Galley shapes, along side , 'L' or 'U'

[Steadman Uhlich]

A former Galley Slave says:

Consider a cruising Catamaran.

With a Cat that has the "galley up" in the saloon, you can have your galley facing the nice open cockpit with a pass-through port (window) and plenty of ventilation and…no pronounced heeling while cooking underway.

This makes being a galley slave more fun as one can enjoy the ride and the view while cooking up the stew.

With a "galley down" cat plan, the usual is a linear arrangement.

[Pauls]

Consider having the stove and sink mounted transverse, ie on the legs of the "U" when the opening is towards the centerline. There is a major reduction of being tossed into or away from the stove. Sink drains work better with the sink closer to the centerline also.

[Terra Nova]

U and L-shaped galleys wind up with dead space in the corners that is often difficult to thoroughly utilize. TN has a variation on the U--that is, it is an outboard galley guarded by a large "island" double sink over the engine box. The end of the U is actually just a partial bulkhead which separates the galley from the salon. The sink island prevents the cookie from being tossed across the boat.

A similar effect is produced in some center cockpit yachts which have a pass-through galley under the cockpit, with sinks amidships, separating the galley from nav area.

[Stu Jackson]

Single sinks make NO sense at all. My wife has "learned: me how to "do" dishes an pots & pans correctly.

The "Europen" side galleys are dangerous: in port or on underway.

They are also a tremendous waste of space.

If you check out the optional layouts of the Catalina 42, for example, you will find that the straight galley layout take away a LOT of useful space, and makes the same space a lot smaller.

[Matt Johnson]

Most galleys require a belt in bad weather. So what is the difference if it's a linear galley or L shape? Ours is an L like the Catalina 34s, but I cant see how that helps as I'm usually not falling forward, but more port to starboard.

Matt

[Stu Jackson]

Originally Posted by funjohnson

Most galleys require a belt in bad weather. So what is the difference if it's a linear galley or L shape? Ours is an L like the Catalina 34s, but I cant see how that helps as I'm usually not falling forward, but more port to starboard.

Matt

Matt, yes.

But you have to ask yourself HOW you are going to or have to need to use your galley.

And whether or not the arrangement takes away space from the rest of the saloon.

That's why I used the C42 as an example. Check oput the brochures.

[annsni]

Originally Posted by Stu Jackson

Single sinks make NO sense at all. My wife has "learned: me how to "do" dishes an pots & pans correctly.

The "Europen" side galleys are dangerous: in port or on underway.

They are also a tremendous waste of space.

If you check out the optional layouts of the Catalina 42, for example, you will find that the straight galley layout take away a LOT of useful space, and makes the same space a lot smaller.

Actually, that's our boat and I LOVE the straight galley. It's so much more practically useful for more than one person to assist in getting food on the table. I have a family of 6 and we cruise each summer with all of us on board - and I can be finishing cooking at the stove while people are also in the galley around me getting dishes out, going in the fridge, getting drinks, etc. I've been on boats with all sorts of lay-outs for the galley and this is the one I love best. Of course we're not doing any water sailing">blue water sailing so I can't say how this is mid-ocean (my guess is less than ideal) but for what we do - coastal cruising - it's perfect.

[wristwister]

One thing to consider is how/where the sink drains. In general, a U or L galley with the sink positioned toward the centerline of the hull will be less prone to burping water up the drain when heeled way over than a side galley.

[Suijin]

Originally Posted by Pauls

Consider having the stove and sink mounted transverse, ie on the legs of the "U" when the opening is towards the centerline. There is a major reduction of being tossed into or away from the stove. Sink drains work better with the sink closer to the centerline also.

And there is a major increase in food, boiling water, etc. being thrown OFF the stove because it's not gimbeled on the roll axis of the boat. Not a great idea.

I'm a big fan of the "U" for any sort of passage making. Virtually impossible to work in a galley at sea if you don't have something to brace yourself on on *both* sides.

My galley is a typical Bob Perry galley, who's a huge fan of the "U", but mine is open to the side instead of fore and aft. Requires a galley strap to really be secure. Those that have the opening to the U fore or aft are in my opinion the best solution, although in many cases that means that the engine compartment is right below the sink. Not a fan of that given the sink drain problems that can result as well as the heat from the engine turning the sink into a recessed hotplate.

You can use a galley strap in a straight galley, but you have nothing to brace against and the strap is only really good for checking your motion in one direction. And then you have the problem of a long counter that you can't reach while you're strapped in. With a U shape, everything is right there, for the most part.

And it doesn't matter how elaborate your meals are. The most common injury on small boats at sea are burns from working the in the galley, usually from simply boiling water. I know a few seasoned sailors who've been burned badly because of that one time the kettle slipped while they were making coffee and it went down their leg. Can't even imagine trying to make coffee in a straight galley in any sort of a seaway at all.

[ReneJK]

Thank you everyone who gave input, loads of good advice to go over

It looks like most of the comments and concerns are about safety during passage making , what about during stays in anchor places , behind hook ?

Since its all a compromise, are there big tradeoff's regarding living space below deck in L/U vs. straight ? After all , passage making is approx 20% of total time and i am wondering if straight is more convenient at anchor ? Or does the same reasoning apply ?

We're looking mostly at newish 40-45 ft french yachts and those mostly seem to have the straight galley ?

Anyway , I really appreciate the input , please keep it coming :-)

[robert sailor]

Straight galleys while not my favorite can be OK at sea if they have something for back support, like a piece of furniture from the saloon. Efficient layouts and safe layouts are not the same so depending on your use you may decide to choose one over the other.

[Mike OReilly]

We cook all the time on board. I like our U shaped galley both on the hook and underway. It provides a safe space to work while heeled, with easy access to galley equipment. Counter space is adequate, although more is always better. I could not imaging cooking underway on a side layout in a smallish mono. Probably would be ok in a cat or big mono though.

The best answer depends on the type and size of the boats you are considering. The bigger the boat, the more options you likely have for effective layouts.


Why go fast, when you can go slow

[ReneJK]

Approx 6 weeks ago we looked at a Beneteau cyclades 43.3 and 39.3
Both of which have the straight galley

We liked 90% of it , including the bare inside (easy to clean) , double wheel- huge outside space, 3 berths etc but were uncertain of the straight galley

Now I am leaning more towards the Jeanneau 39i , almost same exteriour but a more compact 'L' galley (safer)

[Stu Jackson]

Originally Posted by ReneJK

...and i am wondering if straight is more convenient at anchor ? Or does the same reasoning apply ?

We're looking mostly at newish 40-45 ft french yachts and those mostly seem to have the straight galley ?

Anyway , I really appreciate the input , please keep it coming :-)

It really comes down to what you just said: how will YOU use the YOUR boat and which do YOU like? Given the input you've received.

Here's another example: In our old house we had a pretty small kitchen, but other than some dishes or glasses that were "next door" in a hutch in the breakfast nook, everything was right there. The sink was right next to the stove, and the fridge was just a turn away. In our current house, it has a linear "galley" with the stove on one side and the sink on the other. It's FOUR TIMES the size of our old small kitchen. It is HORRIBLE to work in. I do four miles just to make a bowl of soup!

I like the L galley on our boat, smaller than our old kitchen and quite easily hands down superior to our current house kitchen.

Again, if you check out the C42 options on the Yachts and boats for sale - Catalina Yachts website, you can see how the very same space for the saloon is made almost half the size because of the linear galley on the starboard side compared to the aft port galley in the layout options.

But it all comes down to YOUR choice.

Your boat, your choice.

Good luck.

[Cheechako]

What I see as proper counter space. Fridge and stove on opposite side (not shown)