Layout - Traditional vs Reverse

[Debbie4121]

Hi All

 

I hope this is the right place to post this. We are looking to buy/have a narrowboat built (we have boated previously), and so have been looking around. Our previous boats have all been a traditional layout, ie, Saloon, Galley, Bathroom, Bedroom - when moving from front to back. However, there seem to be a lot of boats with the reverse layout, ie, Galley at the back/Bedroom at the front.

 

The reverse layout seems a little odd to me, particularly with the bedroom at the front (, although I don't want to discount it completely. I was hoping some of you might share your reasons for your chosen layout, and the benefits of one vs the other??

 

Thanks

 

Debbie

[cotswoldsman]

Hi Debbie

 

Welcome to the forum.

I have a reverse layout, the reasons I chose this are as follows.

 

1. I am single handed and having the galley at the back means I can make cofee and tea as I am cruising without having to stop.

2. The stove is in the middle of the boat so warms the complete boat no problems.

3. Having the bedroom at the front is great in the summer as I can lie in bed and watch the world wake up.

 

I am sure you will hear all sorts of different views and end up even more confused at what layout to go for.

[PeterF]

We used to borrow my father in laws boat and that was reverse layout cruiser stern so it was good that the galley was at the rear as someone going into the galley was still in contact with the steerer. Also, the galley tends to have waterproof flooring that is easier to clean if entering the boat in wet conditions. When cooking a rear galley does not cut off the rest of the boat, with a mid galley you have to pass the person cooking to go from lounge to bathroom.

 

We now have our own boat and that is bedroom rear standard layout. This has a large well deck and a lot of glazing between the lounge and front so it is like having a patio which we like on summer evenings. It does not have the detractions of those noted above, but the boat is for the two of us now the children are older and find the mid galley design to be OK whereas with 4 on the boat the rear galley seemed better.

 

PeterF.

[bottle]

Debbie

 

Welcome.

 

Having hired both types, we decided to have the Traditional/Standard/Normal layout.

 

Reason, when relaxing we felt less 'in a box' with the saloon at the front, bedrooms are for sleeping in and most of the time 'your' eyes are shut so it doesn't matter where it is.

 

As Peter says the well deck/cratch area becomes part of the saloon, makes it seem bigger and more airy.

[alan_fincher]

Seldom mentioned in this debate, I think....

 

Surely to some extent it depends on the type of stern, ("trad", "semi trad" or "cruiser") ?

 

Whilst I can accept that the reverse layout probably works quite well with a cruiser or even a semi-trad stern, where rear access is usually fairly unrestricted, I'd have thought to try it with a "trad" might be less successful, as entrance from the rear deck, past the engine, and into the cabin area is usually fairly restricted.

 

With most "trads" the front doors seem to be the more sensible choice for your primary entrance and exit, and making this go through the main bedroom might not always work out that well.

 

It doesn't have to be the kitchen at the very back in a reverse layout, of course - I've also seen the lounge area at the very back, which can work well with a cruiser stern.

[steelaway]

Hi All

 

I hope this is the right place to post this. We are looking to buy/have a narrowboat built (we have boated previously), and so have been looking around. Our previous boats have all been a traditional layout, ie, Saloon, Galley, Bathroom, Bedroom - when moving from front to back. However, there seem to be a lot of boats with the reverse layout, ie, Galley at the back/Bedroom at the front.

 

The reverse layout seems a little odd to me, particularly with the bedroom at the front (, although I don't want to discount it completely. I was hoping some of you might share your reasons for your chosen layout, and the benefits of one vs the other??

 

Thanks

 

Debbie

 

 

Hi Debbie

 

We designed our new boat with the reverse layout. One advantage is that can have a 4'6" bed at the front as only you need to sqeeze past it to go to bed.

The major disadvantage is that we no longer use the cratch (except for storage) which seems a real waste of space.

The MK2 version would have the bed room queezed all the way to the front of the cratch giving maybe 3 foot of extra room inside.

See my gallery photos

 

Alex

[jgm]

We have timeshared twice - once with Canaltime (reverse layout) & the second with Shakespeare (conventional). We found that the Canaltime boat (especially with the poor access to the foredeck) meant that we were restricted in the amount of territory we could cover. The crew were stuck in the saloon and couldn't see much, so we had to stop frequently so they could get off and wander around. I'd planned our second trip around the same sort of timing, but this time, the crew could see much more of the countryside, and didn't want to stop nearly as often, so we ended up with shorter days, & much more time to spend at more interesting places.

 

Our experience is probably not applicable to live aboards, but for those renting with greater numbers on board (we had 6 both times) it makes a significant difference.

Edited December 27, 2008 by jgm

[Smelly]

Hi Debbie

 

Welcome to the forum.

I have a reverse layout, the reasons I chose this are as follows.

 

1. I am single handed and having the galley at the back means I can make cofee and tea as I am cruising without having to stop.

2. The stove is in the middle of the boat so warms the complete boat no problems.

3. Having the bedroom at the front is great in the summer as I can lie in bed and watch the world wake up.

 

Couldn't have said it better myself, apart from to mention that we stumbled across number 3.

 

I still fancy a back cabin for the sake of a fire blowing hot air up my trouser leg as I'm cruising in the winter. The coal run last week was truly 'orrible.

[Odana]

I deliberately chose reverse layout. From cruiser stern - kitchen, living room-cum-office, bathroom, bedroom, very small front deck just used for storage and emergency access.

Apart from the making-tea-while-cruising-singlehanded advantage mentioned, it's easy to keep most of the damp and muddiness in the kitchen area, with shoes off beyond. Otherwise I'd end up parking windlasses and wet jacket on the bed, I'm sure. Also reverse layout with cruiser stern means that guests don't have to walk through my bedroom. And whoever's steering can be sociable with those down in the warmth of the kitchen.

[WJM]

"And whoever's steering can be sociable with those down in the warmth of the kitchen."

 

But those down in the warmth feel like they are in a hole!

[sociable_hermit]

My ex-girlfriend's parents had a 49' boat which we used quite a bit. The layout was ideal for holidays etc. It went (front to back):

 

Small lounge: sofa (could use as single bed) with stove opposite / bedroom (fixed double) / bathroom / kitchen / dinette / wet locker / cruiser stern.

 

The biggest disadvantage was that there wasn't enough room for a wardrobe. Also the boat was an ex-hire boat and everything was on one side, so despite much ballasting it never really wanted to sit straight.

 

Those not on the tiller had the choice of sitting at the front or at the back, so no worries there. The main bedroom was close to the stove for the winter months. The kitchen was easy to access from the stern.

 

I would like a 53' or 56' version with a wardrobe and a cross-galley, when I retire. Not so handy for Marina dwelling, of course, but I won't care then.

[Odana]

"And whoever's steering can be sociable with those down in the warmth of the kitchen."

 

But those down in the warmth feel like they are in a hole!

 

Eh? They can look out the windows, lean out the hatch, or come up and sit on the back deck! As long as they bring me a drink with them that is.

[Troll]

reverse layout is good, as loads have said, esspecially for chatting whilste steering and partner making dinner, also in bed should a fire happen (god forbid) the front door is easier to open, back doors usually lock from outside as standard, and imagine a bedroom at the very rear and a fire some where between you and the front door

[alan_fincher]

reverse layout is good, as loads have said, esspecially for chatting whilste steering and partner making dinner, also in bed should a fire happen (god forbid) the front door is easier to open, back doors usually lock from outside as standard, and imagine a bedroom at the very rear and a fire some where between you and the front door

Anybody who chooses to be inside a narrowboat with the back doors locked from the outside is a complete plonker in my view, and the layout of the boat is quite immaterial.

 

I can't believe anybody would chose not to have an exit easily openable from the inside at either end of a long wood lined metal tube, that can so easily turn into a fireball within minutes.

 

I do see large numbers of obviously inhabited boats though, where there are not exits that can be used at each end. True rear doors often seem to have a padlock on the outside, but equally many live aboards seem quite happy to pile the front deck with all manner of fuels and other paraphernalia, very often completely shutting off outward swinging doors.

 

Some people just seem to think they are invincible, rather than taking very obvious precautions that greatly increase chance of escape should a fire break out. To me an exit at each end is a no brainer.

[johnjo]

We have a 58ft'er trad. No entry from the stern, you have to go 1/4 way down the port side for the side hatch. Large cratch area with cover mainly for the dogs. We have another side hatch midway on starboard side. Cross bed in rear cabin behind port side hatch, so no going through bedroom.

 

Galley is at the front then the living area with Squirrel feeding back boiler to chlorifier & three rads so heats whole boat plus water. Bathroom [port side] with shower pumpout and basin, then the side hatch, then bedroom, with the engine and steering area on the other side of the bedroom wall.

 

I find being isolated at the stern a bit inconvenient, also it's bit of a b*gger if you need the loo. With hindsight I would have preferred to be able to access the interior directly from the steering position so maybe a semi-trad next time as more sociable or a trad with direct access. If we didn't have two dogs I might even go for a cruiser stern, there are loads of fors and against for all setups.

 

I suppose the best advice is try out all of them by taking at least a weeks hire with each, better still if you have the time and can find a hirer, off season, that has a Trad, Semi-trad and a Cruiser stern available and take a three week hire and spend a week on each. Make it somewhere central though otherwise could get a bit boring covering the same route each time.

 

Whatever you eventually choose you will probably wish for a slightly different layout after a few months, but you will never regret having your own boat to go where you want, for as long as you want, whenever you want.

 

Whatever you decide I wish you well.

 

John

 

Edited. Last para didn't make sense.

Edited January 6, 2009 by johnjo

[Chris J W]

Being single-handed I can't really say that the internal layout has ever really made that much difference when out cruising. By the time I've pulled in and quickly-centre-line-only-tied up to stop for a cuppa or use the loo it really hasn't made a difference where the facilities are.

Edited January 6, 2009 by Chris J W

[johnjo]

Being single-handed I can't really say that the internal layout has ever really made that much difference when out cruising. By the time I've pulled in and quickly-centre-line-only-tied up to stop for a cuppa or use the loo it really hasn't made a difference where the facilities are.

 

Can't disagree, it's just a bit of an inconvenience at times.

John

[WJM]

I like to make my single-handed cup of tea on the move, drop into idle and run down to the galley. By having the galley forward I can keep an eye on where the boat is going.

 

I was a big fan of reverse layout until I actually had a boat and began to understand the practicalities of the normal layout. Every layout has it's good and bad points - I reckon the reverse has more bad ones.

Edited January 6, 2009 by WJM

[david and julie]

One thing rarely mentioned about reverse layout, especially if you liveaboard, is noise. I've been in a few of them whilst they were running the main engine, whilst moored,for hot water and battery charging. Being sat so much closer to the engine during this process made them far noisier than my boat and I could also feel more vibration.

 

I have a conventional layout(semi-trad) so have wardrobes/bed/closed bedroom door/bathroom/etc which probably absorbs some of the sound before they reach me sat near the front. Whenever we have the genny running we can still watch the TV or talk to each other without having to shout. If I really wanted a reverse layout and also needed a genny I would probably have it mounted at the front of the bowdeck.

 

Let someone else listen to it.

[alan_fincher]

One further random thought.....

 

There seems to be an increasing trend with new boats rather than having "all windows" or "all port holes" to have a half and half, with windows in the living area, and portholes in the bedroom (and possibly bathroom) area.

 

Just my opinion, I'll admit, but this treatment seems to look OK where the windows are at the front, but can look decidedly odd with portholes forward and windows behind. If the very back then reverts to portholes in a "trad" engine room, the effect is even stronger.

 

Of course practicality should come over appearance, but it's worth at least checking you are happy with the look of a boat done in this way, before committing to one.

 

 

Our boat has one solitary porthole in the area I'm currently rebuilding, (it was a children's bedroom). I know it's quite small one, but I can't believe how gloomy that bit of the boat is, even with the walls and bulkheads taken down. I'm not sorry the rest of the boat is windowed, and am giving serious thought to cutting out another one, to replace said port-hole, if I could find one that matched what we already have.

[Debbie4121]

Many thanks all for your replies, all of which are really helpful. We´ve done some more poking about, and think we have decided that a traditional layout will work best for us. Am now off to post more questions about other things!!!

 

Debbie

[mrsmelly]

Many thanks all for your replies, all of which are really helpful. We´ve done some more poking about, and think we have decided that a traditional layout will work best for us. Am now off to post more questions about other things!!!

 

I beleive u made the correct decision.........now to throw a spanner in the works make sure the boat u buy is long enough..........

[Chris J W]

I beleive u made the correct decision.........now to throw a spanner in the works make sure the boat u buy is long enough..........

 

No. Make sure you buy the boat you decide you want no-matter the layout or length.

[Steve3]

No. Make sure you buy the boat you decide you want no-matter the layout or length.

What about an engine room, very handy for storage and drying washing

[Chris J W]

What about an engine room, very handy for storage and drying washing

 

Nah. You go for the boat that you think is right for you, not one that others tell you is right for you.