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I decided to start taking apart Crows Nest's interior--at least the parts in the "salon" that I thought could use a little rehab. You know how it goes--it gets hard to stop. What I'm left with is in the pics. that follow. Current plan is to keep the dinette on the port pretty much as originally configured. On the starboard, I'm going to move the head up to the forward bulkhead, and make it a lot smaller, with the head itself perpendicular to the hull centerline. I'm going to put in a bench aft of that running from the head wall to the aft salon bulkhead. Its all still in my head. Anybody got any suggestions feel free. I'm not going to have a galley, or a fresh water system. We never cook on the boat, and we'll use bottled water for drinking, washing, etc. I also plan on building some type of cabinets towards the bow of the salon, with verticals running up from the forward salon bulkhead. The windshield is f'glassed in. It just needs a little help.

Port




Starboard


Looking towards the bow

keep us posted I want to rip out my interior also looking for ideas

John,

If you're going to rip out the kitchen, thus you will not be cooking, what do you need the port original configuration for?
Especially the table seems unnecessary. If you want to eat something you can still eat it anywhere else on the boat.
Why not make a nice comfy couch to sit and/or relax on at the port side, parallel to the centerline ? You will save a lot of floor space by doing so. Suddenly the cabin will look almost twice as large. I did it (although it's MUCH more difficult in the 28 because of the floor configuration) and it's perfect. Plenty of storage under, wide corridor, and while I cook inside I eat outside on my folding table. If it's cold, you bring the table inside and now there IS room to place it on the floor and enjoy.

John what's the thought process? You're moving the head forward to give more light / view out aft? You planning on eating into the V berth area or leaving that intact? Table at the dinette like your old boat or just seating?

Yannis- Neat idea, but not for me. We won't be cooking, but will be eating. We found that we spent time at the dinette. Its a nice place to relax, have coffee, and read the paper in the am, or share a pizza and beer around in the pm. I do like the idea of more open space, and the folding table sounds OK. But, I'm keeping the dinette. I like it, and Crows Nest already has the dinette cushions done in ultra-leather. Can't waste those. I'll have a little bench on the starboard side--maybe 40" long or so, behind the head enclosure.

Pete- With the windshield f'glassed in, I've already lost forward light that's there with a stock windshield. It seems like it'd open up some light by moving the head forward. I want to redo the head to a smaller, narrower enclosure anyway, so I'm basically starting from scratch. I plan on putting a little flatscreen TV on the port side cabinet that'll be built from the forward bulkhead up. The little bench will give me another place to sit, whoever is sitting there will e able to see the TV, and it'll give me a place where I can sit with my guitar (as long as my arthritic hand doesn't get much worse).

Jimmy G is setting up a pretty nice layout in his. He has the port side dinette out. He is putting a bunk bed sort of style system. The top bunk folds down and it looks like it will be the back for the bottom bunk which also should double as a bench seat and a bunk.

Maybe he will jump in. I think he said he was going to be able to fit a table in also. Of course he psuhed the starboard side back a little also.

I took the dinette out of mine and made a day bed with underneath storage---on the port side took out the standup head and made a u-shaped galley---moved the head into v-berth (it's a day boat)---

John, you said a flat screen tv, just a tip, where I keep Seachele they have cable but no broadcast tv, in the keys. I bought a slingbox at best buy, $200.00 hook it to your cable at home , get the app on your smartphone and watch tv on the phone . Plug that into the flat screen via hdmi and tv. At my marina the wifi is iffy, but with an unlimited data plan 3G works well. Football anchored out.

Thanks for the ideas.

John you didn't mention what your thoughts were on the vberth. If it is nothing more than storage you may consider pushing the head into that area a bit as well as the dinette to make it a little bigger.

Bill -- Thanks for the TV tip.

Peter- We (wife and I, kids are grown) are planning on spending some nights on the boat. The v-berth is staying as is. My wife wants an enclosed head.

John I was just thinking you could cut into the vberth as in pushing the head forward another foot, cutting out some of the dash and losing the closet. And the rear facing seat of the dinette. Just to give you more space but the won't work. If you want to sleep in the Berth.

John, a friend of mine has a boat where the dinette elevattion sitts a bit higher than original elevation of the bertram, more like short barstool hight.
Really offers better viewing of the cockpit in a seat more comfortable to a "grown up". Had I known prior I wouldnt have removed mine and put a bench in.
Would much rather have an elevated dinette

Peter- Neat idea, but as you said, it won't work with my intended use.

Matt- That sounds interesting. Any pics? Do you mean elevating everything on the port side more than it is now?

pretty much. I cant offer any pictures but if I were to do it again I would take everything as is and raise it as high as the windows would allow. Table relative to seats.