Your Best Addition / Upgrade Suggestion to a New Build ?

[Amgine]

Mentioned by Donald Street but I've never had a chance to implement it: a small grate at the foot of the companionway with a simple folded sheet metal 'pan' under it. Sweeping up is easier (and might get done more often), and the wet running off the foulies might not slosh around so much. Also, easier "I'll just poke a light down into the bilge."

[thinwater]

The fan in the head has been a popular addition:

Sail Delmarva: "A Bathroom Fan": or "No Blog Could be Complete Without a Tale of Head Repairs"

In our case it was an easy addition, but who knows in your case.

There is one key strength to our fan: it is not based upon some odd "marine" item that may go out of production.

Also lights in deck lockers. Some are terrible at night. A light over the davits is nice for loading the tender.

[tanton37]

If at all possible along with the aforementioned grate at the foot of the companionway......seriously consider working your interior plan to accomodate the head at the foot of the companionway and make sure it is large and secure enough (braceable seating) to get in and out of foulies, and with pegs to hang them up on (think permanently...not pretty but very handy and not prone to molding) to drip dry including permanent pegs for boots to drain/store. You will Thank me profusely later.....I promise. This is a must in my mind....having been on too many boats where the head is forward, just aft of the Vberth. On bad weather passages the whole damn boat gets wet......salt everywhere...
slippery and dangerous. People end up having to sit (wet) on setees or berths etc. to get in and out of foulies. Not good!! This was a tip I got from a friend who did a 7 yr circumnavigation when I was building my boat and I am ever so grateful! A dry boat is a happy boat.
Sorry for the rant.....but yes I am pretty religious about this one and it is definitely one of the best things I like about my boat! Cheers!!

[simonmd]

A good quality omnidirectional WIFI antenna mounted either half way up the mast or on rear davits/pole with the cable run nicely to the nav station. Being able to pick up a decent Wifi signal whilst on the hook is a definate luxury that is free to use in many places.

[denverd0n]

Originally Posted by ozskipper

However, mine would need to be female- one blonde, one brunette with questionable morals of course.

What, no redhead!?!

[pressuredrop]

nother thing ive seen, like, and will be adding to my boat, it a partition on the fordeck just aft of the windlass with drains through the toe rail so the ground tackle can be cleaned and will drain off the bow instead of running down the deck...

also plan on boring holes in the 4 corners of the chart table to epoxy some round magnets flush to hold the charts down with magnets on top... its the little things...

[pressuredrop]

on second thought, just get "The Voyagers Handbook" by Beth Leonard and "The Offshore Cruising Encyclopedia" by the Dashews... more clever ideas then you can shake a stick at...

[CharlesFCook]

An AIS receiver. The big boats won't ignore you when you are calling them by name.

WiFi extender.
Wi-Fi for Boats

[tulsag]

12 volt recepticle in the cockpit

[Maren]

Originally Posted by tulsag

We are getting ready to build a semi-custom 48'-50' world cruiser. Before we get the boat 'priced', we would like to hear suggestions concerning a favorite item(s) of yours that you think adds tremendous pleasure/convenience to your vessel but are not part of the 'standard' package.

Wow, that's a tough one since so much depends on your tastes which I hope are already pretty well defined as a result of long experience. Also, there are just so many different areas due to what some builders consider custom or semi-custom, what sort of cruising you intend to do and what your budget is. But let make a stab at it.

• No hatches directly over a bunk (eventually they all leak)
• Large hatch over the galley (for heat out; light and food in)
• Excellent sun protection (or a pilothouse)
• Easy access floorboards (honeycomb core)
• Ice chest in cockpit (this saves a lot on the amps for the fridge/freezer)
• Foam mattresses over airspace (to keep the mold down)
• LED lighting, preferably with a night mode

[apneseth]

Living aboard in a cold climate makes an extractor fan over the cooker a great asset. If it is -20 degrees outside opening a porthole is less attractive.

[swagman]

Originally Posted by nigel1

Not done yet, but someone gave me the idea to fit covers over the galley sinks to increase the work top area.

We invariably find the sinks useful to dump cans and rubbish when underway. If you've a galley laid out both sides of a companionway (not uncommon if you've got access that way to a stern cabin or head) it could make better sense to make a cover for your stove top..... perhaps making sure it is sized to fit across the companionway when the stoves in use, giving you the extra space created by the U shaped work area.

Again, so easy when you are building from scratch and can make those dimensions match up.

JOHN

[Sabbatical II]

Originally Posted by tulsag

We are getting ready to build a semi-custom 48'-50' world cruiser. Before we get the boat 'priced', we would like to hear suggestions concerning a favorite item(s) of yours that you think adds tremendous pleasure/convenience to your vessel but are not part of the 'standard' package.

From our new semi-custom boat not yet launched.
1. Deck infills to collect rainwater combined with large water tankage so that we don't need a watermaker.
2. The engine water pump is plumbed so that in a worse case scenario we can turn the valve and the engine water pump becomes an additional high volume bilge pump.
3. Dedicated "wet locker" in the head with the cabin heater plumbed to it.
4. Specced the twin alternator model of the Yanmar 75hp. I found that most cruisers carried a spare alternator for redundancy, so why not have it mounted so you can use it all the time?
5. One piece hard dodger / binimi so you don't have to pull it down when you really need it.
6. An "sanitary disposal" unit (a flap in the side of the cupboard) inbuilt into the vanity unit so that when we ask our female guests not to put "anything down the loo" they have a real alternative that they are comfotable with and used to using on land.

I've found this thread useful too as it is pretty cheap to build stuff into the boat as we go and very expensive to retro fit the ones I forget later.

Greg

[atoll]

2000 amp hours of batteries,charging system,genset,refrigeration system need to be well thought out,as retro fitting expensive and generally leads to a bodge job.......

insulation, and heating considerations if you ever want to get up in to the higher lattitudes.

fuel filter system and transfer pumps need to be well thought out.

holding tanks now mandatory in a lot of the world,would use grp or poly prop rather than steel or alloy,and put them above the water line so no pump needed to empty over the side.
would have central electric winch for all sheets and halyards.

just a few bits that worked for me on a 63 footer...............

[Wainui]

Steve Marshall of Marshall Design Queensland built a Plumbed in cockpit shower into a Solar panel arch over the cockpit.