Galley Up - Galley Down

[Kaya 09]

Cat Man Do...your response sounds like my husband wrote it :-) He would agree about 99% of the cooking on the BBQ. But about the only time we (he) use the grill if for dinner when it tends to be a LOT cooler at ahchor! However, please consider any sides that go with dinner, any prep work, sandwiches for lunch breakfast. It has been my experience in the past 2 years of living aboard and cruising that these types of things are performed in the actually galley. Having cruised on board with both an 'up' and a 'down' ----- give me an 'up' any day! One more point to consider (and this comes from currently residing in Grenada where it rains every day) I can at least leave my cockpit doors open if the downpour occcurs during meal times! Most galley 'down' models that I have seen would not be able to have hatches open.

[Intentional Drifter]

In this size cat, it is the never-ending dilemma.

Galley up: social involvement, better ventilation (this does vary by design, though - our galley down has quite good ventilation and has only rarely been uncomfortable and at those times, it was the same everywhere in the boat).

Galley down: usually better storage and work space (not always true, varies by design), more room in salon, better security when cooking in a seaway.

You pick your compromises and live with them. Just the way it is.

ID

[tsmwebb]

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....

I think this depends on the design. We spend a lot time in the tropics and have a galley down design on a boat without A/C. The galley is well ventilated (overhead hatches, opening ports and an escape hatch in calm wx. The hulls are generally cooler than the pilot house during the day and I don't think putting the galley onto the bridge deck would make it any cooler. We have both a hatch and a solar vent directly above the stove and they draw out most of the heat which also keeps the bridge deck area cooler. From the galley the cook/drink mixer is not very isolated at all -- you can see and talk in a normal voice with folks in the house. It is not at all cave like. At sea the security and more limited motion are nice. But I've been on lots of cats where the galley up seemed to work pretty well too... Done right either can work well.

Tom

[DtM]

Up.

More sociable and my admiral would not have it any other way.

[spiritcat]

Galley up or down also depends on the cat design, our Spirited 380 has a narrow hull width that would make a galley down design difficult to achieve, we also wanted a galley up arrangement anyway. I recently had a look at a 15m cat under construction that had the galley down in a very narrow hull and movement through the galley area was compromised, the owner had gone away from the designers intent with this arrangement.
As far as tillers or wheels, have a look at a mechanical steering system rather than hydraulic, it will provide the feedback that you are looking for from a tiller.

Peter

[Eleven]

Galley down for my boat. I'm involved in conversations without getting jostled, any spills are confined to the galley floor, serving and retrieving is an arms reach.
Even on larger boats these things are useful, just keep the table close to the kitchen, the kitchen out of thoroughfares, and the carpet of the wipe clean variety.
Also move drinks away from the galley, surely those seated and waiting can make themselves useful witout getting in the chef's way.

[SeaKing]

We owned a PDQ 36 with the galley down. My wife thought she wanted a Galley down again until we found our Voyage. She actually looked at a Voyage with the galley down and considered it, but a different boat had a better(lower) price also galley down boat may have turned into a bidding war. Also she thought of all the up and down trying to serve on the bridge deck or cockpit table. She after all likes the galley up better now.

I remember when she use to be below in the gelley and I would see something worth looking at but she was below on the wrong side half the time busy and could stop top see. Now she faces forward when at the sink and can see clearly in all directions with little effort from anywhere in the galley.

I really like galley up better for running to get something while"at the helm".

I know the size of our Voyage helps with having room for the galley to be up, lots of room, it is a 2-3 butt galley. It is nice when the girls are in the galley preparing meals and everyone can still socialize.

So Up Is IT

[Cotemar]

The main reason we purchased a Catamaran was because we hated the dark cave feel of going below and not seeing anything on our Mono.

Galley up allows everyone to enjoy all the action and see what is going on.
Who needs a watch? Everyone is on watch.

The dark places in the hulls are for sleeping and showers, everything else is up in the light in clear panoramic view.

Mark

[Factor]

The key to this discussion however is the fact that we can have it. We have an option to have the galley where we individually choose - on some boats it can be located where you want and on others its one of the reasons for choosing a particular brand or model. We will all have our preference - but on some other sorts of boats e.g. tris and monos there is no choice. (not that that would stop me having a Chris White Hammerhead if I could afford it).

Isnt it nice that we can have this discussion - it shows we can have choices.

[tsmwebb]

Originally Posted by Factor

The key to this discussion however is the fact that we can have it. We have an option to have the galley where we individually choose...(not that that would stop me having a Chris White Hammerhead if I could afford it).

Isnt it nice that we can have this discussion - it shows we can have choices.

Good point and a pleasant thought...

Oh, by the way there's a Hammerhead on the market again 1996 Chris White Hammerhead Sail Boat For Sale - www.yachtworld.com... Sigh... Maybe I can get some TARP funds?

Tom

[Eleven]

Well, you've got lots of opinions, each of them right in their own way and for their own boat arrangement.
I'd just add that the windows should be placed for seated people in the lounge and standing people in the galley. It is unusual to stand for long in the lounge, particularly at sea. If you want a marina style boat then walking headroom is more impressive, but walking and sitting views are not usually compatible! due to the windows being strong enough to take green water. Standing at the stove/sink is something that has to be done for a while, no sitting unless you have a spacious boat. That's a strain if headroom is limited! So I do like my hull placed galley for that reason alone.
Note that some boat designers put the inboard engines in the hull well so standing headroom is even more limited. I know it's worth agonising over, it's very hard to change it once you've committed, and impacts on other things.

[Entlie]

On our older Prout 38 cat, the galley is down, and whoever is in the galley can participate with any conversataion going on at the table, and yet have control of the galley space. "You're adding too much rum to the punch!" "Don't put black pepper in that!" The folks in the main saloon never know, because they don't see what we're doing, and they enjoy the end results from the galley even more.

Entlie
Sailing Catamaran Sunspot Baby

[Factor]

This topic has exercised my little grey cells on the basis that nothing comes for free, there is a trade off somewhere. So if having a galley up is important because it keeps the cook in the social event, then what about the helms person. Almost all the galley up boats also have the Helm up, so the helmsperson is disconnected from what is happening in the saloon, this may not be a bad thing - just observing that it is rare to see galley up and helm at deck level, I know of a a few, but the majority of newer production boats from France and SA have galley up and helm even further up.

Its interesting to see that trade off.

[axel&andie]

I also think a lot depends on the kind of use the boat will be expected to provide, the size of the boat, as well as its interior design efficiency.

Most of the sub-40 feet galley-up designs I've seen have been inadequate in terms liveaboard (or long term cruising) workspace/storage needs. Of course, if you don't plan on using the galley much to begin with, these become non-issues. On cats larger than 40 feet or so, it usually looks/works much better, but still a lot depends on how well it was designed.

The advantages/disadvantages of the galley-down design also have a lot to do with the efficiency of the design and the size of the boat. I've seen a few galley-down designs where it was claustrophobic, cave-like, and detached from the social/living space (and this on some 40 foot plus boats as well, where it's harder to explain such badly designed galleys). I've also seen galley down designs that were airy/well-ventilated, had plenty of light and plenty of headroom (I'm 6 feet tall), and were quite in touch with the living space(s) because the galley was not entirely enclosed by a "roof" (Antares 44 comes to mind).

Ultimately, this is a discussion that will never end. What people expect the galley to do, and how much they're willing to pay to reduce or even eliminate the compromises in each design will vary, and we'll keep on discussing it.



Axel

[tsmwebb]

When passage making I think it is nice to have a galley that the off watch can use with a night light on but not interfere with the watch's visibility. Galley down can work better for that.

Tom