So the Saugeen Witch design features a lovely, swooping sheer line, a high gunwhale and generously wide side decks. These features make moving around and working on
deck like a walk in the park. They make boarding from a
dinghy or low
dock an easy step up without a ladder. They contribute to the boat's very poor stability when inverted. All this is very wonderful.
What is not wonderful about these features, is the lack of space down below that they promote. There is simply not enough vertical dimension between the
cabin sole and the underside of the side decks. If the settee's are build low enough so that ones
head clears the side decks, then the seat height is only a couple inches above the floor.
My father built and rebuilt the
saloon table and settee's three times before settling on the arrangement in the first picture. It was the arrangement that he had for is one year trip to
Mexico. It worked pretty good for two people. One person could sit comfortably at the forward end of the table and one could sit at the aft end. Unfortunately, only a tiny contortionist would be comfortable sitting along the port side of the table with the side
deck jammed into their neck. The starboard settee was too low to be comfortable and to far away from the table even if it was. At night the table was lowered to create a very generously sized double
bed. Nice for two people to sleep in but a problem if one person wants to wake up early and convert the
bed back to a table. Keep in mind that Panope has always had a
mast directly in the center of her V-birth so that spot is no option for a frisky couple.
Pic #1 - The arrangement that my father settled on.
Pic #2 - Torn out table and settee. 50 gallon
water tank under.
Pic #3 - New design has generous
storage under featuring a place for the
dinghy oars and
boat hook. These items had been stored on the V-birth previously.
Pic #4 - I use
cheap, doorskin ripped into narrow strips and hot-melt-glue gun to make patterns for large complicated shapes.
Pic #5 - The new sleeping area will be about 4 inches narrower than previous.
A traditional fold down table will hinge off the forward
saloon bulkhead. The table will be narrow (12 inches) but will have a fold over leaf that will allow a person seated on the starboard settee to eat comfortably. The starboard settee will also be rebuilt higher and inboard but will not convert to a double bunk. Larger, permanent
storage will be built behind.
The port settee will have a back-rest that folds up when used as a double bunk. When the back-rest is in the down position, a large temporary storage area will hold
sails and other bulky items.
Steve