Boat, inside

Before we bought our boat, we looked at SO MANY BOATS online. Months and months of perusing yachtworld.com, of course, but also lots of time looking at other cruising blogs and seeing what was actually working for people who were  out cruising. Every now and then, I’d come across a blog that had no pictures of the interior of a person’s boat, and I would be incensed. Where was the galley? How could they omit this crucial piece of information? Don’t they know I have planning to do?

You can see the irony here.

We don’t have much info on the “about our boat” page on this blog. In my head, I know we have more projects to finish; the boat is not “done,” even though we’re living on it, and that extends to the interior as well. But really, people–enough is enough. The boat will never be done. Maybe I will never finish the cork project; maybe the bathroom will never look amazing; maybe the chart table will always be scratched. We cleaned up for Michu’s sister’s visit, and it’ll have to do, I think. We will never look like a yachty magazine, but we do, in fact, actually live here.

V-berth, looking forward
V-berth, looking forward

So, this is looking forward at the foot of our bed in the bow of the boat. It’s insanely hard to get good pictures, but I think this one shows the tiny, cramped nature of the space pretty well. We’re not trying to sell you anything; there’s barely room for my feet and Michu’s at the end of that bed. There’s a long shelf than runs along either side; we keep most of our clothes in there, stashed in fabric bags to try and maintain some level of organization. The netting at the foot of the bed holds our “Bag of Bags”–vital feature.

Starboard side (right, facing forward) at the head of the berth in the V
Starboard side (right, facing forward) at the head of the berth in the V

We’ve got one cabinet up in the V-berth–three shelves, containing some of Michu’s clothes and his not-currently-functioning CPAP machine, and a “hanging closet” that we use to stash all our warm clothes like fleece and foulies. The white wall peeking out from behind the pile of warm clothes in the closet is actually the side of our holding tank; we can shine a light on the side and check how full it is. At the moment–very.

Looking toward the v-berth, with the door open to the bathroom
Looking toward the v-berth, with the door open to the bathroom

So generally, the door to the head stays closed, and the door to the v-berth stays open; if you want to use the bathroom, you have to do a complicated door-switching routine to get in there. The long purple thing is a towel…pretty exciting, right? I’m telling you, this is information I would have like to have, back in the day. The E-Scow jib sailbag on the floor between the compression post (“pole”) and the bathroom is our dirty laundry spot. You know. In the living room. Like a normal house.

Head. Port side.
Head. Port side.

The head, or bathroom. I’m not worrying too much about sailorly terminology here, since the majority of people we know who read this blog are not sailors. Please do not yell at me in the comments. Also–friends who think this space in unacceptably small, please remember: if you are using the toilet and the boat is jumping all over the place in the waves, it’s important to have things to hold on to. You do not want a large space. That does not mean I love this room. Let’s move on.

Looking aft from the v-berth
Looking aft from the v-berth

Hey, look! People! F is blocking up the hallway between the dining table and the forward part of the boat–annoying for someone trying to walk around, but comfortable for the person on the couch; there is always someone from our family perched here. In this pic, F’s room is on the left, T’s on the right; stairs to the cockpit are right in the middle.

Port side looking forward
Port side looking forward

Living room/dining room/saloon. Notice how the laundry conveniently blocks the seating on one end of the settee/couch. Also, we will never use that kerosene lamp, and I should really take it down. Most important thing in this picture: the fan in the corner. (You thought I was going to say the hat, right?) Also, please notice the cabinetry above the settee; that was originally a pilot berth–just a big open space for a bed. Michu build in the storage. Isn’t it amazing?

Galley. Port side.
Galley. Port side.

Hey, it’s the galley. Some things to note: the double sink is really helpful to manage dishes. We’ve got a foot pump for the water tanks (excellent clean water in stainless steel storage, with multiple filters), and also a foot pump for outside water (currently disgusting Hudson River water, but soon-to-be cleaner ocean water that can be used for dishwashing, with a fresh water rinse). The Origo stove/oven is hanging out back there as well. The curtains are currently stuck up there with push pins, because curtain rods are way down on the list of priorities. You couldn’t tell, though, could you?

More galley, looking forward
More galley, looking forward

We’ve just hung that net up there, and are not 100% happy with it, but I guess it’s working for now. The real highlight of this pic: look at all that amazing counter space, folks! Coffee cup for scale. Believe it or not, the little ledge that juts out on the right is pretty useful for wedging your butt into when it’s rolly and you need to feed the masses. Also: paper towel roll. You know how important that is to me.

Galley storage
Galley storage

Trying to make this appear larger by making the photo big. This is some of the storage in the galley; the bonus about this setup is that snacky children can access things without disrupting the flow of work in the galley. Also, that’s our one drawer. The butter knives don’t even fit. And you see the clean dishes drying in the top center on the counter? That’s the top of the fridge. If you need anything from the icebox, you have to put the dishes away first.

T's room, port side
T’s room, port side

There’s been some kind of origami finger puppet explosion in here. The kids have to store a few Boat Items in their rooms, but otherwise they pretty much have free reign; the walls have a weird carpet on them that they stick stuff to. Long shelf along the wall, cupboard with shelving forward under that blue box on the right, plus a hanging locker that’s forward of that. Note the cello on the left. The enormous cello. T’s bunk companion.

F's room, starboard side
F’s room, starboard side

F’s room is a carbon copy of T’s, but without the enormous cello. She gets to keep a bin of boat gear at the foot of her bed, though. Lucky! Letting the kids have their own space was a huge priority for us when we were boat shopping; we couldn’t afford a catamaran, but we rejected boats that would have had a kid sleeping in the saloon. So far, we’re pretty thrilled with that decision.

Secret Passage!!!
Secret Passage!!!

This used to be the second head–the tiny, cramped, direct-discharge-to-the-ocean second head. It’s now not-very-organized storage between the kids’ berths. That’s the code zero sail in there, plus some bins of food and homeschool stuff. Back in the toilet-containing days, you could use the head, check out the engine and talk to the driver through that tiny window–all at the same time! Seems kind of boring now…

Nav station, starboard side
Nav station, starboard side

Big finish–the nav station! Home of monitors, electrical panels, electronics hidden under the lid of the table, binoculars, Yachty books that we don’t really use, headlamps, junk drawers and the very useful flyswatter. Please remember that this was cleaned up for visitor purposes, and does not ever look like this in real life.

Ok, that’s it, that’s our home, that’s what we’ve got. It’s not polished or fancy, and most of the organization is a facade, but it’s working pretty well for us so far.

 

9 Comments on “Boat, inside

  1. This may be my favorite of all your blog entries LOL! I too couldn’t believe the postings in Yachtworld or the blogs with no inside photos. As we work on our First 38 (after two years of searching for a boat), I’m constantly looking at options and ideas for setting up the interior. Currently, the electrical systems have been a focus and getting fans going in the cabins. As of Saturday, I have a functioning forepeak fan – woohoo! Everything looks just great in your photos. Did you do velcro and no-seeum fabric across the underside of the hatches? My next sewing project is bug protection for the cabin. Thank you SO much for posting and sharing your experiences. Sending you all best wishes as you continue on this journey! – Lee (and Jon, N (14), G (14), and D (10)), s/v Kaimana

    • We did use Velcro and mesh as bug protection under the hatches; so far, so good. Thanks for the kind words!

  2. Really fun post! We love getting to see your little home on the water- and it’s come a long way since your sendoff party. How much longer are you on the Hudson River? It seems epic!

  3. I do love a good interiors post so thanks for this! Love your little curtains, and having mine on aluminum tracks, I can tell you that yours are simpler. Also really pretty fabric pattern. We are gearing up to refit the galley a bit. Sounds like you like your double sink. I’m on the fence with that. Safe sailing!

    • The thing about the sink is that it’s not just a sink–sometimes it’s the only place in the galley that things will stay put. Having two compartments means keeping the mashed potatoes-in-process away from the sauced beans while the fish finishes cooking…. Or, if you’re slovenly like me, keeping the dirty breakfast dishes away from the lunch prep. Because sometimes, dishes have to wait until we’re anchored!

    • It was a birthday present last year from her mom. She’s been making some elaborate islands…

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