35ft Catamaran, galley up or down

[chiefcoxswain]

Had a Crowther SeaFire 33 with galley up, worked fine and encouraged a quick clean up after food prep, sink and fridge drained straight from bridge deck and steam and smoke were not a problem due to direct ventilation.
While at sea a good look out could be kept while getting food organized, Admiral was also happy to be topside while doing dishes.

[rabbi]

Our Mahe is galley up. Adiral would not want it any other way even though there is little counter space.
No walking up and down with food and dishes. Plus she would have trouble with seasickness down below. Up on the bridgedeck she has long views on the horizon.

[NB2013]

Who wants to be cooking down in the basement with those small windows only looking out the side.

If you have a maid or a cook, galley down is great.

Your mate may think its great only if your down there cooking.

The panoramic view is upstairs where everyone wants to be.

[AussieCat]

We have a 1997 model 43' Tasman Elite also an Aussie built cat with the galley down in the s/board side. I checked with the admiral if she would prefer it up top but we both agreed we just get to much use out of the huge saloon area. Again only personal choice but we spend far more time in the saloon than the galley. By the way she will be on the market shortly as we're looking at doing some extended overseas traveling. cheers

[Seafari]

Thanks for the input. Since I've only recently been serious about buying a cat it's these choices and decisions that are cropping up and left me wondering what others think. The LW35 does not have the largest salon so the galley down gives that extra space in the salon and a bigger galley below. As far as galley down, this particular layout seems to work as salon has been designed to open up the space overlooking the galley. Albeit quite spacious and not cut off from the saloon it's still galley down and with the stairs involved for carrying food and dishes up and down the steps. Oh, this particular boat as a freezer built-in under one of the seats in the cockpit which adds massive freezer storage.

[AussieCat]

Yes I know there always seems to be a trade off somewhere. May I ask what year your looking at and where your located? We originally looked at slightly newer 35' & 38' for around the same $$s but one of the main reasons we purchased the Tasman (apart from limited budget) was for the huge living areas available. We have loads more living spaces than say a Lagoon 41 (which we couldn't afford anyway) the trade off being we have less space down in the pods. We've had 12 guests plus we two and our two dogs with no problems. The other thing we wanted was plenty of protected outdoor area. I've made full clears around the hardtop helm area and full cover over the rear deck so unless it's raining sideways we are still able to enjoy the local view. See attached pics. Good luck with the search / purchase and please let us know what you end up purchasing. cheers again

[Goosebumps]

Originally Posted by cat ballou

I've had my 35' wildcat with the galley up version for almost a year and find it very convenient. Cooking, entertaining or just going to the fridge for a drink is all right there where all the action is. Of course, like others said, it depends on the beam size and how cramped the saloon would be with the galley up.
It is a decision you will have to live with for a long time so think carefully.
If your original vision was to have a boat with a galley up, like I had, than keep looking and make your compromises on less important stuff...
Good luck.

Ron

But do you actually live on the yacht? I cant imagine any serious liveaboards voting for galley up, who wants to live in his kitchen?

[Kreef]

I had a Dean 36 Aero cat here called "RUBY"back in 2002 and did a lot of entertaining off Cape Point and catching a lot of Yellowfin tuna and braaing it along with cape Rock Lobster and had no problem coping with the galley down.The larger space in the saloon allows for more people to occupy it and stay out of bad weather without having to hive off into seperate cabin space.Makes it more homely in that cold wet weather.I think galley up is great for many reasons but if you will be sailing at max pax capacity more often than not would go for a galley down version of a Cat under say 38 ft.All I can say is either works and if you love the boat you find and the only consideration is that the galley is not where you want it forget that aspect and buy the boat because everything else is really good .You will get used to the galley wherever it is located.
We sailed in some amazingly heavy seas around Cape Point and if anyone finds a Dean Aero 36 for sale would find a strongly built heavy Cat that performs amazingly well in heavy seas .I know only about 4 of them were built before fire destroyed the moulds .Ruby I think is in Australia somewhere after having the sugar scoops extended .This model got rid of the bridge deck slam which is so much a part of the earlier Dean 33 and 365 models personality.
Good luck with your purchase!!!

[Seafari]

Originally Posted by Kreef

I had a Dean 36 Aero cat here called "RUBY"back in 2002 and did a lot of entertaining off Cape Point and catching a lot of Yellowfin tuna and braaing it along with cape Rock Lobster and had no problem coping with the galley down.The larger space in the saloon allows for more people to occupy it and stay out of bad weather without having to hive off into seperate cabin space.Makes it more homely in that cold wet weather.I think galley up is great for many reasons but if you will be sailing at max pax capacity more often than not would go for a galley down version of a Cat under say 38 ft.All I can say is either works and if you love the boat you find and the only consideration is that the galley is not where you want it forget that aspect and buy the boat because everything else is really good .You will get used to the galley wherever it is located.
We sailed in some amazingly heavy seas around Cape Point and if anyone finds a Dean Aero 36 for sale would find a strongly built heavy Cat that performs amazingly well in heavy seas .I know only about 4 of them were built before fire destroyed the moulds .Ruby I think is in Australia somewhere after having the sugar scoops extended .This model got rid of the bridge deck slam which is so much a part of the earlier Dean 33 and 365 models personality.
Good luck with your purchase!!!

Hey Kreef, howzit! CT is my home town an I still have a share in a mooring at FBYC I've spent many days fishing for YFT off Cape Point (not on a yacht) but on ski boats out of Simonstown. Dropping kreef nets inside the point, 20 mins and full quota. With the favorable exchange rate I've considered buying a cat in SA but there seems to be more SA built cats for sale in other parts of the world than back in SA. Dean, R&C Lagoon, Admiral, Maxtrix, Wildcat, Voyager, St Francis etc

[Seafari]

Originally Posted by AussieCat

Yes I know there always seems to be a trade off somewhere. May I ask what year your looking at and where your located?

Hi Aussiecat, I've been looking at a 2001 35ft Lightwave here in Oz, west coast.

[Lagoon hound]

Galley should always be down on cats under 40 feet. I even prefer the layout of the 1250 seawind. Galley down , over the galley up models Even the larger lagoon 60 foot cats offer better cooking facilities with galley down.

[weavis]

Originally Posted by Lagoon hound

Galley should always be down on cats under 40 feet. I even prefer the layout of the 1250 seawind. Galley down , over the galley up models Even the larger lagoon 60 foot cats offer better cooking facilities with galley down.

Im sorry.... did you mean to say, "my preference for vessels under 40 feet is to have the the galley down, but your preference my be different."

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by Lagoon hound

Galley should always be down on cats under 40 feet. I even prefer the layout of the 1250 seawind. Galley down , over the galley up models Even the larger lagoon 60 foot cats offer better cooking facilities with galley down.

Rationale for that statement?

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by Goosebumps

But do you actually live on the yacht? I cant imagine any serious liveaboards voting for galley up, who wants to live in his kitchen?

I know lots of liveaboards with galley up layouts. In my case I've livedaboard, cruised full-time, cruised part-time, and run charters on the same model of boat. Very comfortable for all the above.

The galley is only a portion (25% or less) of the entire deckhouse area on most galley ups, so its not like literally living in your kitchen. But if you compare that to living ashore, a lot of the living in a house takes place in the kitchen and adjacent space.

[valhalla360]

I think on larger cats, there is a debate based on use (staying in the conversation vs crew doing cooking out of the way.

Below 35' is starts to make a lot more sense to go galley down. It's not big enough to put you away from the guests and allows for a much bigger galley without impinging on the main cabin space.

With relatively long arms, I still have access to the galley counter from the sallon table on our Gemini. For example, when finished with dinner, I just reach the dishes over to the galley counter. To carve out space for a galley up would seriously cut back on the sallon space. A wider beam would help but even at 17-18' would still seriously reduce available space on the bridge deck.