Right versus left hand.
What's funny is that if this theory were true, my dad's designs would have lists to port! (as he was a lefty.)There are (perhaps unfortunately) several parameters that sort of govern which side of the boat gets what-- sort of like how orchestras always have certain instruments in certain places. The first I can think of is the quarter berth. Traditionally the captain always has the bunk in the starboard quarter (whether or not half of it is under the cockpit or not). In sailing ships there would be a compass fitted to the underside of the deck above so he could mind the on-watch helmsman's course. In the typical yacht the chart desk and all the electronic/electrical stuff go on this side too. In smaller boats this usually means the galley is to port, with its refrigerator, stove, and possibly stove fuel tanks and water tanks besides. I'm not sure this is a fair trade-- depends on the boat and how much is added or altered after the basic design.In small yachts you then have the issue of the passageway forward. There is no particular reason why the doorway of the main bulkhead needs to be to one side or the other and it's a good opportunity for the designer to stipulate that the toilet and holding tank might go on whichever side they need to be to balance the other stuff out. The sensible thing is to have major tankage on centre, like a holding tank under the vee berth and a fuel tank under the cockpit, and at least one good fresh-water tank to either side, usually under the settees (call it water ballast!). It's sloppy design work for there to be more than a one-tank imbalance either side-- since the hull is symmetrical the whole case comes down to what interior fittings have been put where. So long as athwartships bulkheads are full-width (no L shapes) it should not matter which side the head or stateroom door go on and so these things should have been sorted out in the design phase to accommodate side-to-side balance issues. Of course larger yachts with watermakers, water heaters, laundry machines, generators, airconditioners and deep-freezers get exceeeding complex-- but the principle of arms and moments that is a staple of sound yacht design remains the same and ought to have been followed.The very WORST thing is for an owner to have to ADD weight to balance it out (shudder!), but when that's the only solution it only highlights a profound failure on the part of the designer and builder.Then again any time you have an unnamed 'design team' credited it may be indicating there was NO full 'design phase' at all and that these issues were sorted out on the production floor and by non-design professionals-- which, sadly, sounds like the case with Brent's boat.JC 2