best boat lay out for a live aboard...?

[lee b]

what do ya reckon the rest lay out for a narrowboat is for a live aboard?

a cruiser stern or trad...?

i have been told by my boat builder i would be better off going for a cruiser stern cause theirs more outside space,also they are a better pull for resale and hold the value more?...any opinions please?

also would a reverse lay out be better as a live aboard? my builder says a reverse lay out is better on resale at the moment?

 

i was originally going for a trad stern but am in two minds now because the extra space inside is mainly for the engine and batteries,water tank etc...? cheers for your opinions....i am very close to sealing a deal on a sail away but have had a spanner thrown in the works again ! its best to ask people on here who live on boats,,,

what do ya reckon the rest lay out for a narrowboat is for a live aboard?

a cruiser stern or trad...?

i have been told by my boat builder i would be better off going for a cruiser stern cause theirs more outside space,also they are a better pull for resale and hold the value more?...any opinions please?

also would a reverse lay out be better as a live aboard? my builder says a reverse lay out is better on resale at the moment?

 

i was originally going for a trad stern but am in two minds now because the extra space inside is mainly for the engine and batteries,water tank etc...? cheers for your opinions....i am very close to sealing a deal on a sail away but have had a spanner thrown in the works again ! its best to ask people on here who live on boats,,,

bloody keyboard !!! best lay out !!! lol

[deletedaccount]

It's a personal things. There's advantages and disadvantages to all layouts and sterns.

 

Also, if you're thinking about resale value, then don't get a boat built from new. They lose a pile of value the minute you drive them out of the boatyard and I really don't think sterns have much to do with them

[Grace and Favour]

what do ya reckon the rest lay out for a narrowboat is for a live aboard?

a cruiser stern or trad...?

i have been told by my boat builder i would be better off going for a cruiser stern cause theirs more outside space,also they are a better pull for resale and hold the value more?...any opinions please?

also would a reverse lay out be better as a live aboard? my builder says a reverse lay out is better on resale at the moment?

 

i was originally going for a trad stern but am in two minds now because the extra space inside is mainly for the engine and batteries,water tank etc...? cheers for your opinions....i am very close to sealing a deal on a sail away but have had a spanner thrown in the works again ! its best to ask people on here who live on boats,,,

bloody keyboard !!! best lay out !!! lol

The best way to decide on a boat layout is for YOU to go and spend time looking at loads of boats - and then deciding for yourself your preferred design.

 

If you ask the opinions of a dozen boaters - you'll get at least 13 replies!

[deletedaccount]

For me there's a few things I dislike and wouldn't have in a layout.

 

1) walk through bathrooms. I don't want to walk through a boat bathroom that often, thanks very much (and I've got a nice one!)

2) kitchen one end, saloon the other. It's really hard to have mates over and cook at the same time. The living space is divided.

3) cross bed. I'm only 5 foot 10 1/2 and they're still way too short. plus they're a hassle.

I'm sure for every one of those points there's someone here who thinks the opposite

Oh, and

4) galley kitchen with units down both sides with corridor down the middle. They're cramped and corridor like and where they open into a saloon severely limit your options for laying it out.

Notice how I've not even mentioned my favourite stern shape or trad vs reverse yet !

[lee b]

It's a personal things. There's advantages and disadvantages to all layouts and sterns.

 

Also, if you're thinking about resale value, then don't get a boat built from new. They lose a pile of value the minute you drive them out of the boatyard and I really don't think sterns have much to do with them

 

It's a personal things. There's advantages and disadvantages to all layouts and sterns.

 

Also, if you're thinking about resale value, then don't get a boat built from new. They lose a pile of value the minute you drive them out of the boatyard and I really don't think sterns have much to do with them

soz,i forgot to mention its a sail away boat so although i will be throwing a lot of dosh at it i should still save at least 25k on having one built for me,also i am a multi traded bulder with more than 25years experience and have the funds,tools and trades and am able to take the time off to do the project...just make things clearer...cheers

[deletedaccount]

Brill. Good luck with it! It's def worth thinking it through.

 

Me I'd have a trad layout because I don't want my front room to be entered via the back door and have the sound of the engine right there in my face when I'm trying to relax.

[Arthur Brown]

How many are there going to be on board? What suits a single doesn't suit a couple and if there are several teens it could be different again.

 

Trad gives room inside but it's hard to cruise socially with everyone together

 

Go look at 100 boats and decide what you like about each design, what you can live with and what would have to go, then you should have lots of ideas ranked in order.

As a builder you will have issues! there are no straight lines or levels on a boat except the notional string line from stem to stern.

 

Lots of boats sit differently according to fuel, water and poo tank contents

[lee b]

For me there's a few things I dislike and wouldn't have in a layout.

 

1) walk through bathrooms. I don't want to walk through a boat bathroom that often, thanks very much (and I've got a nice one!)

2) kitchen one end, saloon the other. It's really hard to have mates over and cook at the same time. The living space is divided.

3) cross bed. I'm only 5 foot 10 1/2 and they're still way too short. plus they're a hassle.

I'm sure for every one of those points there's someone here who thinks the opposite

Oh, and

4) galley kitchen with units down both sides with corridor down the middle. They're cramped and corridor like and where they open into a saloon severely limit your options for laying it out.

Notice how I've not even mentioned my favourite stern shape or trad vs reverse yet !

 

How many are there going to be on board? What suits a single doesn't suit a couple and if there are several teens it could be different again.

 

Trad gives room inside but it's hard to cruise socially with everyone together

 

Go look at 100 boats and decide what you like about each design, what you can live with and what would have to go, then you should have lots of ideas ranked in order.

no kids,no wife...just me so i was thinking of a fixed double and one make up double for friends and family...cheers

For me there's a few things I dislike and wouldn't have in a layout.

 

1) walk through bathrooms. I don't want to walk through a boat bathroom that often, thanks very much (and I've got a nice one!)

2) kitchen one end, saloon the other. It's really hard to have mates over and cook at the same time. The living space is divided.

3) cross bed. I'm only 5 foot 10 1/2 and they're still way too short. plus they're a hassle.

I'm sure for every one of those points there's someone here who thinks the opposite

Oh, and

4) galley kitchen with units down both sides with corridor down the middle. They're cramped and corridor like and where they open into a saloon severely limit your options for laying it out.

Notice how I've not even mentioned my favourite stern shape or trad vs reverse yet !

i dont like walk through bathrooms either...the only door i want other than the stern and bow doors is a bathroom door...whats your choice on trad or cruiser stern?...i like the looks of trads but also like the idea of fishing from a cruiser...the bow is not very big,just 2ft 6ins,

[RLWP]

Our boat has fifteen doors, not including cupboards

 

Richard

[Nine of Hearts]

my builder says a reverse lay out is better on resale at the moment?

 

All well and good, provided you sell it at the moment. If you're chasing resale value, you'll need to know what the current fad will be at the time you come to sell. Which is anybody's guess. So I'd say, go with what YOU want. This thread even thus far should have put you in mind of Aesop's story of the old man, his grandson and the donkey. Set out trying to please everyone and you please no-one.

Edited July 9, 2013 by Nine of Hearts

[sueb]

Rear galley is very useful when cruising as you can nip down to make a hot drink or grab some food

[carlt]

Centre cockpit with rear bedroom (for privacy) cockpit converts to dining room (al fresco meals when the weather is right) lounge/kitchen forward of the cockpit, then the shower/heads and at the front another bedroom.

[deletedaccount]

Mine's a cruiser stern with seating/lockers. Normal cruiser sterns do seem to waste more space than ness imo.

 

I like my cruiser stern because it's been great to get piles of people on board and go cruising. That said, I envy other peoples engine rooms in their trads, its good to have the extra space for boat things. Just don't go for a semi trad - it has none of the benefits of either ime.

[bottle]

My opinion for what it is worth are exactly the opposite of your builder.

 

I wonder if he has one already built that he is trying to get rid of.

 

The best one for you is the what you want not what every one else wants.

 

ps. A lot of people say the second or third boat you own is the right one, not in my case but I did do about twenty years of research (hiring)

[Nine of Hearts]

ps. A lot of people say the second or third boat you own is the right one, not in my case but I did do about twenty years of research (hiring)

 

Where do you start counting, though? My first boat was a canoe. By that reckoning, the Cat's my 4th.

[lee b]

Rear galley is very useful when cruising as you can nip down to make a hot drink or grab some food

not so good for me cause who would steer my boat while i was making a cupa lol

[Ange]

I'm really puzzled about your boat builder's advice, and worried that it's his personal preference that's dictating it.

 

When I was first researching stern layout I found that the preferences between cruiser and trad stern were pretty much 50/50, but when it came to living aboard the preference leaned towards the trad stern because the extra socialising space would only be used for a fraction of the time you were aboard the boat. You can do you engine maintenance in the dry, can stand inside the doors and keep the majority of yourself warm and dry when it's hissing down with rain and you still have to move. There is no way the extra space inside is mainly for engine and batteries - look at boats and measure the length of the cruiser stern, then measure the amount of space the engine and batteries take up. Our water tank sits snugly in the bow, so that doesn't come into the equation.

 

I'm not for a moment dismissing cruiser sterns, I was the one campaigning for one and I still have moments when I wish we'd bought one, but I'm just saying it's wrong to dismiss trad sterns, particularly as liveaboard boats.

 

Reverse layout is another strange one. When we were boathunting the overwhelming majority of boats were traditional (ie living room at the front, then kitchen, then bathroom, then bedroom) layout, which to me says that that's what the majority want - which is important when we're talking resale value. Personally I wouldn't want our living room to be at the back of the boat - I like opening the front doors in the summer and extending our living area to include the countryside around us. The bedroom is a quiet private place which no one has to walk through if they visit our boat. But then our boat is accessed via the front doors, so it'll be different to others.

 

My advice, for what it's worth, is just go for what you want. Ignore your builder, forget about resale value and get the boat that suits you. Look at lots of boats and lots of different layouts.

 

Best of luck

[deletedaccount]

great advice ^^

[paul68]

The missus and I will be buying a narrowboat in a few months, being newbies the choice is daunting but the best thing is to see as many boats as you can. It will soon become obvious what your preferences are as we found out. As has been said don't go on what other people say, choose what you want because everyone will have a different opinion.

We are going for a cruiser stern because the space will be nice to sit out on a summer evening or as we do, fish from. Also we prefer reverse layouts, I don't understand why you would want to step off the back of the boat straight into a bedroom, perhaps being wet or having muddy boots. But as I said they are our preferences and everyone's are different.

[Neil2]

Brill. Good luck with it! It's def worth thinking it through.

 

Me I'd have a trad layout because I don't want my front room to be entered via the back door and have the sound of the engine right there in my face when I'm trying to relax.

That was definitely one conclusion I came to after three months of continuous cruising. I'd want the living area to be as far away from the engine as possible. Course, the engine could be in the bow...

 

However, a midships engine makes a lot of sense to me, I suspect it makes for very relaxed cruising, you have more design options and it should make for better handling. If I was lucky enough to have a boat built from scratch that's the way I'd go.

[Natalie Graham]

Trad. You can't steer sitting on the cabin roof on a cruiser stern (unless you have really, really long arms)

[BlueStringPudding]

Or a really really long tiller

[Lady Muck]

Trad: can stay warm in winter by standing on back steps, plus you've an engine room

Cruiser Stern: you have a decent sized outside space where you can dine alfresco, even if the towpath isn't wide enough (some boats will have room for this at the bows though)

Semi Trad (what we have), we find it safer for small children and dogs, can keep them contained. Can chain my dog up at the back with no risk of him falling over the side and hanging himself with the dog lead.

[Natalie Graham]

Or a really really long tiller

But then you'd still need really, really long arms to reach the end of it when it was fully swung over.