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

Sorry to mislead with inaccurate info.I got mixed up.On board that Heesen, one big bathroom for the guest ensuite and one simpler bathroom for the owner, not ensuite, shared with his family, one for the crew and guest assistant - the loo are in different room from the shower.

 

Sound and climate control insulation

 

For a couple two toilets is an unneeded maint item.
Toilets that flush with seawater can get balky when unused for a while.
And if the seacock is left open for unskilled guests a flooding risk 24/7.

Since the head is used for only a few min each day , even with the shower incorperated it is a HUGE space waster, in a smaller bost.
Even with secondary use as a wet locker its a space waster.Smaller is better.

FAST FRED

 

I'm with you Fred.

Yep, I have a backup loo on my 26 foot Griffon - it's a bucket!

As far gimballed living space ....

I love it. Might get a bit of a surprise when you come out to do your watch when the boat is upside down!

 

A bucket works! Of course, a specially designed bow sprit might be good too. I've often wondered if that's where the term 'head' comes from--as in, the forward part of a ship.

I figure, sailors used the forward part--as far forward as possible--because officers quarters were toward the aft. Also, consider that, on a square rigger, wind is mostly from aft. Maybe you get the picture....

 

A bow sprit loo? How would that work? I wonder is it mutually exclusive with Jack's plan for the bow sprit, hmm, may even be an enhancement!

As for where the term "head" comes from - according to a recent Yachting Monthly (Sept 06 I think) you're absolutely right. It was in the front of the boat - hence "head".

 

Well not quite. I was always taught they are strictly called 'the heads', even in the singular. Ablusions were traditionally taken by climbing outboard onto the 'catsheads' so as to get a clear drop.

Putting skid marks down the topsides of one of Her Magesty's Ships was, and I believe still is, a floggable offence.

 

All the votes go to two heads !!!??? Ok then...maybe I am minimaliste after all. I'll assume, one head is fine for me. On a "need backup situation", I do fine with down wind or the bucket.

Wilma, you are so ritgh about a spare room tending to become a dump room. I find it becomes an on going challenge to not let things acumulate and finding a specific place for everything. But when I mentionned storage on the spare berth, I had more temporary storage in mind. An example would be when some friends come over for the day and they bring with them a bunch of stuff including a couple of mega size coolers. It always drives me nuts as it can be a challenge to stow quickly (out of the way and still accesible) extra bulky stuff for the day sail on an already full boat. A birth with a cargo net sounds like a fine solution to me in that situation.

Murielle

 

Oh your so right M&M My biggest problem is the spare bedroom. If we ever had guests I dont know what we would do. It is full of magazines sewing machine, ,spare telly 12 v, foam & balsa core for any damage travell bags ( now they are a niusence)
A challenge it is. I have to say to my wife "This in not a house it is a boat we just cant keep all this stuff". She is amazed at the stuff people throw away in good working order , I say thats because they dont have space. Mind you I have picked up 2 good vacuum cleaners!

 

Ok - so now we have a truly interesting project on our hands...
A bowsprit that operates as a head - and a cannon! The prospect of combining the two functions brings all sorts of unprintable suggestions to mind!

Jack - have we really come to the point where we have to put disclaimers at the foot of our posts?

 

yes Will,-- I seem to be misunderstood occasionaly. The disclaimer might help, and protect my rep points.

You might want to think of printing a disclaimer yourself if your going down the head-cannon thing road.

 

If "guests" are for a short duration the use of a salon bunks is fine , as is the drop down dinette table setups.
Ok for a week or so , but there sure NOT going to move in.

IF genuine offshore crew is needed either sea bunks or Concordia bunks work really well.

The sea bunks are somewhat less convienant to store junk in compared to a cabin with a closing door.

FAST FRED

 

The drop-down dinette can serve as a large double bed--even a semi-private cabin if thick curtains are installed. The curtains kind of look nice when they're retracted too. That's how our Nauticats were setup.

Luckily, we had a big wheelhouse on each boat, which served as a saloon for the rest of us when guests wanted to sleep late or retire early.

The only problem with convertable U-settees, is that guests don't have a private space in which to rest while underway--unless it stays as a bed. For that reason, having pilot berths (same as pipe berth in terminology?) would have been nice. All their stuff would fit in there too.

 

Personally, I'm a fan of Saloon berths, particularly if they are positioned on either side of the yacht, they serve two main purposes, they are good for sitting on as settees, comfortable enough to sleep on, and (with a small extension) can be converted to doubles where beam allows. Lee Cloths are fairly easily added for sea use.

They are also central, which has the advantage of reduced motions. Something which bow or stern berths are not renowned for. Quarter-berths are OK, and can easily be an enclosed cabin if desired.

Tim B.

 

Foam for seats is not the same foam for a bed It would be difficult to cover both uses. I have been the source of great ammusment when buying foam at the foam shop. A seat foam is much much harder than that of a comfortable bed. My present seat foam is a combination of the two, making it feel soft but firm deeper down.