Galley Up - Galley Down

[shipofools]

Looking to get some feedback, on the Galley Up - Galley Down angle on a cat. Shopping ATM, and and wondering what people prefer, and why?

Cheers

[Factor]

Down - more bench space more kitchen space, more cupboard space - I dont have the kitchen in the middle of the lounge room at home why would I on a boat.

[Kaya 09]

Up - When the galley is 'down' you are basically out of touch when you have guests. It is very much like being in a cave with limited ventalation. So...when the stove/oven is on, it pretty much becomes a sauna. As we spend about 99% of our social time in the cockpit, have the galley 'up' allows the person that actually does the cooking to be a part of the social activities. Think of it this way...it is an open living home where the kitchen and the living area are only separated by the bar.

[freetime]

For me it can be both up or down. But also alote on the design of the boat. If you look at seawind 1160, i prefer kitchen down. And if it is a privilege 445/495 i prefer up. So for me i must see the design of hole boat first. And also, who will sail the boat, how many and where.

Shipofools- Tell us what boat you want, and if it is for a world cruiser, or a weekend or week cruiser. etc....

[shipofools]

Originally Posted by freetime

Shipofools- Tell us what boat you want, and if it is for a world cruiser, or a weekend or week cruiser. etc....

So the challenge has been to find a multihull that meets our needs. Basically it has come down to us planning on going with a Farrier 44sc with an r rig for performance.

We have shopped all the cantanas, outremers, chris white boats, etc basically any multi with daggerboards, but they all have compromises that we can not overcome. I can address this in another thread if people are interested in our thinking.

The Farrier seems to address all the needs we have, especially when you factor in the variability of layouts & specification while having the boat built.

So as we plan the layout of the boat, we have the flexibility now to decide what works best, and are looking for feedback

As far as the intended use, world cruiser . . .

Cheers,

[DaveOnCudjoe]

Charles,
Before I settled on tri's I considered cats. It came down to windage, bridgedeck clearance and the conflict between the two. With galley down could you have less than standing headroom in the salon, much like the old Hirrondelle's? Dave

[Tellie]

Up. As stated before, unless you have A/C if can become quite uncomfortable in the hotter climates. I'm lucky enough to have a wife that likes to do most of the cooking. I enjoy sitting in the salon area and talking with her while I'm relaxing. An up galley usually has a much better breeze coming through. When I single hand it's nice to have the galley right there when I want to grab a quick snack or drink. When I am alone there are things like stews that take awhile to cook. I like to keep a constant eye on any flame. It's alot easier and more comfortable in the salon area than hanging out down below.

[Therapy]

Originally Posted by shipofools

Looking to get some feedback, on the Galley Up - Galley Down angle on a cat. Shopping ATM, and and wondering what people prefer, and why?

Cheers

A lot here.

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...down-9744.html

It seems to boil down to down if boat is small and up if bigger, but this is a size of boat answered by area constraints. I would have it up as I think, like at home, a lot of life surrounds the kitchen closely, intimately.

[DevoDave]

Originally Posted by freetime

For me it can be both up or down. But also alote on the design of the boat. If you look at seawind 1160, i prefer kitchen down. And if it is a privilege 445/495 i prefer up.

I have a Seawind 1160, and down is definitely the go! The Sewind has an 'open plan' layout which means the galley is still part of the action. You really need to see one in the flesh to appreciate how good it is.

[shipofools]

Originally Posted by DaveOnCudjoe

Charles,
Before I settled on tri's I considered cats. It came down to windage, bridgedeck clearance and the conflict between the two. With galley down could you have less than standing headroom in the salon, much like the old Hirrondelle's? Dave

Since we are looking to have the boat built for us, and are honestly not really worried about resell value, we are going to build it for 5'10" headroom, with more headroom in the aft berths (we are short). I am looking to minimize windage, and have the highest possible bridgedeck that the design can have.

Some other key elements of what we are planning is offset (canted) saildrives to allow the boat to rest on its bottom, and move the engines more to the centerline for balance. Planning to do daggerboard rudders in order to facilitate further. Not many cats that are this size can claim a 22inch draft. A great pic of the offset saildrives can be seen here: exterior

With the goal of keeping the boat light, we have looked at the Andaman cat as inspiration in the planning phase, and will use a similar theme ie dropcloths for doors, no drawers, etc - pics here: Andaman Cabriolet by Composite Catamarans Co., Ltd.
On this we are debating enclosing the back of the bridgedeck or not at this point. Reason for - physical security of the boat, but feel that eisenglass as doors will work anytime we do not feel the need to lock the boat.

From a build perspective, Melvest marine is a no brainer, they have experience with Ian's designs, and I have seen their work which is top notch.

Another thing we are trying to figure out now, and I would love people's opinions on are tillers vs wheels. It is our opinion that tillers are simpler, and more reliable, and the feedback is more real ie. you can tell when you are loaded up or badly trimmed without even looking at the sails.

We are spending the time in the planning phase to ensure we have the boat that we want, and I realize that this boat will be a build that is suited to individuals that are into a high performance cat, with simple systems, and not ideal for everyone.

Cheers

[shipofools]

Originally Posted by Tellie

Up. As stated before, unless you have A/C if can become quite uncomfortable in the hotter climates. I'm lucky enough to have a wife that likes to do most of the cooking. I enjoy sitting in the salon area and talking with her while I'm relaxing. An up galley usually has a much better breeze coming through. When I single hand it's nice to have the galley right there when I want to grab a quick snack or drink. When I am alone there are things like stews that take awhile to cook. I like to keep a constant eye on any flame. It's alot easier and more comfortable in the salon area than hanging out down below.

Tellie, I still owe you a beer for the solar panel you sent me a while ago. I am in Marathon now if you ever come down.

Great point about singlehanding. We are not planning on AC.

Cheers,

[shipofools]

Originally Posted by DevoDave

I have a Seawind 1160, and down is definitely the go! The Sewind has an 'open plan' layout which means the galley is still part of the action. You really need to see one in the flesh to appreciate how good it is.

I know a lot of ex farrier owners go to the seawinds for cruising. I believe there are a few in stuart FL I can check out, thanks for the heads up.

[shipofools]

Originally Posted by Therapy

A lot here.

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...down-9744.html

It seems to boil down to down if boat is small and up if bigger, but this is a size of boat answered by area constraints. I would have it up as I think, like at home, a lot of life surrounds the kitchen closely, intimately.

Yup, I checked that out before I posted, but with all the new members since that thread and many new cat owners, I thought that there would be additional feedback.

You got me thinking about the fact of where most of the life on the boat occurs, and maybe it really is the cockpit, so the closer the galley is to the cockpit, the more "homey" the boat is.

Cheers,

[shipofools]

Originally Posted by Kaya 09

Up - When the galley is 'down' you are basically out of touch when you have guests. It is very much like being in a cave with limited ventalation. So...when the stove/oven is on, it pretty much becomes a sauna. As we spend about 99% of our social time in the cockpit, have the galley 'up' allows the person that actually does the cooking to be a part of the social activities. Think of it this way...it is an open living home where the kitchen and the living area are only separated by the bar.

Reading the posts backwards, so missed this. Agree re cockpit, and that and singlehanding are starting to drive us in a certain direction.

[cat man do]

Galley down for me

Like Factor I also dont have my kitchen in my loungeroom

Originally Posted by Kaya 09

Up - When the galley is 'down' you are basically out of touch when you have guests. It is very much like being in a cave with limited ventalation.

Never had a problem before, even in the galley in my last cat that was 32 ft

The one I am doing now has a galley 3.3m long x 2.2 metres wide at bench height with 2 500x500 hatches, side portholes and plenty of visibility to interact with guests. This galley is in the hull.

But in reality, 90% of the cooking will be done in the cockpit on the BBQ