10’ diameter being tossed about on 20 foot waves. You should not forget to picture yourself inside the barrel. Now just sit back and relax.  (Upgrading the Cruising Sailboat)
• …it is entirely possible that more injuries occur belowdecks than above. Being thrown against a cabinet corner, having a heavy pot land on your head, or getting scalded by a tipped pan of hot water are just a few of the ways that someone can be injured. The interior of your boat should be designed with a vision of the worst that can happen.  (Upgrading the Cruising Sailboat, p. 54)
• A plywood interior can be unscrewed if there is time [in the event of an emergency]  (Upgrading the Cruising Sailboat, p. 77)
• …keep in mind as you develop your plan is to avoid injury-causing pointed corners…Rounding pointed corners will require a bit more work on your part.  (Upgrading the Cruising Sailboat, p. 78)

Fiddles

• …respectable fiddle rails with a minimum height of 1 ½”. The fiddle rails should have vertical inner faces, as opposed to the nicely rounded bull-nosed upper edges invariably installed by boatbuilders. Although the rounded-off molding looks great at boat shows, it serves as a natural launching pad for any plate lip that slides up onto it. (Cruising Handbook, p. 121)
• The one surface on which I don’t like a fixed fiddle rail is the saloon table. In practice, the table is rarely usable at sea, with our without a fiddle rail, and the fiddle rail just gets in the way at anchor or in harbor. If fiddles are fitted, I recommend that they be removable.  (Cruising Handbook, p. 121 – 2)
• Fiddle rails on tables and on countertops with square corners make it difficult to clean the surfaces they surround…they should incorporate clean-out slots, preferable at the corners, although this allows spills to dribble out. These slots are not appropriate if small items can slide off, for example pencils and dividers on a chart table.  (Cruising Handbook, p. 122)
• I hate getting toward the edge of a chart and discovering the parallel rules are going to hit the fiddle before I get to where I want to be!! A low fiddle wont keep the chart on the table when heeled anyway….HOWEVER…Have you tried a Breton Plotter instead of Parallel Rules? (no moving across the Chart  (http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/f121/the-chart-table-32505.html)
• Whatever the chart-table arrangement, the tabletop needs a modest fiddle rail, which – as with all fiddle rails – needs a vertical interior face.  (Cruising Handbook, p. 133)
• …in the galley and on bookshelves, where 1 ½” or 2” is a good height.  (After 50,000 Miles, p. 292)

Navigation Station

• The seat is quite comfy, and one can wedge themselves in when rough out. Additional charts are stored under the lift-up top, with storage for more charts directly behind. A small fiddle is at the bottom of the table. The computer sits in the cubby to the left, with wireless mouse and keyboard (wired ones are stowed away as back-ups). Log book and cruising books (guides) are on the shelf above the computer, with small bungee cords available to keep everything in placeThe set-up works well for us, as the nav station is visible from the cockpit, and the station does double duty as a nav station and an office for us.
• best located so it is protected from rain and spray from coming down the companionway, yet where the navigator can communicate with the crew in the cockpit.
• …to plot fixes and carry out other critical tasks, you need both hands free. This means the chart must remain stationary (generally laid up against the back of the chart table or a fiddle rail on the front)…and you must be able to brace yourself (generally by getting wedged in a seat) without having to hang on with one hand. You will need all the tools of the trade – pencils, dividers, parallel rulers, and so on – immediately at hand, which means a dedicated stowage space out of which they will not bounce.  (Cruising Handbook, p. 130)
• I believe the key to finding the space is eliminating the conventional sit-down navigation station – facing fore or aft – and instead having a stand up chart table with the navigator facing athrwartships, wedged between the chart table and a counter in the galley or some other solid structure. Such an arrangement has a couple distinct advantages: 1) Seating area typically absorbs 20 – 24” of horizontal space, which can be incorporated into the chart table. 2) eliminating the seating arrangement at the chart table frees up a tremendous amount of storage space beneath the table.  (Cruising Handbook, p. 132)
• The stand up table allows a series of large, relatively shallow chart drawers to be installed beneath the table; 2” is a good depth (each drawer holds more than 50 charts). we have 3 chart drawers, in addition to a substantial chart and miscellaneous storage area beneath the tabletop itself, which lifts on a hinge. The stand up table is fat rather than…sloped….which is a benefit, not a disadvantage. As the displayed-chart area gets larger, you need to be able to bend over the top as you pore over the charts. This is the standard arrangement on large ships….and it becomes another substantial surface when preparing more elaborate meals in harbor.  (Cruising Handbook, p. 132)
• The height of the table should be approximately 35 – 36”, including the fiddle rail (if it is higher, it will be difficult to get satisfactorily positioned above he charts. The space between the stand-up table and the structure against which the navigator braces in a seaway should be between 21 – 24”, but not more.  (Cruising Handbook, p. 132 – 3)
• I prefer the stand-up because it is easier to brace oneself in a rolling sea using legs and pelvis only, leaving both hands free….some advocate that the sit down table is infinitely superior, for one can get off one’s feet while working out sights. True, but there should be numerous other places in the boat to perform this function. And those who want to hide the chart table from the weather admitting companionway, I say a little rag can wipe a long way.  (From a Bare Hull, p. 36)
• …the station should have a comfortable, well-constructed seat.  Inevitably, the boat will approach a landfall in rough conditions, poor visibility, and tricky currents, all combing to make dead reckoning both difficult and time consuming In these situations, the overworked navigator gets little rest and so requires all the support possible.  (Desirable and Undesirable Characteristics of Offshore Yachts, p. 224)
• Ideally, the navigator should be able to brace him- or herself when the boat is heeled 30 degrees on both tacks, either by using footrests or by adjusting the angle of a concave seat that can be pivoted when the navigator is seated.  (Desirable and Undesirable Characteristics of Offshore Yachts, p. 224)
• a good seat and lighting. Also a place to store charts and nav tools, and room to look at any electronic equipment I might want.  (http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/f121/the-chart-table-32505.html)
• I would want to sit at a chart table, facing forwards and for the chart table to be located where it will not be pooped by water coming through a companion way, hatch or dorade. (So forward of companionway and off to one side). Not too dark in day time, and a good light for night.I would want to be able to place a chart on top without having to quarter it and have access to all chart tools, navigation equipment and boat management systems without leaving my seat. This includes, paper charts and tools, chartplotter / PC, boat instruments, battery monitors, breakers etc etc. As more and more people move to PC based navigation, the chart table and the laptop or PC start to fight for space. The best system that I’ve seen to overcome this was a remotely located PC, a monitor on the bulkhead opposite and a flexible (roll-up) keypad kept in a small nook adjacent to the chart table (typically where you would keep your tide tables etc). with a mouse (which was the old wired type).  (http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/f121/the-chart-table-32505.html)
• I have mixed feelings about stand up or sit down really. Chart table should be large enough to hold the most common charts you will use. Handy to use with the boat heeled. Imagine you are coasting with the wind blowing 20 knots and dodging reefs etc. Too windy for the chart outside and you might need to go down and up repeatedly to look at the chart. This would indicate that a stand up table is more useful…. and can usually be larger too. No fiddles on the chart table… flat and smooth to the edge….just get in the habit of putting the pencil in the receptacle. Make a “clip” to hold the top edge of the chart. Maybe the best of both worlds is a locking swing out stool under a stand up table. That way you get a large table, the ability to do your chart work under way quickly and without sliding in and out of a seat. Easy to brace yourself in lieu of sliding out of the seat and a seat to sit on for work when at anchor. For route planning, with chart or laptop “all” can view the plan at a stand up table. If you have SSB or Ham radio, dont forget the radio/computer time you will be spending and will want a seat though. Of course handy receptacles for parallel rules, dividers etc. Nearby chart storage so when you realize you need another chart NOW, you can get it.  (http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/f121/the-chart-table-32505.html)
• Everything needs to be “bolted down” so to speak when out in rough seas, so printers, scanners, and other items need to have “planned” places and restraints.- – So the chart table gets eaten away by computers and their supporting machines. A knockdown caused by a wave or a passing power yacht can throw valuable equipment – like your computer, et.al. – off the table and onto the floor which can be a very expensive mistake. So design your “computer station” to allow for hold-downs for all the gear.- – Unless you are a 2-person crew with one person always on watch at the helm, locating any navigation instruments or doing chart work down below – with nobody up on deck on watch – can also be deadly/expensive. I would suggest planning carefully your cockpit/helm layout to allow all the necessary navigation functions and communications functions to be carried out without having to “go below”. If you are in the planning stages of your “dream boat” or re-fitting your older boat – it pays to move all necessary “primary” navigation/communications up to the helm/cockpit. It is getting rather busy out there in the seaways these days and going below for more than a minute or two can be deadly (nobody on watch).  (http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/f121/the-chart-table-32505.html)
• on my Irwin 40 I have a shuttle PC, SSB, VHF, stereo, AC and DC outlets.Wayne,I have lost two laptops to salt and am thinking of putting a “desktop” in a protected area and wiring it to a navstation.  (http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/f121/the-chart-table-32505.html)
• What worked great was a swivel chair, with a high back and good side support. This gave a lot of back spport and enough side support that the table was quite usable in quite rough conditions.As an added bonus, this really became one of the most comfortable favorite spots on the boat, either at sea or anchored, for general reading and lounging around due to the comfort and support of the chair  (http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/f121/the-chart-table-32505-3.html)

Navigation Station – Charts & Chart Table

Settees

V-berth & Forepeak

• A good 34” should be available between the surface of the berth and the cabin top so that one can sit up in bed….many boats utilize this space to very good advantage by installing a work bench or complete storage, etc.,…if you intend to have no company and single berths will prove adequate for your tastes, then you can convert the entire forepeak to sail stowage, a dark room, or whatever you need.  (From a Bare Hull, p. 151)
• Sitting up requires about 36 inches.  (Desirable and Undesirable Characteristics of Offshore Yachts, p. 132)
• On another trip I recall sleeping in the forepeak of a Hand-designed ketch. Again, there was scarcely any room to get into the berth. In the middle of the night there was a crisis and all hands were called. I sat up suddenly from a deep sleep and automatically cracked my head on a big oak beam.  (After 50,000 Miles, p. 291)
• Any space used regularly for sleeping should have at least one area with standing headroom, not just to give a visual sense of space, but also for the practical reason that it’s difficult to dress and undress without it.  (Cruising Handbook, p. 146)
• Where berths extend under the cockpit or deck, with limited headroom, it is important to maintain sufficient headroom over the end of the berth to climb in and out without banging your head and to be able to sit up comfortably in bed to read. Also required is a suitable surface as a backrest and an appropriately located reading light.
• All berths should have fans.  (Cruising Handbook, p. 147)
• A double berth needs to be at least 44” wide. It can taper at both the head (to 40”) and the foot (to 22”), but anything smaller is going to get awfully cozy.  (Cruising Handbook, p. 147)
• V-berth areas that are unused except for occasional guests can be converted to semi-permanent storage by using bins and crates.  (All in the Same Boat, p. 89)
• There is often a shortage of locker space in a fore cabin. this can be remedied by incorporating the largely dead space under the decks into drop front cabinets. These are more useful than shelves because most of the volume in these areas is up under the deck where there is a maximum hull flare.  (Cruising Handbook, p. 147)

Page Menu

• Image Gallery
• Project Logs
• Research
• Comments

2 Responses to Living Spaces