When Glenn and Pam Cooper ordered a new P-47 to be built by Maine Cat, they requested they be permitted to create their own interior layout. Here's how they explain what they have in mind for the power catamaran that will be launched this summer:
At right is a drawing of the so-called "great room" which is where we have really changed our boat from the other P-47s launched or under construction. Click on the image for a larger view.
Please note we have no forward great room pilothouse steering station. We've decided to have all that in the flybridge with some repeaters below. In addition, our master sleeping quarters have a standard king size
bed rather than the queen. Aside from that the only other significant changes we've made is to extend the cabin top to provide all-weather usage of the cockpit. Our flybridge will also have "all-weather" capability. To do this, we needed lots of cooperation from Maine Cat. It's been a pleasure to work with them.
Why no steering station below? Our rough days and nights at sea are now behind us due to no schedules and plenty of reserve speed. Our cruising grounds will be the east coast and Bahamas the first year with perhaps cruising in the western Caribbean following on its heels. Being mainly where the sun shines, we are comfortable with only up-top steering but are planning to locate a set of throttle controls in the cockpit for around-the-docks maneuvering
when needed.
We had a major complaint with every other production powercats we looked at. Every place you'd plunk yourself down is molded plastic, curved, probably not where you really want it, and usually uncomfortable. Your flesh and bones have to conform to the molded structures and not the other way around. If we're going to pay the price of a real nice home why not also have the key comforts of home? When we bought seating for our last home, our philosophy was ". . . any place you sit you should be able to easily fall asleep." We wanted that same advantage on our next boat.
If you look at our interior plan, notice that forward (where the steering station was) is an ultra-suede settee and a table. The settee, which itself has a comfortable incline and depth to it, easily converts to a queen bunk with an inflatable air bed stowed inside. This is all on a raised floorhaving lots of storage. Midway aft, we have cleared out space for two leather
recliners. We are buying these from a Brazilian company called Lafer and they are incredibly comfortable. Beyond them are the "work" areas. We have eliminated the stand-up powerboat-style refrigerator and will have more than 10 cu. ft. divided into well-insulated fridge and freezer boxes, and note we're going to cook inside with an induction top. We have the balanced electrical system to support this and we'll be able to cook faster, greatly reduce interior moisture, and eliminate propane.
While we haven't included a schematic for the cockpit, the concept is to basically have an open box with a rear seat across a large part of the stern. This seat will also provide some storage. For cockpit seating, we have already bought two Lafuma zero-gravity recliners and will probably have similar seating like that stored on the boat. For dining in the cockpit, we'll use a portable, foldable resin table. Beautiful, no, but functional, yes.
We like the idea of being flexible and lightweight, all part of a form-follows-function philosophy. On a couple's liveaboard cruising boat, a good rule to follow is: six for cocktails, four for dinner and two to spend the night. Hope the kids don't read this!
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