Right below you can see our first effort at creating this “perfect” bridge.  We got good feedback from readers and now moved to a 2nd draft with a few big changes.  For the better we hope and we invite you again to comment.

For starters, we added the side doors.  This was something I felt was missing for quite some time but I didn’t quite know how to fix it until I got inspired by a bridge lay-out of Lars Modin Design.  Especially when mooring these doors will improve the traffic flow.  We also moved the chart area to the rear of the bridge, combining with with a bigger ‘office’ space that doesn’t interfere with the flow of people and can be used at night as well without blinding anybody using a curtain.  And we added a little “coffee station” which will also have a small fridge.  The toilet is 10 steps away behind the bridge.

As to the equipment, we’ll mostly go Furuno and some Simrad and use a highly recommended electronic chart system from the Norwegian company Admiral.  We may also put in a customized panel from Radio Zeeland DMP.  The ship automation and alarm & monitoring systems will come from Marble Automation which is another Dutch company linked with Piet Brouwer Electrotechniek, the company that will provide our new electrical system design and switchboards.

And yes, only one helm chair but it will be a nice Norsap 1500.

This is our provisional equipment list:

Currently we have an old Sperry gyrocompass but it’s huge and heavy and there are no spare parts so this will be replaced by the satellite compass. Originally we had also planned a Farsounder forward looking sonar but the exciting new 3D does  has all the specs and performance we need, much better visualization and costs  fraction of the Farsounder.  The X-band radar will have a 4 or 6 ft. antenna.

 Original post july 2009 (abbreviated)
……  What were the 5 most annoying things you encountered on a bridge?  What did you like most of a bridge you worked on?  Just through it all out. And if you have pictures or layouts of bridges you’l like to share, please send them to thorwald @ expedition yacht . org

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When we started asking feedback on our galley design from chefs, the response was overwhelming.  It lead to suggestions on laundry equipment, tableware and a lot more.  So, we’re going to dedicate a section of our blog to crew-related issues such as crew accommodations, crew management, crew-guest relations and a lot more.

Of course there are online forums dealing with these issues.  There are Dockwalk forum, YotCrew.com and Yacht Forum to name a few and please visit them if you are crew. But our purpose is to get back specific feedback and there are things we cannot do on these other forums like posting questionaires or posting images.

We appreciate your visit and we love your feedback.

Here are some direct links to crew-related topics:

• General crew feedback & forum
• Galley design
• Bridge lay-out and equipment
• Helping the stewardesses
• Crew spaces

We look forward to hearing from you.

Thorwald Westmaas
Project manager

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Click here for a general arrangement of the yacht. This is how it looks currently.  Click on the image BELOW for a bigger lay-out with an updated distribution of the galley based on your overwhelming input of the last few weeks.

June 10
Thank you, thank you all for your feedback!  We added the ‘stewardess station in the front’  and  have added an automated sliding door.  We hope to find a better option for the fire door, ideally to panes, turning outwards of the galley.  The walk-in cooler and freezer rooms will be on the deck below the galley.  Do we really need 6 induction zones? This has been a long discussion but eventually we decided to go for 4 zones and add the more flexible variocooker.  Yes, occasionally we may have 20 guests but it won’t be a-la-carte dining. For such big groups you’ll know the menu for the whole week in advance.  Wouldn’t you rather have some more counter  space?   And that’s what we did.  Of course, comments are still welcome.  Please use the form below.   

Last year we also decided to add a door which leads to a stern platform and we’ll add new portholes so those working in the galley can see what’s going on outside once in a while.  The stern platform will make the supply of the galley a lot easier and convenient: not for marinas in the Med (we don’t plan to be there ) but when anchored off a beautiful island in San Blas (Kuna Yala).

We’re going for induction cooking to save energy, generate less heat and making cleaning easier. On several spaces on deck board we’ll have electrical connections to connect an electric grill and fryer so we can have a great barbeque on deck with this view.  As far a brands go, we’re looking at Electrolux, Metos (Finnish) and a German Palux.  Well, make that Palux.

And finally, the cold storage is totally re-arranged.  What I had planned in my previous post was not possible or easy to say the least. 

Chef’s? What do you think? Please provide your feedback using the form below.  We’d be serving up to 20 guests.  Think ‘small passengership’, not mega-yacht.  Our menu will have 3-course meals.  Only in case of private charters (less guests) the menu may become more extensive (think ‘mega yacht’ again).   Here’s the link  to a bigger image again and here’s the (older) equipment list (Palux Bistro Line).

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Below 2 drawings showing the crew quarters in respectively the aft and fore of the vessel.  We have planned a few changes including adding a dumb waiter covering 3 decks in the galley and extending the galley by removing the office but other than that and regulatory-mandated changes that might be needed, this is the plan.

May 2009 update
See our updated general arrangement in PDF here.  The  office will go to make a bigger galley (see post here) and the dummy waiter shown on the May plan will also go to provide more space and equipment in the galley. Hey, we all want to keep the chef happy right?

Let us know if you find it an improvement.  Not all the quarter will meet the future ILO180 guidelines (7 m2 per cabin, 1 crew member per cabin, all cabins aft) but the cabins and crew mess are all above the waterline and have port holes and/or skylights.

By the way, the idea is that this ship can be managed by a knowledgeable owner couple and a crew of 2 if needed but we also want to be able to go away for a week with 24 friends.   The crew cabin all the way in forward would be for occasion ‘crew’ like guides or other temporary visitors . It’s not intended to be used during a transatlantic voyage in the fall !!

What can we do to improve?  Give us your feedback with the form below.

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