Proposed Boat Interior Layout - How Does This Look?

[KISS]

Hi all, I've been working on the layout of my future (home-built) boat.

Here's what I have so far.

Let me know if you see any glaring problems with the design.

[siamese]

You left out the theater room.

But seriously, who knows? How are you going to use the boat? Are you designing the entire thing yourself? Do you know how to design a boat? Are you accounting for your weights....water tank, fuel tank, batteries? Inboard or outboard?

Based on what you've provided, it's a total unknown.

Oh, and your mast seems to be located very far aft. Are you having a little fun with us?

[KISS]

Originally Posted by siamese

You left out the theater room.

But seriously, who knows? How are you going to use the boat?

Sorry, I should have included that in the OP.

full-time liveaboard
single-handing
Caribbean and Med
anchoring out most of the time
minimalist tastes

P.S. Oh, and the boat will be steel, if that matters.

Are you designing the entire thing yourself? Do you know how to design a boat?

No and no. I'll buy plans for the shell from a professional (Fay, Roberts, etc), and modify the interior to my tastes, as home-builders typically do.

N.B. The diagram is not meant to represent the actual structure of the shell (apart from the rough dimension of 30Lx10B), just the layout of the interior spaces.

Are you accounting for your weights....water tank, fuel tank, batteries? Inboard or outboard?

To the extent that I can (i.e. without being a NA), yes.

I placed the water tanks low and as centerline as possible.

The batteries don't really matter, very small bank, but they too are close to centerline.

No fuel tank, b/c no engine (and in compensation for that loss of weight, I can simply store relatively heavy things in the cockpit locker which replaces the engine room).

Oh, and your mast seems to be located very far aft.

It's not drawn to scale.

I just put the mast somewhere approximately midships to remind myself it would be there, in the way.

Are you having a little fun with us?

Nope

[FSMike]

I would move the anchor chain out of the bow, perhaps into the storage space just aft. Always good to keep the weight out of the ends.

No engine, well you will need electricity, that means solar panels or wind generator or fuel powered generator, and a multiple battery bank.

Got room for a good size holding tank? Some areas of the world you will need to either come into a pump out station at the dock, or sail a good distance to pump out offshore. No engine means going in to the dock to pump out can be a problem.

A lot of that kind of stuff can be put in the empty engine room. Your basic interior looks fine, just need to figure out where you're going to put the other "stuff" lol.

Try to visit as many other similar size sailboats as you can and get some ideas.

Enjoy.

[KISS]

Originally Posted by FSMike

I would move the anchor chain out of the bow, perhaps into the storage space just aft. Always good to keep the weight out of the ends.

So instead of a traditional chain locker, you'd have a pipe near the bow leading down into a lower storage compartment? Or would you just extend the chain locker down to the keel, at an angle?

P.S. I suppose the latter would have the advantage of turning the chain locker into a collision bulkhead, so I could do away with the watertight bulkhead/door between the storage area and the saloon...

No engine, well you will need electricity, that means solar panels or wind generator or fuel powered generator, and a multiple battery bank.

Solar (275W) on top the bimini, running down to the battery bank (275AH) right inside the companionway. I specced out all the electronics I want, and that should work fine. The batteries should only take up about 1 ft3, tucked in that spot I have them in the diagram (in their own locker, vented to the main cabin, right out the companionway one hopes).

Got room for a good size holding tank?

desiccating head, no tank

A lot of that kind of stuff can be put in the empty engine room. Your basic interior looks fine, just need to figure out where you're going to put the other "stuff" lol.

Try to visit as many other similar size sailboats as you can and get some ideas.

Enjoy.

Thanks!

[laika]

Looks pretty functional to me.

Might be nice to have a settee farther aft for when underway or at a rough anchorage.

An ability to convert settees into a double berth, like a table dropdown?

Some kind of electric outboard on the transom to get you in and out of an occasional marina or yard on a calm day? Double it up as the sometimes dinghy engine?

Hard to say what's prudent before you're out there on it. You're bound to make some great moves and some highly questionable ones. Tough thing you're doing, but fun, and may the gods smile upon you.

Only other bit I got..maybe consider a little upfront complexity as fair trade for living more comfortably and self-reliantly on a small boat. Ex. an efficient, reliable watermaker. Also carry a small manual backup and you install smaller water tanks, eliminate the need to lug around and store jerry cans, and still take showers and do laundry to your heart's content. Freely wash down gear and hardware. Endless etcs..

[dlymn]

The settees directly over the keel or thereabouts might reduce discomfort when you're trying to sleep.
No engine, hmm. Still, the Pardeys did it, but not for me. Even a 10-20 hp outboard mounted on the stern or even in a well, might make manoeuvring into ports easier. I absolutely agree with the the adage that the greates risks to safe sailing are the first and last 30 feet of any journey.

[atoll]

seems like your mast is 6ft further back than it should be.
you also ideally want some sort of bulkhead roughly on the axis of the mast to stop flex in the hull and compression loads from the rigging.
putting a large storage locker up in the bow will create trim problems.
generally on a 30 ft boat with an ~10ft beam the head is best placed forward and to the side of the mast,with a passage way on the other side of the mast.

check out the layout of my mackwester,works great as a small livaboard,seelink to photos

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...-59975-11.html

[RajaNagaLaut]

I don't see any illustration/schematic/plan - what's everybody else seeing?

[TrentePieds]

Quote: "what's everybody else seeing?"

I see an arrangement plan that is not drawn to scale, and is therefore misleading.

It's not just a case of not being to scale. The sketch is also misproportioned. Check the relative lengths, as drawn, of the beam dimension of 10 feet to the length that sums to 30 feet.

In naval architecture every cubic inch counts, and precise representation of ALL components is important so that proper calculation of moment arms may be made once the weight of components (and cargoes) is known.

While clearly it is important to have some notion of the arrangements one wants, it is probably not wise at all to lay down the arrangements, even to scale, and then try to develop the lines around them. On a length of 30 feet, say 25 or 26 LWL, there isn't a lot of wiggle room in the development of the lines (if you want a well behaved boat), and ultimately it's the lines that determine what you can do with the arrangements and what compromises you must inevitably make in that respect.

There isn't enuff in this sketch to enable anyone to make sensible comments for the OP's guidance.

TrentePieds

[FSMike]

Originally Posted by KISS

-----

N.B. The diagram is not meant to represent the actual structure of the shell (apart from the rough dimension of 30Lx10B), just the layout of the interior spaces.
-----
It's not drawn to scale.
-----
I just put the mast somewhere approximately midships to remind myself it would be there, in the way.
-----

The above is from post #3, which apparently some did not read.

[Stu Jackson]

You're reinventing the wheel.

Take a look at some successful boat designs and look at a few books (which is why they write books to begin with!).

Find the book Desirable and Undesirable Characteristics of Yachts or Nigel Calder's Cruisers Handbook.

They show what works, what doesn't and most importantly WHY.

While ergonomics has a lot to do with it, the relationship of the different parts, the size and treatment of corners in settees, galley design and location and handholds all have been tried and tested and WHAT WORKS in a seaway is clearly documented.

What DOESN'T work is also shown.

[RajaNagaLaut]

I'm not seing any image atall.... can someone post the link

[Scout 30]

I'd leave out the nav station & include a shower stall. At a minimum I'd install a small Beta diesel. Or you could buy this absolutely beautiful steel yacht I found on Craigslist.

https://miami.craigslist.org/mdc/boa/5541665782.html

[Bulawayo]

Perhaps a composting loo?

Originally Posted by FSMike

I would move the anchor chain out of the bow, perhaps into the storage space just aft. Always good to keep the weight out of the ends.

No engine, well you will need electricity, that means solar panels or wind generator or fuel powered generator, and a multiple battery bank.

Got room for a good size holding tank? Some areas of the world you will need to either come into a pump out station at the dock, or sail a good distance to pump out offshore. No engine means going in to the dock to pump out can be a problem.

A lot of that kind of stuff can be put in the empty engine room. Your basic interior looks fine, just need to figure out where you're going to put the other "stuff" lol.

Try to visit as many other similar size sailboats as you can and get some ideas.

Enjoy.