Interior

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The Cruising Yacht Interior

The individual selection of cruising vessel often has as much to do with interior comforts as it does with sailing and heavy weather performance. The cruising boat's cabin must first protect the crew from the elements, be capable of carrying tons of supplies for long journeys, and be set up ergonomically for all the activities of ordinary living while at sea.

History

Cruising yachts of the early 20th century were by-and-large based upon working boats rather than racing yachts. Interiors of working boats and racing boats both focused on purpose-built spaces. Blue-water boats tended to have spaces more tightly confined to prevent crew from falling large distances in heavy seas; blue-water boats also tended to have fewer port holes, limited deck lights or hatches which might allow water ingress. This provided for cramped and dark space below decks. Later in the 20th century, cruising yachts began to copy more racing yacht hull designs but still retained many of the purpose-built spaces of working boat interiors. The majority of modern yachts cruising today tend to be built less for blue water passage and more for the crew's enjoyment of well-lit and spacious interiors.

Purpose-Built Spaces

The typical cruising yacht will include galley/eating, head, saloon seating, stateroom/sleeping, and navigation purpose-built spaces and fittings. Additionally, space will often be built to accommodate anchoring activities, engine/mechanical as well as stowage space.

The smaller a cruising boat is, the more likely that the purpose-built spaces will overlap or be combined. It is not uncommon for the main cabin of a small vessel to combine cooking, eating, relaxing, navigation, and sleeping functions all in one small area by the clever use of purpose-built furniture and fittings.

Galley

A galley is the kitchen aboard a vessel, usually laid out in an efficient typical style with longitudinal units and overhead cabinets. This makes the best use of the usually limited space aboard ships. It also caters for the rolling and heaving nature of ships, making them more resistant to the effects of the movement of the ship. For this reason galley stoves are often gimballed, so that the liquid in pans does not spill out. They are also commonly equipped with bars, preventing the cook from falling against the hot stove.

The most important bit of kit in the galley will be the galley stove. Marine stoves are generally compact to fit in the confines of boat galleys and have special modifications for use underway. Sailboat stoves are different from household appliances: They have to operate normally at angles up to 30° without cookware sliding off. Oven doors are latched securely so they can't be forced open by the weight of baking containers inside if the boat heels. The controls are located on the front or along the side, so the cook does not have to reach over hot cookware on a moving boat. There are no continuous pilot lights that could cause a fuel explosion.

Most stoves on boats rely on combustible fuels: either alcohol, kerosene, LPG (liquefied petroleum gas/propane) or CNG (compressed natural gas). Some powerboats and larger sailboats rely on electrical appliances in their galleys, which run off the engine's alternator and an inverter, shore power at the dock or a generator onboard that can produce 110V AC electricity. Modern stoves are made from non-corroding materials like stainless steel. Most will have two or more burners on the top to heat pots, and many have a burner in the oven for baking. Some have a broiler, with a flat burner on top of a broiler compartment so sandwiches, steaks and other foods can be broiled. Both power and sailboat stoves have potholders, which are bracket/clamps that encircle the base of the pot or pan to keep it from sliding.
A Small and Simple Galley in a Cruiser/Racer

Alcohol stoves have been common on production sailboats and powerboats for decades. Alcohol is a relatively safe fuel that, when liquid, does not explode. Its fires can be put out with water, but it has low heat content, burns with a sort of offensive odor and gives off a lot of water when it burns. Alcohol fuel is also expensive and feeble in its ability to heat large amounts of food.

Pressure-style alcohol stoves, like those from Kenyon, Shipmate, Galley Maid and others, generally use pressurized tanks feeding burners that must be pre-heated with liquid alcohol to make them hot enough to vaporize the fuel so it can burn effectively. This process, although not difficult, must be done correctly or the stove will tend to flare up and send flames high above the surface of the stove. This can also lead to an overflow of liquid fuel, which can leak around the stove causing a large, low intensity fire when it ignites. Many boat fires are caused by alcohol stove flare-ups. For these reasons, the number of alcohol stoves using pressurized burners has declined dramatically.

Non-pressurized alcohol stoves, which store the liquid fuel in an absorbent material, rather than a pressurized tank are very safe. A special burner that looks like a small chimney creates a draft and intensifies the relatively gentle flame. There is no priming, no flare-ups and much less danger of fire on board. Although any fuel can be dangerous in an enclosed space, modern alcohol stoves that do not use fuel under pressure are much safer.

Kerosene and diesel cookers are less common, used mainly by northern-latitude cruisers and commercial boats. Kerosene and diesel burn extremely hot, are quite safe in liquid form, and are compact to store since the fuel has a high heat content. If diesel is used, the ship’s fuel tank can be used to power the stove as well as the engine. Kerosene and diesel are also cheaper to operate than alcohol.

The disadvantages are that both kerosene and diesel burn with a bit of soot, have to be pre-heated like alcohol, diesel stoves must be vented (chimney) whereas kerosene is much cleaner burning. Some people do not tolerate the mild smell of kerosene or the stronger odor of diesel. The safety factors outweigh the bother of having to pre-heat the stove for many people, though.

CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) stoves are very uncommon since the fuel is hard to find except in certain areas of the USA like Southern California. CNG is compressed methane gas, stored under very high pressure in gas form (2400psi at 100°F). Monitoring the amount of gas in the cylinder is easy, as the pressure declines steadily as the gas is consumed. CNG has a much lower heat content than other common fuels, so it is not tremendously efficient at cooking and heating. CNG is lighter than air but it is still dangerous and potentially explosive, so CNG systems must be vapor-tight to the hull interior and well ventilated.

For non-cruisers, LPG (Liquid Petroleum Gas, or propane)stoves have largely replaced alcohol, diesel, and kerosene stoves on most new boats. LPG is compact, since it is stored as a liquid and burned as a gas. LPG remains in liquid form when stored under pressure at room temperature The benefits are that it is very familiar--like cooking on a gas stove at home; it lights instantly without pre-heating; and burns with a small odor which most people tolerate well. LPG, propane, is not as safe to use aboard a boat as other fuels are because it heavier than air and will settle as a gas in low areas of the hull if not stored properly in a locker vented overboard. If it settled to the bilge because of a leak, it can ignite and literally blow up a boat. Because of this explosion danger from propane if used in enclosed spaces like boat hulls, propane stoves must have special safety devices to shut off the flow of propane if the burner is extinguished.

Electric stoves are common on large boats that have plentiful 120V AC power from a generator or from shore power. Electric stoves are probably the safest stoves available, because they don’t introduce explosive gases into the cabin and they don’t have open flames or produce carbon monoxide. However, like any resistance heater, they require large amounts of electricity to operate. They are impractical on all but boats with AC gensets.

Head

Navigation Table

Main Saloon

Stowage

Engine Room

Forecastle

Interior Fittings

Materials and Maintenance



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