What is driving interior boat design?

[Brian D]

I've looked at boats from the 60's to the present. I've noticed a consistent change in interior design. Seems the boats are becoming more spacious and functional. However, the boats of the 60's and 70's seemed to be very spartan in design and functionality.

Thoughts?

 

[Ed]

money talks

Whatever the customer wants, that's where it's going.
Curious what you mean by functional-functionality. Sailboats are for sailing. The ones built in the '70s did that. A Hunter down the pier has a dish dryer. It's very functional.
Sailing as an activity vs. "Sailing" as a lifestyle. Are they boats or expressions of wealth/status?
Dingys forever.

 

[sailortonyb Allied Mistress 39]

Design driven by customer wants

I think back in the 60's and 70's the designers built what they felt a proper sailboat should be. I think now-a-days designers are more in tune with what the customer wants. The customer is always right. Why make a blue water boat for weekenders? Habits dictate wants and desires. If most people day sail or weekend, their priority is mostly toward beaminess. More room for the dollar.
If not in deep water, pounding and slamming is generally not an issue, but roominess is. So, today the proper yacht is designed toward creature features.
Functionality is a relative term.
Are we talking functionality for a cruise which is not the same as functionality for a weekend
If you want a 'bluewater' boat, they are also available but much more rare.

Tony B

 

[Joseph Shirley]

Usage is one consideration

Sailboats used to be designed for off shore sailing where the galleys were small, and the crew slept on pilot berths where the motion was minimized. Engines were small as were fuel tanks. Sailboats are more for limited use where you sail during the day and spend the night on a hook or alongside a pier. So you have bunks or beds on the extreme ends where the motion is excessive, heads further aft and even ungimbled stoves or stoves mounted in the wrong direction. They are roomy with no place to grab on to if you're down below, but they are great in harbor. The designs are also driven by what women like, though I must admit that I like some of it too (though not all).

One man's opinion

Joe S

 

[kendall]

interior design

A smart manufacturer/designer will keep an eye on the various magazines, websites and so on where people show off what they've done to their boats/car/truck. When mods have a positive reaction, or if they see a lot of people doing the same mods they'll incorporate it into a design if it's not too difficult or limited in appeal.

Witness the motorcycle trends, late 60s early 70s custome bikes were the trend whether cafed or chopped, by the mid 70s most if not all bike makers had 'customs' that used a lot of the chopper features, and also cafe inspired models (HD xlcr was the best factory 'cafe' in my opinion) By the late 70s, early 80s it was all but impossible to by a 'basic' motorcycle, and completely impossible today unless you want a small bike, most will be either a cruiser, tourer, or crotch rocket, closest you can come is is the 'bare bikes' which are crotch rockets with less plastic.

Personally I normally go the opposite way, I tend to like the spartan interiors better, easier to clean and provides a roomier feel. I've been on a few boats that were much larger than mine, but didn't have the roomy feel mine does.

Ken.

 

[Stu Jackson]

Seems the boats are becoming more spacious and functional.

Functional NOT, spacious YES.

The older boats had seagoing capabilities. The new ones don't and are simply floating condos. Buy a boat for your choice of "amenities."

 

[Breaking wind]

different strokes for

different folks, Obvious to me that newer big boats are looking more like sailboats by day and houseboats by night.

 

[capn jim]

then=seaworthy ----- now= spacious looking

look at any new 30'boat and it will give you the impression that it is a seventies vintage 36'. keep in mind, it costs money to build compartments with doors and latches to keep stuff in its place in rough weather. more money for grab rails the full length down below. on my boat there is very little that can become air born in rough weather. not so in the newer designs. they look big and spacious at the boat show and will be just fine at the dock but a nightmare in dicy conditions. i personally want stuff that is stowed to stay stowed.

 

[Recess]

I wonder about racing

It seems to me people have become less interested in racing and more interested in coastal cruising and just slowing down and relaxing. It could also be that this is just the current trend in Florida. It seems racing is much bigger in California and further up the east coast.

We looked at some boats before deciding on our O'Day 25. Whenever the boat had sleek lines and very small interiors, my wife could not wait to drive away. I think we ended up with just what she would love to have, roomy and slow.

 

[Jack W, -2005 H 36]

marketing

A few years ago, there was an article about how boat mfgs had finally recognized that the decision to buy a boat or which boat rested not just on the man of the house but very strongly on the wife as well.
If you you look at a lot of the power boats at the boat shows these days you will see quite a few boats with pastel yellow and blue hulls. These colors are not there to attract the guys folks! In addition, you are also seeing washing machines and dryers on sailboats.
Ever notice all the pretty glass vases of flowers and throw rugs etc on the sailboats on display?
Let's face it, if your wife falls in love with the boat at the show, the rest is easy.
As more of us baby boomers reach reirement, our thoughts turn to boats and cruising.--our spouses genarally are more likely to "buy in to the program" if there are more of the comforts of home.
Excellant observation, Brian D. You're right on

 

[Benny]

The uses and numbers have defined the market..

In the past boat design provided for seaworthy crafts and left it up to the buyers how they wanted to use them. The majority were always used for coastal cruising but they had offshore capabilities. Later on with the development of production builders it was realized the a coastal cruiser could be built cheaper and with more amenities than an offshore class vessel and that the advantage in price would bolster sales. We have now achieved a degree of specialization where some manufacturers strictly design and manufacture for the coastal cruising segment and others specialize in the offshore class. The new production boats have become entertainment platforms with large cockpits and ammenities and ther is nothing wrong with that as that is what their owners want. For those ocean crossing hardy souls there are still good offshore boats being manufactured. The problem arises with dissatisfaction when folks want offshore capabilities at coastal cruising prices. Don't matter where you stand on wether we have progressed or not; what it is, is what we get.

 

[Brian D]

Design and functionality...

Was specific to the interior. By design, I mean that interior layouts are more aesthetically pleasing to the eye. Not two bench seats with a slab of wood in the middle. For functionality, I refer to the way galleys are setup with more "home" environment functions.

I agree that boats of the past era were designed with sailing in mind while present boats are in deed "condo on the water".

 

[Steve Dion]

WOMEN!

[nm]

 

[Dennis]

Pet Peeve

Havn't paid too much attention to Hunter's current line up but they were building 30 footers with only one sink in the galley. If I am going to pay $100 grand for a boat I sure would like to wash dishes without having to pull out a wash tub! I still think the best boats Hunter ever made were the 1991-1995 series(before arches and rub rubber rails).

 

[Deadline]

MEN!

nm

 

[Ross]

The boats of the sixty's followed the wooden boat

pattern and built a hull that was the best best shape they could design the interiors had to fit that shape. Today's boats are designed by the marketing and accounting departments with limited input from the naval architects. 2 and sometimes 3 heads on a boat for 6 people? Cabins and cockpits large enough for a dance? Keels that break off in a hard grounding?

 

[John]

When?

When (around what years) would you say the designs started really changing more towards sea-going condos?

 

[CharlieCobra]

I'd say the 90's

It seems that the Condo wars went into full effect then.

 

[Brian D]

But when did sailing...

Really become a hit? There were times that only the elite could afford boats. So then the "common man" became marketable... when did that happen?

 

[Stu Jackson]

Year of seagoing condos starting

doesn't mean that there aren't still some sweet boats, still being made, that bridge the gap of user friendliness, sea kindliness, and have functions that rival the "best" of the new boats. Many of those are 20 years old, but have had amenities like larger battery banks, microwave ovens, inverters, and good charging systems, added by the POs or current owners. Boats like our C34, John's C36, the C42 come to mind, and no doubt there are a few others that are still actually being made (C36 just recently ceased production in 2008) that sail well, are sea-like below and way comfortable, and have systems that work. Many other boats, still available on the sued market, share these attributes. The newer "three-digits-ending-in-0" group of Catalinas leaves me disappointed at best, although many do love their 310's which is most likely an exception to that rule.