Galley
1. In port hull extending from stern up to the steps to the salon. Forward of the stairs will be the guest
cabin. I am concerned the hulls do not have sufficient beam to comfortably allow for a galley down
design. I believe it would help immensely if the hulls could be “flared” above the water line to add
another foot of beam in each. If this extra foot is evenly split between the inner and outer sides it would
have the added advantage of adding an extra foot to the overall deck beam and an extra foot available
for salon width.
2. I will only have diesel fuel on board, no gasoline or propane. I will want a microwave oven, all other
cooking appliances will be small individual AC units, e.g. electric pressure cooker, electric skillet,
electric coffee pot, etc. I will want several AC outlets in the galley to accommodate these appliances
and also fiddles and rails on most counter tops to secure these appliances when in use.
3. I will want a washer/dryer, probably placed against the aft bulkhead. I am considering the Equator
EZ1612V from Italy see (www.warehouseappliance.com
). See Appendix 1.
4. If possible I would like a large port light/hatch opening into the cockpit, outerside of salon bulkhead
next to helm. It will be used for ventilation, communication and passing items back and forth between
the galley and cockpit.
5. I will want at least 2 top loading freezer and refrigerator units, maybe more, in the counter tops. None
of the units should be more than 1.5ft deep, to provide ease of access. The units should be thickly
insulated for efficiency. I am considering the water cooled Glacier Bay (www.glacierbay.com
)
compressor that can do multiple duty as the compressor for the various freezer/refrigerator
compartments and also for the Artic Air air condition unit in the master cabin. I am not sure it is
feasible to capture the heat from the compressor to make hot water but I will research this idea. You
mentioned that you have not had good experience with Glacier Bay. I mentioned your complaints to
them at the Miami Boat Show. They agreed with your comments but said their new model solves most
of your complaints. I am not concerned about having an air conditioner that “super cools”. The idea is
to get some cooling from under used equipment thereby saving on space and weight.
Alternatively, Rainier recommends using regular household refrigerators since they are now very
efficient and cheaper than marine systems, so they can be replaced frequently if they don’t standup to
the marine environment and still save money. If they are right, and the air exhaust can be vented
outside, I would like to consider this alternative. However, I estimate the Glacier Bay Micro HP with an
additional freezer zone costs about $5,000 and 1 Arctic Air blower (for the Master Cabin) about $700
for a total of $5,700. A Sun Frost (www.sunfrost.com
) DC 16 cubic ft unit with 2 separately controlled
compartments is about $2,700 and their DC 10 cubic ft freezer is about $1,700 for a total of $4,400. I
estimate a separate 6,500 BTU air conditioning system will cost about $1,500. Therefore, I don’t see
much difference in price. If the air conditioning is eliminated, which is only for the Master Cabin, there
does seem to be a slight cost advantage to using the Sun Frost. I am satisfied that if all the opening port
lights and hatches I want are installed there will be sufficient ventilation for all the boat except in the
Master and Guest cabins so air conditioning would not be needed. Therefore, although I prefer not to
have openings above bunks, I believe opening port lights in the over head front windows above the
bunks would provide the additional ventilation needed. That and the “tent/awning” covering this area
when at anchor should be sufficient. If I take this approach I will defer purchase of the Sun Frost
freezer, I may decide it is not needed. I welcome any advice Alwoplast has to offer.
