What design features make life aboard comfortable & practical for females?

i looked at the spray and thought they looked like a good idea.are sprays a tiype of boat?a class or a model? please reply on the thread 'se serpent' (although i think its under 'poll:sea serpent')




cheers

 

westlawn's storage cylinder

westlawn--on the subject of wheelhouse gallies...

Wheelhouse gallies lack storage space because everything needs to be mounted beneath the window line. Otherwise one wouldn't see outside very effectively.

In another thread you presented your idea about a cylindrical galley storage unit. I could almost see that being valuable in the type of boat linked below. Just picture the galley being in the wheelhouse, behind the helm...and perhaps the wheelhouse being extended somewhat. A narrow cylinder could be mounted for storage near the centerline.

I don't know if it would add practicality beyond a regular cabinet, but it might add to aesthetics and reduce hard edges. I'd say the boat would need to be at least 40' --and wide near the galley area. It's a longshot though, since it'd reduce visibility.

http://www.bruceroberts.com/public/HTML/S370-TY.htm

 

First let me comment on berths. It's rare to find anyone who likes V-berths except marketers who want as many berths on a boat as possible. As someone said, at sea they get used for storage. Which is not necessarily a good thing. All that extra weight in the bow? Wet sails on a foam mattress, not to even mention anchors, rope etc. At sea you want a relatively narrow berth that is comfortable and holds you in so you don't get tossed out of it in bad weather. Speaking of pipe berths. My first tour on a Coast Guard Cutter we had pipe berths. This is on a 327 foot ship. Literally a pipe in a rectangle with a piece of canvas in the middle. The canvas had grommets every six or eight inches and a rope was strung through the grommets and around the pipe. This way you could make it as tight or loose as you wanted it. In port you tightened it up. At sea you loosened it so it would sag a little and keep you in your bunk. The berths were hinged to the bulkhead so they could be (as we said) triced up when not in use. This also allowed you to lift one side of the berth just a little in a heavy sea so you wouldn't get tossed out. Pipe berths are comfortable and do not bounce. They are really handy, easy to use and out of the way when you don't need them. After a few years they replaced the pipe berths with aluminum bunks with a foam mattress and the bunk had drawers under it. These things were dangerous in a heavy sea. They too were hinged at the back and could be triced up, but a pipe berth weighs a couple of pounds and these things weigh about 20 lbs. If one got loose it could come down with a huge crash. Plus when it was up all your stuff in the drawers feel into the back. And they tossed you out onto the deck. Argggggh I hated those things.

In port you want a nice comfortable spacious berth, if you have a partner, preferably a double berth. At sea, standing watches, going in and out in the middle of the night in nasty lumpy weather, you want as secure a berth as possible. You want one that is in the middle of the boat where the motion is least.

Now about windows. I too like a nice big pilot house. It's great for seeing out, being out of the weather, and provides more inside space. Here in the Pacific Northwest where I live, they are very popular, especially because it rains a lot. However, all this talk about them being strong enough leaves me thinking none of you have been to sea in really bad weather. And I don't mean rain and wind and 10 foot seas. I mean 20, 30 foot breaking seas, hurricane force winds, stuff to scare your children with. As I said I was on Coast Guard ships. All of them 327 footers. I've been through three huuricanes at sea. Nothing withstands that stuff. Especially pilothouses on little boats. One cutter (not one I was on thank God) lost one of their lifeboats, had outside ladders swept away and a whole section of superstructure stove in and lost the portlights in that section. I have seen pilot boats lose their entire front windows from a breaking sea. It's not the strength of the glass, it's the size of the sea. Saltwater weighs 64 lbs per cubic foot. You get a breaking sea over the bow of your boat and that's literally tons of water on those windows. And yes I have seen ships come in with windows missing from their pilot houses. And thouse pilot house are usually 50 or 60 feet or more above the surface. Do not ever underestimate the power of the ocean. A wise man once said "the sea is a harsh mistress." The minute you laugh at mother nature she turns and smacks you.

However on the other side, I prefer uncluttered cabins, room to move about, full size sinks and heads. A shower makes all the difference in the world and I hate sea showers (salt water shower with a fesh water rinse). Lots of hot water will make you feel better than most anything. Cabins should be light and airy (well ventilated). There should never be a lot of junk to smack your shins or bash your head on.

Gotta go, I'll be back latter.

 

Spray

I couldn't find your thread. In short, Sprays are based on European work/cargo sailboats. They're reputed to be very stable in heavy conditions, and they have huge interior volume. IMO, they look great with wheelhouses.

I see lots of sleeker-hulled, modern designs with full wheelhouses. They always seem to look out of proportion--even experimental. A wide-bodied hull doesn't get overwhelmed by the wheelhouse so easily.

Sorry if I'm digressing from the topic of 'practicality for females', but it's hard to avoid overall design when discussing details. In other words, the overall design always seems to form constraints for smaller details.

http://www.joshuaslocumsocietyintl.org/

 

Spray myths

The myth of the Spray being a good design for ocean cruising was born for obvious reasons.

It still is a myth, Mr. Slocum was an excellent seaman but even by his day's standards the Spray was a bad design for his expeditions. It was his seamanship that took him around the world and he did not chooce the design for his voyage, it simply was the only boat he could afford.

An old wreck of a boat intended for shallow water use in better days.

 

I keep reading positive reports about it, from owners who've sailed them far and extensively. Anyway, it's not my final choice; I'm open to other designs, but they've got to have full-bodied lines as a requirement.

 

heres the thread

http://www.boatdesign.net/forums/showthread.php?t=13306&highlight=sea serpent

 

Well, I'll start by saying I don't at present do serious long-range cruising. When I go on overnight trips in the boat, I usually camp out on an island (my runabout doesn't have berths).
Nevertheless, I'll chime in with what I'd be looking for in my next boat. Such a craft would be used for entertaining friends and family in port or on canals, weekend trips with a couple or two as guests, and Great Lakes and light offshore passagemaking with just the immediate family. I take a lot of inspiration from the Dashew boats http://setsail.com/dashew/dashoff.html but as a powerboater my main concerns are incredibly high fuel efficiency, good comfort, and safety. (By the way, the Dashew boat everyone's been referring to in the pilothouse discussions is the FPB 83. This is a 40-tonne yacht stretching roughly 83 feet LOA. Hence why 400 lb extra on the glass is considered a pretty small issue.)
Among my thoughts on the issue:
- Berths should be as close as possible to the roll/pitch axes of the hull (the V-berth in the bow is not good)
- Pilothouses are really nice; ideally, they should be designed as part of the hull and be strong enough to handle the same conditions the rest of the boat is meant for. I don't like pilothouses that are tacked on as an afterthought. (Although to be fair, I would plan to avoid a storm like the ones Ike describes, rather than trying to beat through it.)
- A lot of space is nice. Neither I nor my cruising mates need much luxury, but a lot of well-thought-out space is a good thing. I like the cabins to be comfortable and private, and the main living space open and inviting. To that end, I'd sooner have a bigger, less luxurious boat, as luxuries on a small boat add up to a lot of complexity and expense that I really don't need.
- The cook, helmsman and anyone in the main salon should be able to converse easily and without disturbing the sleeping crew, but the helmsman needs to be able to have the interior lights off at night without disrupting the activities of others. So a well thought out system of small, task-specific lights is in order.
- Creature comforts like hot/cold water, enough for an OK shower, are definitely desirable. But you don't need to go overboard with the electrics; simple is better (look at modern off-grid housing for inspiration as to how little electricity you really need to be comfortable).
- Reliability is key. Nothing spoils a day trip like having to make temporary repairs on the outboard mid-lake; on an ocean boat, this becomes a serious safety issue too. Simple equipment, easy to operate and repair, and beefier than is really needed, is my preference.
- Keep it simple. If my girlfriend can't figure out how to get the computer-controlled diesel jets in gear in 30 seconds, then that controller is too complicated for me to be comfortable using it at sea. Every system on the boat should be simple and intuitive to use, and easy to fix. Any crew member should be able to look at the elec panel and know what controls what, or be able to look at the helm and readily see how to work things. If it has a 200 page manual to read before I can turn it on, I don't want it.

 

Displacement, speed & comfort

I did sail traditional (mind, traditional, not wide) heavy displacement boats at sea and i cannot argue with the fact they provide utter comfort in bad weather.

Unfortunately boats like this are slow, so the crossing takes longer and so do the discomforts of beeing at sea. Moreover, a more medium displacement boat of generous length enables you to avoid bad weather. With good onboard weather information the boat's speed will enable you to avoid the highest wind speeds around depressions.

A moderate displacement boat will also perform well at wind speeds so low that on a heavy disp. one you will have to start the engine to make any progress. Running diesel engines make life much more uncomfortable at sea.

 

It occurred to me in the wee small hours that somewhere on the boards (if I recall correctly under a thread called 'big waves' or something) there's a pic of a relatively small window - about 300mm square - that was 1 inch (25mm) thick about 40ft above the water. It was taken out by a wave.....

 

Hi there,

I think the premise of this thread is still: What design features makes life aboard comfortable & practical for females? Now, it was mentioned previously that nothing should be done compromising safety, and that could not be argued. Safety always comes before pleasure and comfort ( not saying that comfort is not often part of safety). So on that note, and with no intention to patronize, I believe that before making any definitive decision on any aspect of the design of a boat, one ( male or female) should have got really scared ( doesn't mean in real danger, but scared) at least once on the water (no need to admit it , just experience it). I swear the concept of comfort on a sailing craft takes a totally different path (and might still lead to brilliant ideas).
This thought came to me reading some of the comments on windows, more specifically Ike's. Some times hearing about it is just not enough. I can admit that the sea scares me each time I see it. It should always be kept in mind that there is no feel of comfort without the feel of safety.

Murielle

 

steel pilothouse

That would make a big difference. Some of the steel pilothouses I've seen could probably lift the entire boat using a crane. I doubt there are many production f-glass vessels with that kind of ruggedness. That's not to say a steel one is invincible though. And for windows, again, I can't vouch for their durability.

But all this seems to be a calculated risk that people are willing to take. I don't see a big problem if the fore and aft cabins are sealed tight. One thing's for sure though, it's definitely a good argument against having a galley up there.

Naturally, you wouldn't want to be in there if a window blows, but that risk is probably no worse than the melanoma you'd otherwise get from sitting in the sun all day...instead of under that shaded pilothouse roof

By the way, there's a newly built 70' steel schooner in Helsinki harbor. Just rode my bike past it (again). It's quite beautiful. And it has a raised deckhouse with huge 3' X 4' windows. Airbrushed on the side of the deckhouse: Cape Horn 2006.

Apparently some are willing to take these calculated risks.

 

All this has me thinking...

What about windows that can be removed and stowed away when weather gets risky?

 

For the same reason every thru hull fitting should have a wooden bung, every window, port light etc should have a dedicated storm board which can be easily fitted and secured.

 

On that subject of pilot houses and windows a big difference should be made between the luxurious pilot house litterally part of the interior of the boat and the pilot house which could be refered at as a hard dodger and is seperated from the rest of the interior by a companionway.