A Really Good Galley Design

[Sumner]

Originally Posted by Wavewacker

...I have considered the portable fridge and put it on a slide, a drawer track system. Many of the boats I see have the aft quarter berth near the galley and that space could be incorporated into the galley set up. In some there is a settee forward of the berth and the fridge could slide out over the seating area and back when seating was required. BTW, the slides have locks. they are designed for RVer's.

I misread the above the first time. I thought you were talking about the fridges that were setup as drawers.

A portable fridge could slide in and out since it just needs the power cord. The 63 quart Edge Star in the Mac has worked very well for us and doesn't seem to use any more electricity than the Engle or Dometic or others and doesn't cost as much. We also use it in the Suburban on trips.

There is another fridge that I'd also look into that does seem to use less electricity vs. the ones above mainly because it has more insulation and it is this one....

http://lib.store.yahoo.net/lib/wind-...nzer50spec.pdf

SunDanzer 50 Liter Battery-powered refrigerator or freezer

...the drawback is that it is also larger on the outside for the same interior space, but that is because of the added insulation. I have never read any reviews on them though,

Sum

[zeehag]

the best galley i ever saw was and still is in a ct 54...is perfect.
the smallest galley i ever knew is in my formosa 41......hhmmm...and i COOK.......

[bobconnie]

After haveing a 42 ft boat for over 25 yrs, that had a fore and aft galley on the port side. almost any galley thats U shaped would be a wonderful thing to us !!! Altho we made do with our galley, it was a PITA in any strong seas!! not haveing to tie yourself in to cook Is Wonderful !! any galley is great at anchor, or at a dock, but a Sea galley with everything at hand is a real plus for folks who like to cook and eat and SAIL !! Our new to us galley is so much better then what we lived with for so many years in our colvin! But the size is really small for the size of the boat !! If ya have one of the shown U shaped galleys be Happy cus we think thats the best sea galley your gonna find no matter the lenght of your boat !! Just our 2 cents

[Wavewacker]

Bobconnie. what is your "new to use" galley?

[JanetGroene]

I vote for one large sink rather than two small ones. That way you can divide/configure it any way you choose by using dishpan, colanders, dish drainer, etc.

[Seaworthy Lass]

I find two sinks extremely useful for storage of spillable/breakable items underway. It leaves one sink free to be used then. A 'U' shaped galley is wonderful too. So easy to wedge oneself in and prepare food easily and safely and comfortably while underway .

[GrowleyMonster]

Originally Posted by Wavewacker

I'm looking at boat listings, 30 to 36 feet or a really well laid out 27ish up. Can't count the times I have read, galley to port, in this size seems boats are laid out about the same. Must be a reason for it, besides the engineering side there is the fact that production boats are made for the market not so much what might meet particular needs.

I'm not crazy about having part of the galley as a step from the cockpit! Seems what ever the mess is outside is on your shoes or feet and then you step where you may need to make a sandwich or lay utencils. I'm not a germ freak but I don't walk barefoot on my kitchen counters.

What makes a good galley design for you? Do you need a double sink? Are shelves and containers handier than drawers? How many burners do you need for a cruising couple, 1, 2, 3 or 4? Should the microwave be a tiny coffee heater or your oven? Should a fridge be built in or is a top loading type slide out be better? Freezers seem rare on the 30 to 40 footers, do you need one....really use it? Butcher block, formica, tile, stainless or stone counter tops?

Best design, U, L or a straight galley?

What makes a dream galley on a mid size sailboat?

Lots of questions, just choose one or all! Got Pics????

I feel your pain. My boat, which I live on, is a Cal 2-27 and it is sort of an archetype for cabin layouts in mass produced boats of that size range. The galley sucks. In the slip, in any sort of decent weather I prep and cook outside. Got crockpot, hotplate, electric pressure cooker, and Magma propane kettle grill. I hate cooking on what like you said is the top companionway step! The original stove is alcohol and needs a rebuild but I am gonna dumpster it. The original sink is smaller than some shoeboxes and is worthless to me. The icebox? Naaaah. Right now I have an electric refrigerator, one of the dinky cube type, that works great when I am on shore power. The icebox is soon to get ripped out to make room for... other stuff.

The first major modification I made was to rip out the forward half of the port side settee and the dining table, and build a shower there. The new head will be in there, too, when I get to it, and where the old one is will become my mini-office. The next thing I do will be to install a BIG sink, like what you would hand wash clothes in. Big enough for any sort of food prep or dishwashing or any sort of cleaning chore, with shoreside fresh, tank fresh, or seawater available on tap. That will be right on the forward side of the shower enclosure. And of course there goes another piece of the port settee! Well, in for a dime, in for a dollar. Next to the sink will be a bit of counter space over pot and pan storage, and a space for a small diesel/kerosene/gasoline capable pump stove, one of the cheapie "Butterfly" brand. They are cheap enough to keep a spare or two. I will put that in a fully gimballed mount, of course. That takes care of most of the port side. Further aft, where the icebox is, will be space for a new fridge of some kind. Where the original galley is will be the floor of the pilothouse, when I build a new after bulkhead in line with the bridge deck and raise part of the overhead to just clear the boom and vang. The starboard settee, which is too short for a real berth, will be lengthened and will provide easy access to the engine, too.

No, the boat will no longer "sleep 6 adults in comfort", LOL! Well, it never did, as far as I am concerned, and I mostly sail alone or with one other person, so between the vee berth and the starboard settee I got it all covered. Most boats this size were never really optimized for liveaboard or even cruising. They were made for taking 4 or 5 people out for a day sail or a beer can race or for a couple to get away for a weekend. The galley was never really meant to be anything but a place to make coffee and wash the coffee pot and cups when done, and maybe, MAYBE whip up a quick omelet or a fried spam sandwich or something. The galleys SUCK for a liveaboard or cruiser. Sinks, too small. Stove? Usually barely usable, and these days mostly propane... worse than gasoline if you ask me, from a safety perspective. Location? Terrible, especially the common setup where you step right where you would be chopping vegetables or slicing meat or kneading biscuit dough or making tortillas. For most singles or couples, the obvious solution is to move the entire business to one side or the other, and forget all about that "Sleeps Six Adults" nonsense. That means lots of sawing and fiberglass work and a new through-hull or two. No shower? Start with that. A cockpit shower is fine in the summer, but not so nice in the winter, and really... who wants to shower in a marina bathhouse? A 26 to 30 foot boat seldom has a shower, but is certainly big enough to have one. Then work from there. Let the new galley adjoin the shower/head, and plumb the sink and galley together. Put in a window that can be opened, to let cooking steam out.

This approach works great for a cheaply bought oldie-but-goodie fixer upper, because it isn't so painful to start cutting on an old wreck like that. Nobody wants to start cutting on a $150k boat with lots of beautiful wood inside, but if you got a much used and rough around the edges boat with the typical cabin layout, make it your ideal boat! Just don't cut away anything structural. Gotta have a head anyway, right? May as well use the same space for head and shower. Don't want a dozen people in your little 9-meter sloop anyhow, right? Then you don't need to have seating for them. A little plywood and fiberglass can make things right. Don't settle for the same tired old layout if it won't work for you.

[Sumner]

Originally Posted by GrowleyMonster

...Nobody wants to start cutting on a $150k boat with lots of beautiful wood inside, but if you got a much used and rough around the edges boat with the typical cabin layout, make it your ideal boat! Just don't cut away anything structural. Gotta have a head anyway, right? May as well use the same space for head and shower. Don't want a dozen people in your little 9-meter sloop anyhow, right? Then you don't need to have seating for them. A little plywood and fiberglass can make things right. Don't settle for the same tired old layout if it won't work for you.

I like the fact that you are making the boat 'your boat' and not worrying about trying to sell it later. Exactly what I've done with the houses I've built and now our boats. An advantage of having an older boat,

Sum

[barnakiel]

My personal list of wishes:
- stove with an oven,
- floor countered in front of the stove,
- ample working area,
- big opening ports over the stove, (openable also in bad wx),
- deep sink, preferably double and close to center line,
- if a DS boat, then galley in the DS,
- otherwise very close to the companionway (again ventilation),
- a place to sit down while waiting for things to happen.

Examples:
in a small boat:
http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:A...EzZTwlvSt63RDw

in a big boat:
http://dashewoffshore.com/images/Fann_Salln-162.jpg

[savoir]

One up and one down.

A hatch or port directly above the stove is so important. My nearest is 3 feet away and I am forever cleaning the ceiling.

Beautifully finished fiddles like the ones in the pics are not such a good idea. They will get banged and scratched by your pots in no time and wind up looking terrible.

[K_V_B]

Originally Posted by GrowleyMonster

No shower? Start with that. A cockpit shower is fine in the summer, but not so nice in the winter, and really... who wants to shower in a marina bathhouse? A 26 to 30 foot boat seldom has a shower, but is certainly big enough to have one.

Personal preferences vary, but on a small boat I'd prefer to have the available space freed up as much as possible. So no extra enclosed spaces. A shower would not be on my list. When I was on boats that had a shower I preferred to shower outside (in the Med) or use the marina facilities anyway. Especially when the weather is cold I like to shower with lots of reliable hot water, something few boats have :-)
It's actually quite easy to live without a shower, and especially on a small boat I'd prefer that to giving up rare space for a single purpose.

[Wavewacker]

Growley, exactly my point with regard to what I'm planning for my boat. I use to race in stock SCCA events so I understand those who enjoy racing thier production boats in club events, but I'll never be doing that. I understand not chopping up a $150,000 + boat or car to save your investment. I can appreciate nice styling and works of art, good craftsmanship, great mill work and joinery. I can also appreciate the work boat finish of a passagemaker, unconventional amenities adopted for functional purposes and the purpose driven vessels used to accomplish a mission.

Lately, all of my boat research and shopping has been limited to the internet looking at all kinds of boats. Having such a wide choice of possibilities really makes you examine the purpose and reason to have a boat. For those who have never lived on a boat (but have used boats) it's a real head scratcher trying to consider what you need as opposed to what you want under budgetary constraints, at any budget.

I assume that a larger galley, well laid out with lots of storage is better, typical American thinking, bigger is better, but that's not always true. Obviously, your camp cooking approach necessary for a kayak wouldn't be desirable for a liveaboard OTH, having too much dedicated space for the galley robs space for other needs. I think for a landlover it's a guess, as I don't see preparing a 15lb turkey on a boat for two and keeping left overs as I would at home. You may be more likely to go out for your holiday dinners than prepare them onboard.

As to hacking up a boat, on a cheap old boat, if you do a good job and make modifications in an acceptable workman like manner, modify for necessay and acceptable functions I'd say you can eaisly increase the value of the boat. It's pretty much common sence, if your needs for cruising are reasonable the modifications you make will likely be inline with most others in the market for a similar boat. It's like updating a house (not as to construction techniques) if builtin microwaves are the norm in an area and price range for houses I'd imagine the same holds true for a boat. I'll also except out any really classic boats that should probably be restored.

When looking for the right boat I'll be hoping someone has already done the work! That would be great!

[triciarob]

I've got a small boat (25ft) and have been living aboard for about 14 years. We have a two burner cooker, with hotplate/grill and oven, we mounted it athwartships as we don't have room to gimbal it. It is by the forward bulkhead.

Our icebox (no fridge) is a top loader and doubles as the chart table.

We recently removed the inboard engine and now use the space as for batteries and food storage. Rob built a locker next to the cooker for pots and cooking utensils.

The attached photo is an old one, where the clothes are piled there is now another locker use for herbs, spices and other condiments as well as dried legumes, and it also gives me some extra work space.

We've sailed from the UK to Malaysia (east about) and the galley arrangements have worked pretty well.

[wingNwing]

Triciarob, I'm impressed! You most definitely prove that you don't need a big fancy boat/galley to make it work if you want to.

[Tim R.]

Originally Posted by JanetGroene

I vote for one large sink rather than two small ones. That way you can divide/configure it any way you choose by using dishpan, colanders, dish drainer, etc.

+1 on this. I hate the two small sinks. You cannot fit a decent sized plate or frying pan in them.

The first upgrade I made to our Caliber was to replace the two sinks with one large one and a pull down sprayer. I also added a dish detergent dispenser in place of where a normal household sprayer would go.

We love our galley. L shaped to port. Our companionway steps are actual 90 degree tread and riser steps so you can sit there while waiting for things to cook. Spit fridge and freezer. We do not mind top loading. Custom microwave shelf with storage for plates, bowls and cups. There is also a fold up work space in the foreground off the end of the counter. The photo is before I replaced the sink.