Expeditionyacht.org

One of the most important parts of a yacht design is its interior.  Of course it has to look good but then again, if the expression ‘there’s no accounting for taste’ applies somewhere, it’s in the yacht world!

But not only  that.  To separate it from the home interior or an ‘garage’ conversion, you also have to look at the materials used to create this interior.

To me, the ideal yacht interior meets the following criteria:

1. It looks good to more people than just the owner, designer &  yacht magazine editor
2. Even better, it continues to look good (even after intensive use)
3. It’s comfortable !
4. Of course it is safe (meets all MCA/class requirements)
5. and is easy to maintain and repair (happy crew)
6. It has “noise reduction design” written all over it
7. and it is environmentally friendly (that excludes using teak decks)
8. It is also cost effective to install and finally
9. it doesn’t depend on the workmanship only a handfull of yards can offer

Let’s see point by point how we’re trying to create  the perfect interior.

1. Looking good
   Well, I’ve already put on a few posts in the interior section on what we like. 
2. Continues to look good
   That means the materials have to be low-maintainance by design (unless you want crew to spend most of their time keeping the yacht look good), easy to repair. 
   
3. Comfortable
   I guess that speaks for itself but well, we all know examples of furniture that just doesn’t sit right.  We’re also trying to maximize the headroom and have at least 7.5 ft. of height in all areas.  The bedding has to be first class; the airconditioning silent without any unpleasant draft.
   
4. Be safe
   We will employ materials that have the appropriate fire ratings, meet all the structural fire protection required by Lloyds and MCA LY2, including a sprinkler system.  Very little real wood!   It’s amazing how some multi-million Dollar conversions use ‘Home Depot’ doors!
   
5. Easy to maintain and repair
   The meet item 4 and 5, we plan to use IMO/SOLAS-approved wall panel systems, doors, and ceilings wherever required or effective.  These very sophisticated building systems are used extensively in the off-shore industry and in passengerships and ferries where fire safety AND ease of maintainance are important issues.  By using  wall foils and coverings, they can be given any look you want and turnout as ‘yacht-like’ as you want.
   
6. Noise reduction
   Essential!  Floating floors, anti-vibration mountings of panels, it’s a whole science and industry in itself for which we’ll seek professional advice.  Luckily, there’s a lot of material available to keep noise under control but it all starts with the right design. 

7. Environmentally friendly
   A lot of these wall systems now use recycled materials, halon free foils, and there excellent alternatives to teak that are not only better for the forrest but also better on your wallet, have better isolation (sound and heat) capacity and are easier to install (see this post).
8. Cost effective installation
   That’s the beauty again of the wall systems described earlier like those of Inexa or Isolamin.
9. Workmanship factor
   Getting a yacht up to ‘Dutch yacht standards’ is an expensive proposition and not one of our goals. Finding good workmanship is hard everywhere with the yachting business booming and in part of the world is not known for building fine yacht interiors.  So we try to out-design this factor as much as possible by using professionally produced furniture like that of Maritime Mobler and their partners Ekornes.