If you could design your own bridge deck....

[Mark424]

If you had a blank canvas for the bridge deck for your cat, how would you lay it out?

The reason I ask, I'm looking at the Maine Cat 38 with an open bridge deck and am trying to map out how best to use (furnish) the space. I like the "great room" concept as I prefer a great view forward from the entire bridge deck while underway - rather than staring at the back of the house wall from the aft cockpit when not at the helm.

Also the kind of seating that you would want underway (more sturdy) seems different than you'd want an anchor (more lounge-y).


From here

[Jimbo485]

Forward facing chart table.

[smj]

I would use the same design as the Seawind 1000, a personal choice.


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[Mark424]

Originally Posted by smj

I would use the same design as the Seawind 1000, a personal choice.

Underway, do you find yourself spending most of your time at the table, helm, one of the seats behind the traveller, folding chairs in the cockpit, or ?

If you weren't using permanently affixed seats/tables, would that change things?

Thanks

[mikereed100]

When designing our saloon we did have a "blank slate" and went with something a bit different from the usual. Forward to port we have a large, forward facing nav station. Forward to starboard we have a raised platform on which we have a legless reclining chair with room for an additional beanbag chair. Aft port is the galley with a counter that will seat four on barstools. Aft starboard is a day-bed with storage and refer underneath.

We chose this layout as we did not feel the need for a large saloon table, preferring to have comfortable "lounging" areas. It has worked out well for us but might not appeal to those who sail with larger crews.

[smj]

Originally Posted by Mark424

Underway, do you find yourself spending most of your time at the table, helm, one of the seats behind the traveller, folding chairs in the cockpit, or ?



If you weren't using permanently affixed seats/tables, would that change things?



Thanks

If under autopilot we spent a lot of time at the salon table. It's nice to be able to eat lunch or read a book on the salon couch with a 360 degree view.


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[tomfl]

Originally Posted by Mark424

Underway, do you find yourself spending most of your time at the table, helm, one of the seats behind the traveller, folding chairs in the cockpit, or ?

If you weren't using permanently affixed seats/tables, would that change things?

Thanks

Being underway is a rather broad term. Sometimes it is 12 knots and 1-2 foot seas and sometimes the wind blows harder and the waves are bigger.

I have a dock box in the cockpit of my Seawind and those West Marine folding padded seats at each helm. Often times my choice of seating is based on keeping out of the sun so I will be at the helm station most in the shade. Or I may take one of the folding seats and put it on the deck box which almost always is in the shade.

If there is a difficult seaway I am almost always at one of the helms, usually the weather one.

As you noted there are lots of choices of seating arrangements on a Seawind and my first consideration is safety, but under normal conditions comfort is also important.

[Jimbo485]

Originally Posted by mikereed100

When designing our saloon we did have a "blank slate" and went with something a bit different from the usual. Forward to port we have a large, forward facing nav station. Forward to starboard we have a raised platform on which we have a legless reclining chair with room for an additional beanbag chair. Aft port is the galley with a counter that will seat four on barstools. Aft starboard is a day-bed with storage and refer underneath.

We chose this layout as we did not feel the need for a large saloon table, preferring to have comfortable "lounging" areas. It has worked out well for us but might not appeal to those who sail with larger crews.

I like it, Mike. Plenty of open space.