Mirrored bulkheads...increased sense of space and light?

[Greenheart]

I found one or two nice boat photos amongst many hideous designs on this website...scan through the column on the left to find a yacht you like... http://www.ester2.se/swan65.html

The classic Swan 65 always appealed to me with its traditional lines...but I hadn't noticed till today, that the saloon only occupies about 8ft of the hull's length.

The owner of this example seems to have covered the forward saloon bulkhead with big mirrors, presumably to increase the sense of space...

If this is effective, why don't we see it more often in much smaller yachts?

 

[pmagowan]

Because you might get mistaken for a Russian Oligarch?

I would not like to try a nd walk through there carrying jerry cans etc or even just in inclement weather.

 

[pvb]

I don't like the idea of big mirrors in a boat. Potentially too risky in bad weather.

 

[AntarcticPilot]

Glass mirrors wouldn't be safe, for obvious reasons; Steel or mylar or whatever is either a less good mirror or it deteriorates rapidly. I fancy that maintaining a mirror that would be safe would be a permanent job. It isn't just the hazard posed by hitting it; if bulkhead flexes even a tiny amount, it would crack a glass mirror.

 

[Greenheart]

Couldn't the mirror-finish be laminated behind something tough enough to prevent shards of glass being a concern?

When I first saw the photo, I thought the bulkhead was a kind of chrome or highly polished stainless steel.

Safety aside, would the illusion of greater space be a good thing, or a rotten trick to play on cramped guests?

 

[pmagowan]

Couldn't the mirror-finish be laminated behind something tough enough to prevent shards of glass being a concern?

When I first saw the photo, I thought the bulkhead was a kind of chrome or highly polished stainless steel.

Safety aside, would the illusion of greater space be a good thing, or a rotten trick to play on cramped guests?

I think if you need greater space then perhaps try a land based activity. I like the cosy atmosphere you get on a boat and have no need of optical illusions. I think it would just annoy me.

 

[Alpha22]

I had a river cruiser with a large mirror on one of the forward bulkheads. Id did increase the sense of space, but as it reflected the view from a window, when you were moving it could make you nauseous and disorientated.
It may not work well for some.

 

[Amulet]

Called safety backing, and fairly standard. Effectively a sheet of very sticky packing tape stuck on the back. I get any mirrors in shoreside furniture that I make backed this way. Course it doesn't stop you breaking it, but does stop the bits falling dangerously.

Couldn't the mirror-finish be laminated behind something tough enough to prevent shards of glass being a concern?

When I first saw the photo, I thought the bulkhead was a kind of chrome or highly polished stainless steel.

Safety aside, would the illusion of greater space be a good thing, or a rotten trick to play on cramped guests?

 

[nigelmercier]

My boat has fairly dark wood below, and side hatches only at my eye level. I've recently bought some mirror acrylic the same shape as the hatches to fit the space between them, I think it will look good.

 

[vyv_cox]

I don't like the idea of big mirrors in a boat. Potentially too risky in bad weather.

Jill likes ours, I hate it. Says something that it is still there after 20 years.

 

[JumbleDuck]

Glass mirrors wouldn't be safe, for obvious reasons; .

I don't see why. Plenty of boats have framed pictures with glass on display and if glass mirrors bonded to a substrate it would be pretty indestructible. I have a glass mirror up in the toilet and a 3' x 18" mirror finish stainless heat shield behind the charcoal heater ... adding that gave more space to the cabin than fitting the heater lost..

 

[simonfraser]

needs one in the fore peak on the ceiling too

 

[Daydream believer]

Do not need one - My boat is a lot less than 65 feet & the main cabin is longer than 8 feet.
Just shows how old designs have been improved upon

 

[Mark Taylor]

In a previous role I did a number of VIP aircraft interiors and it is not uncommon to use mirrors to give the appearance that the cabin is longer than it actually is. The clever bit however is that you don't put a big mirror on the bulkhead because all that then happens is you see a reflection of yourself and the eye / brain is then not tricked into feeling the cabin is longer.

What you do is fit a strip of mirror, perhaps 6-8 inches wide on the outboard end of the bullkhead, shaped to fit against the fuselage or sidewall and it has to be on both sides of the aircraft. When you then look at the wood veneered or soft furnishings bulkhead, you sense / feel the cabin is longer, because your peripheral vision is also seeing the mirror, but no reflection of your own image.

 

[Greenheart]

That's pretty smart.

Actually I always admired the Swan 65 for all reasons, and the photos don't give the impression that the saloon is only 8ft long. I'd still prefer that yacht to anything built since.

 

[Tricia]

I had some US friends who had a Bristol 43. They had a large mirror in the main salon not quite opposite the companion way. It worked really well giving an illusion of space. It took me ages to realize there was a mirror there and they had sailed that boat for about 20 years with no mishaps with the mirror.

I really liked it, although it did startle me the first time I caught my reflection in it.

 

[charles_reed]

I don't like the idea of big mirrors in a boat. Potentially too risky in bad weather.

I'd never thought you'd fray so much under stress to frighten even yourself. ;-)

Of course, if you're thinking along the track of glass mirrors you might have a point, if little imagination.
Acrylic mirrors are perfectly acceptable - I've used then on boat and in home for about 1/4 of a century. They need to be carefully hung, distortion is all too easy, but they're about 20% of weight of glass mirrors and can be cheaper if you go for silvered acrylic rather than acrylic mirrors.