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• WEST MARINE

INTERIOR CONSIDERATIONS

Most yacht sailors are attracted to the look of their potential vessel from the outside, not realizing that a cruising boat spends at least 70% of it's time at anchor (or moored), and that the interior can make or break both the trip and the sailor. It is prudent to examine the interior carefully before deciding on a purchase or charter.

The first consideration is space and, particularly, headroom. The maximum headroom on any yacht is about 6'2", and a tall sailor will be very lucky to find this height as most vessels have headroom very much below that. Some small yachts offer only sitting headroom. It may seem quite a novelty to be hunched over in a cozy little cabin when looking at a yacht, but once in perpetual motion on a long journey the ceiling of the cabin will become a battering ram. Many sailors suffer concussions from hitting their heads on low cabin ceilings while underway. Make sure you can walk freely from the companionway as far as the first cabin without hitting your head.

The next consideration is the construction of berths and floors. Since most modern yachts use a pre-molded interior fiberglass liner to provide hull stiffening while shaping the berths and floors, there will be little opportunity to change the layout without major structural changes. The floor, being molded in with the liner, will wash easily but may restrict hull access in the event of an accident when the hull must be accessed from the inside for repairs. Make sure there are adequate access points so that you can reach as much of the inside surface of the hull as possible. An alternative to the fiberglass liner is standard construction with wood, and in an emergency the wood flooring could be torn up to provide access. Most offshore sailors opt for the standard wood construction in the interior, and if this is the case, the yacht in question will take a little more survey work to check for wood rot and loose joints. Remember that teak is the only wood that should be used on a yacht, due to it's high oil content and rot resistance. Any other type of wood, especially lower grades of non-marine plywood, will become liabilities in the damp environment of the interior.

Bulkheads, usually made of plywood and used in both liner and non-liner interiors, provide support for the deck and rig as well as separating and defining the interior quarters. It is best to select an interior with simple and symmetrical bulkheads, positioned to provide the best space in the cabin and forward v-berth (sleeping area near the bow of the vessel) while providing the most support for the considerable compression forces acting on the deck. A bulkhead is sometimes used to isolate the restroom or head, and if this is the case make sure that the design is adequate and that the loss of overall interior space is worth the added privacy. An alternative is a semi-enclosed head, although beware of those that are located in the v-berth as here they are basically part of your bed. As with other wood components, bulkheads must be checked for rot and loose joints (especially the fiberglass tape typically used to join it to the hull).

The settee design is another consideration that can make or break an interior. The standard configuration is two long opposing benches on each side of the boat with a table in the middle. This works fine in most instances, and the two benches become two berths for sleeping. Another interesting design is the dinette configuration, which is an arrangement of two smaller benches and a table, similar to a restaurant 'booth', set on only one side of the cabin. This offers more secure seating and an interesting asymmetrical interior that many find more spacious. It also folds down into one large double berth, but keep in mind that if sleeping underway one will want to sleep on the leeward side of the interior, and the dinette configuration does not allow this choice.

A new design idea for the aft area, used on modern large yachts and some of the newest smaller yachts, is the aft cabin. This is the arrangement of one large sleeping area at the back of the vessel, as opposed to a combination of single berth(s) and storage lockers as has been the norm on most cruising boats. The design calls for a higher cockpit and slightly shallower foot well (in the cockpit area directly above), but this is a nice trade off as a shallower cockpit does not fill with as much water, and is safer in this respect. The aft area is generally considered the favorable sleeping area of a yacht underway, so this design option is definitely worth considering.

The last of the interior design options concerns storage area. As with all aspects of yachting, the options are open to debate and are personal depending on the sailor. Keep in mind, however, the trend in modern living in all our shore-based dwellings is for more open areas and less complicated storage (i.e. the demise of multiple nick-knack drawers seen on older furniture). Complicated stowage creates extra weight, complicates maintenance, and creates small spaces for mold, mildew, and rot to form. Cupboard doors also have a nasty tendency to open at inopportune times, and can even become dangerous. Securing containers or soft bags in larger storage compartments or racks is preferable on an active cruising boats, as it provides flexibility in storage, as well as added access to the hull and other structural components. It is also easier to load and unload stores when they are not hidden away in a myriad of small drawers.