Aft Cabin pros cons

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by johnnyj

Yo! Thank you everyone for the advice that's here and continuing to be posted. I'm reading it all and learning more about what I should be looking for and considering. Very wise about making sure to separate the "dream" and what is reality. I was considering catamaran and looking at the Helias, but I switched back to monohull. Not ruling anything out tho, and also when it comes to the price I'm lucky and the sky is pretty much the limit. I do want to make sure I get it right tho and again appreciate all the input!

I think you have said it. Separate the dream from reality. If you really wish to sail around the world fine if not the type boat is quite possibly a totally different animal. Best of luck.

[Scrimshaw4]

Pros for an aft cabin:
Centerline berth allows each person to get up to answer their late night needs without having to crawl over and awaken their partner.
If the mattress is split down the middle and covered with a nice mattress pad. you can incorporate lee cloths both outboard and down the middle when sleeping while underway.
You generally end up with more clothing locker storage.
Other thoughts:
2 burner stoves are just fine but I STRONGLY RECCOMEND that the oven be thermostatically maintained. Otherwise it's very hard to maintain a consistent temp.
I also prefer a DC based refer/frzr system as it allows you to get off the boat and not worry about spoilage.
For overnight passages I have also gimbaled my microwave. Great for a quick soup, coffee or popcorn snack without having to fire up the stove. (I use my inverter vs genset for quick heatups)
Nothing beats a bow thruster. Its like having a really strong extra crew onboard.
JMHO

[Maka]

My 40' Center Cockpit Ketch has a roomy aft cabin.
2 portholes on each side open for ventilation. As well as a hatch over the Queen berth on the Starboard side. That hatch can also be used for egress and ingress to the aft deck.
The stern has two large windows for a view aft as well as light.
There is a bench seat along the stern a person can stretch out on ,, and there is a roll top desk along the forward wall, port side.
Lots of storage under bunk and bench seat. two sets of large drawers under the bunk and a set of drawers along side the desk.
There is a heat duct from the main salon diesel heater to keep it warm.
The head / shower is right out the aft cabin door on the left.
I love it. Spacious, Comfy, ventilated, well lighted.

[Cabo Jim]

Big aft cabin or comfy roomy forward cabin? Probably not much difference for most anchoring/mooring/docking situations. But when you really need your sleep is on a serious passage were you are doing watches for days on end with limited amount of quality sleep time. Fatique can be a real serious safety hazard and real sleep is a must. I would make sure there was at least one serious sea berth midship including a lee cloth.

[Juho]

You can use other cabins as extra inside storage. I want to have lots of outside wet storage space too (never enough of that, for all kinds of stuff, from bicycles to extra anchors). Therefore I like the idea that our aft cabin is narrow, and the extra width forms a lazaret that is accessible from the outside. A narrow aft cabin is also a good sea-berth. Furthermore I'm ok with the idea that the ceiling of the aft cabin is quite low. That gives us a low cockpit. As a result we don't have a luxurious stateroom aft cabin. It is just large enough to sleep and get dressed.

This is of course a matter of personal taste. I'm happy to trade some cabin size to extra storage space and cockpit. I note that you are planning to get a bigger boat than I have. Maybe a big aft cabin, as in wrwakefield's boat (another bigger Nauticat with different layout), makes more sense to you, and you will still have also sufficient outside storage.

[Alastair A]

Hi all. Great questions.
Midsips birth at sea is best please. Aft birth is for after, comfortably. Forard (V births) is mostly horrid.
Just my thoughts and experience.
@ burners is sufficient with good cooker timeing. Please know pressure cookers and steam pots and have one burner spare.
Best wishes, A.

[Alastair A]

Oops me. 2 burners is sufficient! I recommend good use and timing and pots. Even at home at my place meals are 2 burner prepared usually. Best wishes. A

[etterridge]

I find our forepeak berth 'too active' for comfort when anchored in 'surge' conditions, or when taking my bunk time during rough passages. My wife and I have been flipped like flapjacks, on more than one occasion.

We have fantasy's about having an aft cabin.

We bought some fans from harbour freight and installed one at each quarter berth and one on the main salon convertibed. It was a quick fix at the time, but underscores the need for lots of ventilation in the aft of the mast accommodations.

Our cruising buddies installed AC in their Tayana 37. It is GREAT! It makes the smallish quarter-cabin very comfortable

[robert sailor]

If you are seriously going to cross oceans it's unlikely that you would want to be using either a forward berth or aft birth. The forward birth with all the pitching motion is the worst place in the world to attempt to sleep, the aft birth while much better is still the second best idea. Crossing oceans means you need a good mid berth with Lee cloths. Avoid designs that have curved seating below, they look great but are semi useless other than for eating. Choose a design that has straight seats with square corners, they are the very best layouts. They might look old fashion to the eye compared to some of the curvey newer designs but passage makers have known for years what a really good design means. Seats that are straight give you a corner to curl into for reading or watching TV plus you get the very best sea berth available. If you enter the cabin and you have curved seating without a 6 and a half ft. straight section it's designed for coastal sailing and dockside living, give it a pass, you'll hate it for crossing oceans.

[johnnyj]

So I do like the idea of the aft berth and I'm looking at the Jeanneau 41DS and 44DS. I'm thinking long haul and I'm very confident that I will be sailing/living on the boat I buy for the next 10+ years with my lady. Should I go for the 44' or the 41'? Price isn't that great of an issue. Both models have very similar layouts, it's just the length which is noticeable in the forward cabin. Would the smoothness and speed of the ride with the 44 vs 41 be worth the extra $50k or so? Again I'm planning on having this boat a real long time

[gjordan]

In the real world!!!! Most new people dont realize that even on a circumnavigation you will spend the majority of your time at anchor or in a marina. Being able to get up in the morning and go forward from an aft cabin and bang around the galley making coffee while the Admiral gets to sleep in will make for a happier crew. Even on a passage, being able to go below and get a snack or make hot chocolate without waking the other person is a huge advantage for an aft cabin. If you use a wind vane instead of an electron sucking, noise making auto pilot, the aft cabin is wonderful for passage making. Just think about having to go forward to use the head when your mate is sleeping in the main cabin. Get out of your foulies at the foot of the companionway, or go forward to the head and maybe drip salt water on the sleeping crew??? The best place to sleep on a sailboat is someplace away from the disturbance of other crew. Just my opinion after 4 or 5 years with smaller aft cockpit boats and 8 years with a 44 foot boat with a center cockpit and comfortable aft cabin. _____Grant.

[justwaiting]

Originally Posted by johnnyj

So I do like the idea of the aft berth and I'm looking at the Jeanneau 41DS and 44DS. I'm thinking long haul and I'm very confident that I will be sailing/living on the boat I buy for the next 10+ years with my lady. Should I go for the 44' or the 41'? Price isn't that great of an issue. Both models have very similar layouts, it's just the length which is noticeable in the forward cabin. Would the smoothness and speed of the ride with the 44 vs 41 be worth the extra $50k or so? Again I'm planning on having this boat a real long time

Hi Johnny

I think you need to do more research before focusing on a manufacture or model. Looking at boats and knowing what to look at in boats are very different things. The danger is that you could fall "in love" with a boat and overlook the problems and missing systems.

One of the reviews for the 41DS is Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 41DS What i would suggest is that you look at the of boat review for a number of different boats so that you become familiar with the range of issues that professional reviews look at.

[wsmac]

JohnnyJ...
While reading all this I've been trying to keep in mind each person's comments... their Pro's & Con's... in relation to the boat(s) they have or have been on and are commenting about.
.
From my shopping around (I'm starting with a 28' Hunter to see how I like all this... I can always figure out how to move up in size later.... I'm pretty sure... )... I've seen that one boat builder's design for a CC might not be exactly like another builder's.
Sort of a... "... yeah no duh!... " huh?
.
If I remember your first post correctly, you've looked at new boats at shows and such?
Maybe you've already seen plenty to see any difference.
.
My personal take on this issue... which I've wondered about also... is that I like the idea of a CC for passages and I'll keep checking out any I have access to in the coming years.
I'll keep all the advice other sailors have concerning their experiences, in mind... but tempered by understanding what boat they are actually talking about.
.
One thing I've learned during my very short time in this sailing world... there are big differences between builder's designs... but ALSO... from one year to the next with the same builder!

Just hearing that CC's are, "all this... all that", aft cabins are, "all this... all that"... is somewhat helpful.. but not always applicable straight across the board for every boat... IMHO anyway...

[Lost Horizons]

Originally Posted by johnnyj

I will be sailing/living on the boat I buy for the next 10+ years with my lady. Should I go for the 44' or the 41'?

The 41 has a limited head room above the bed in the aft cabin. Not enough to sit straight on the bed. At least I could not. I have not been to the 44, only to an older 45. The 45 has adequate head room to my taste in the aft cabin, but essentially no ventilation. The 44 is marginally better ventilation wise. Neither 41 nor 44 have room for a washing machine installation. Something that I would not want to live without for 10 years.

[Jim Cate]

Just remember that for a given length, a huge aft cabin means a smaller, more cramped saloon and galley. for me, sacrificing spaciousness in the part of the boat that I spend the most awake time for a larger space where I spend ~8 hours/day... unconscious... well, it isn't how I choose to divide things up!

And fwiw, we sleep forward at sea EXCEPT when going to windward in a seawy. Then it's on a settee in the saloon or, rarely, in an aft cabin. Why rarely? Because they are very noisy under way, with frequent groans from the a/p drive and really loud noises from cockpit winches, footsteps, dropped winch handles, cursing, and so on!

But IMO, choosing your layout based on sleeping while at sea is maybe not good prioritization for most folks. We do a lot more miles than most sailors, but spend a pretty small fraction of our time doing overnighy sails at sea. Newbies always overestimate how much time they will spend at sea, so do take that into your consideration.

Jim