Brainwave design for the interior of a cruiser/racer

[BlueSkyNick]

Using one boat for cruising, mainly with SWMBO and close friends, and racing (Thursday evenings around the cans and occasional passage races, ) is a bit of a pain.

Before yesterday's RTI, I cleared out the cockpit locker of spare rope (which might come in useful 'one day'), hosepipes, old boots, etc and reckon I had the weight of a heavy man when I pushed the trolley up the marina ramp.

I didnt clear off the domestic untensils, few reading books, bedding etc which I probably should, because I didnt want to face having to stow it at home then take it all back to the boat.

The challenge is to keep the excess weight off the boat for racing, but satisfy the co-owner's (SWMBO) requirements to be comfortable when aboard.

I thought a about a few plastic crates to transfer the domestic stuff, but it would still need stowing in lockers etc.

So my idea is to have some form of modular stowage units built into to the interior of the boat, which can easily be unclipped for removal in toto, contents and all. After racing, before cruising, simply replace units and happy SWMBO. Having an estate car helps, for short term storage or transportation home, although some marinas have little lock-up cages where the units could go.

All seems very simple and obvious, I dont know why nobody has done it before ?

 

[Seajet]

It has been done, by quite a few boats to varying degrees - but I can't think of an example right now !

I use plastic crates in the under-bunk stowage in my boat, makes loading etc much easier, also keeping things neat and observing stores etc remaining.

 

[jonic]

Using one boat for cruising, mainly with SWMBO and close friends, and racing (Thursday evenings around the cans and occasional passage races, ) is a bit of a pain.

Before yesterday's RTI, I cleared out the cockpit locker of spare rope (which might come in useful 'one day'), hosepipes, old boots, etc and reckon I had the weight of a heavy man when I pushed the trolley up the marina ramp.

I didnt clear off the domestic untensils, few reading books, bedding etc which I probably should, because I didnt want to face having to stow it at home then take it all back to the boat.

The challenge is to keep the excess weight off the boat for racing, but satisfy the co-owner's (SWMBO) requirements to be comfortable when aboard.

I thought a about a few plastic crates to transfer the domestic stuff, but it would still need stowing in lockers etc.

So my idea is to have some form of modular stowage units built into to the interior of the boat, which can easily be unclipped for removal in toto, contents and all. After racing, before cruising, simply replace units and happy SWMBO. Having an estate car helps, for short term storage or transportation home, although some marinas have little lock-up cages where the units could go.

All seems very simple and obvious, I dont know why nobody has done it before ?

cos there is often no money in building boats.

How do you make a small fortune in boat building?


Start with a large one.

 

[prv]

Never come across demountable interior bits (but you'd use boxes and crates as you suggest) but the J109s have a removable cockpit locker for cruising junk. The basic boat has one of those fashionable open transoms, and then there is a thing like a fibreglass chest-freezer that slots into the gap and locks in place to make a solid transom and a small afterdeck with locker lids. For racing, you leave it behind on the pontoon.

EDIT: Actually, I do remember reading one review years ago of a fast sporty little boat designed firmly for weekending - so it had accommodation, but only for one night per trip. There were two food lockers (one insulated, with a cooler unit in it, one not) and a plates and cutlery locker, all of which were removable. The use of the food lockers is obvious; the idea with the plate container is that instead of washing up the dinner things on Saturday night, you'd put them back in the box and then take the whole lot home Sunday night and put them in the dishwasher at home!

Pete

 

[Bajansailor]

Danny Greene in Bermuda (he of nesting dinghy fame) built a completely modular interior on his 34' cruising yacht - he describes it in the article I posted on a thread in the Liveaboard Forum here (scroll down a bit) :
http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?291364-Well-I-ve-bought-a-Liveaboard-Roberts-42/page4

He mentions that he can completely remove the whole interior on Brazen in a day.
OK, this is a bit extreme, but the same concept could perhaps be applied to a stripped out racing yacht, to convert it into a cruising yacht?

 

[Seajet]

Some cruisers in the late '70's - early 80's had a system of canvas style waterproof stowage bags with wooden battens at the top, designed to drop neatly into apertures in the bunk tops.

 

[sideshowbob]

Using one boat for cruising, mainly with SWMBO and close friends, and racing (Thursday evenings around the cans and occasional passage races, ) is a bit of a pain.

Before yesterday's RTI, I cleared out the cockpit locker of spare rope (which might come in useful 'one day'), hosepipes, old boots, etc and reckon I had the weight of a heavy man when I pushed the trolley up the marina ramp.

I didnt clear off the domestic untensils, few reading books, bedding etc which I probably should, because I didnt want to face having to stow it at home then take it all back to the boat.

The challenge is to keep the excess weight off the boat for racing, but satisfy the co-owner's (SWMBO) requirements to be comfortable when aboard.

I thought a about a few plastic crates to transfer the domestic stuff, but it would still need stowing in lockers etc.

So my idea is to have some form of modular stowage units built into to the interior of the boat, which can easily be unclipped for removal in toto, contents and all. After racing, before cruising, simply replace units and happy SWMBO. Having an estate car helps, for short term storage or transportation home, although some marinas have little lock-up cages where the units could go.

All seems very simple and obvious, I dont know why nobody has done it before ?

Certainly many of the big racer cruisers do it and Mari Cha 3 has a gorgeous interior that can be removed and some of it flatpacked in containers. When racing (a 37' cruiser) we remove as much of the cruising kit as possible most removable equipment is kept in kurver boxes, many shorthanded race boats are designed to take dedicated stowage box systems for everything from food and water to spare hardware. It also allows stacking to windward.

 

[savageseadog]

The client for the first Prima 38 originally specified a demountable interior, the idea got lost in the rush to complete the first boat and was never followed up to keep the fleet one design.

 

[[70521]]

Why don't you cut the middle three quarters out of the boat?

then have two full fitted units that you "slot in" depending on your needs.

Unit 1 - the racing unit just the hull and a bucket

Unit 2 - the SWMBO unit a hull full of all sorts of home comforts.

 

[RAI]

There's a boat racing and cruising out of Cascais (Giulietta) that has been designed and built to enable its cruising interior to be removed for racing. You'll find him on www.anythingsailing.com

 

[flaming]

many shorthanded race boats are designed to take dedicated stowage box systems for everything from food and water to spare hardware. It also allows stacking to windward.

That would be a breach of the rules...

I too remember a yacht with a removable interior. Can't remember what though! The main problem with the removable storage concept as seen on the 109s and the 40.7s is that when they're full they're basically way too heavy to lift!

 

[benjenbav]

Using one boat for cruising, mainly with SWMBO and close friends, and racing (Thursday evenings around the cans and occasional passage races, ) is a bit of a pain.

Before yesterday's RTI, I cleared out the cockpit locker of spare rope (which might come in useful 'one day'), hosepipes, old boots, etc and reckon I had the weight of a heavy man when I pushed the trolley up the marina ramp.

I didnt clear off the domestic untensils, few reading books, bedding etc which I probably should, because I didnt want to face having to stow it at home then take it all back to the boat.

The challenge is to keep the excess weight off the boat for racing, but satisfy the co-owner's (SWMBO) requirements to be comfortable when aboard.

I thought a about a few plastic crates to transfer the domestic stuff, but it would still need stowing in lockers etc.

So my idea is to have some form of modular stowage units built into to the interior of the boat, which can easily be unclipped for removal in toto, contents and all. After racing, before cruising, simply replace units and happy SWMBO. Having an estate car helps, for short term storage or transportation home, although some marinas have little lock-up cages where the units could go.

All seems very simple and obvious, I dont know why nobody has done it before ?

I'm not sure about this one, Nick.

Take this weekend just gone. Now we all know there were boats out there stripped of all luxuries. They were driven by people with names like Ben Ainslie and Jeremy Rogers. Every time those fellows go out they're on a hiding to nothing. If they win, it's expected. If they don't, it's absolutely no good them saying, yeah well, if I could've been bothered to leave the outboard and the spare cans of fuel and the missus's clothes and the food for six people for two months and the water and, and... THEN I coulda been a contender.

The rest of us: we have that excuse.

 

[Sybarite]

Using one boat for cruising, mainly with SWMBO and close friends, and racing (Thursday evenings around the cans and occasional passage races, ) is a bit of a pain.

Before yesterday's RTI, I cleared out the cockpit locker of spare rope (which might come in useful 'one day'), hosepipes, old boots, etc and reckon I had the weight of a heavy man when I pushed the trolley up the marina ramp.

I didnt clear off the domestic untensils, few reading books, bedding etc which I probably should, because I didnt want to face having to stow it at home then take it all back to the boat.

The challenge is to keep the excess weight off the boat for racing, but satisfy the co-owner's (SWMBO) requirements to be comfortable when aboard.

I thought a about a few plastic crates to transfer the domestic stuff, but it would still need stowing in lockers etc.

So my idea is to have some form of modular stowage units built into to the interior of the boat, which can easily be unclipped for removal in toto, contents and all. After racing, before cruising, simply replace units and happy SWMBO. Having an estate car helps, for short term storage or transportation home, although some marinas have little lock-up cages where the units could go.

All seems very simple and obvious, I dont know why nobody has done it before ?

The storage drawers on my Feeling are plastic paniers with a wooden (drawer) facade. I have always left thme on board but you could take them with you.