Dutch cruiser/trawlers - why this unfortunate galley/salon layout?

[Willie]

I've fallen in love with the lines and overall layout of what I think is a Dutch style of pilothouse cruiser/trawler with master below the aft deck. In the 50-60ft range they've often got a couple of engines in the mid 100-200s of HP each and are beautifully finished to live aboard and go anywhere.

There are a few nice Dutch brands but one I like most is this Van der Valk pilothouse. The layout of the galley and salon is what confuses and puts me off and it seems to be the standard.

Valk Continental 15.50 France-Proof - Elburg Yachting

www.elburgyachting.nl

Why put the galley so far forward instead of at the bottom of the pilothouse stairs and not swap the salon forward (so galley is more centred and up against the pilothouse wall)? It also drops the galley again lower than salon which reduces the engine room space. A drop down to the stairs into the forward cabin makes sense, but not the living area. I love the overall lines and layout but it seems they all do this combination, am I missing something which makes it necessary?

Could it be about having some weight forward? I'd have expected there were other solutions before making this layout compromise.

Thanks for any info!

 

[ranger58sb]

In order to have overhead cabinetry in a galley like that, it all has to be below the windows... which seems to suggest lowering the whole galley in order to get there from here.

Just a thought. Our galley is up, great windows, no overhead cabinetry... so galley storage for us (things like glassware, etc.) is a little odd.

Ooops; belay all that. Just got further into the picture deck, don't see much overhead galley storage after all...

-Chris

 

[RT Firefly]

Greetings,
Welcome aboard. Can't help you with the design of the layout. Perhaps get in touch with Van der Valk and ask them their rational for it. Could be a custom design for a specific original owner...

 

[mvweebles]

Overhead cabinets was my first thought too. Add that there is additional full-beam width beneath the windows with room for counters and dinette partially beneath those windows.

I have to say, that's one of the nicest galley-down layouts I've seen. I've always liked the Dutch motor yacht layout with the wheelhouse in forward porion of the aft deck. Reminiscent of the older style motoryachts that were so popular until the mid 70s or so.

Here's a Lowland with galley up.

https://www.yachtworld.com/yacht/1985-lowland-trawler-6976777/

Peter

 

[Willie]

In order to have overhead cabinetry in a galley like that, it all has to be below the windows... which seems to suggest lowering the whole galley in order to get there from here.

Just a thought. Our galley is up, great windows, no overhead cabinetry... so galley storage for us (things like glassware, etc.) is a little odd.

Ooops; belay all that. Just got further into the picture deck, don't see much overhead galley storage after all...

-Chris

I thought that too at first but realised the same. It also puts the fridge even further forward again in an awkward hallway position, where as it could have sat so well against the pilothouse bulkhead

 

[Willie]

Greetings,
Welcome aboard. Can't help you with the design of the layout. Perhaps get in touch with Van der Valk and as them their rational for it. Could be a custom design for a specific original owner...

Thanks I should contact them. It think this model type is out of production (they're seemingly all the same layout, so not an owner's request) but I still like this style more than the modern variations that're going away from this rear pilothouse setup

 

[Willie]

Overhead cabinets was my first thought too. Add that there is additional full-beam width beneath the windows with room for counters and dinette partially beneath those windows.

I have to say, that's one of the nicest galley-down layouts I've seen. I've always liked the Dutch motor yacht layout with the wheelhouse in forward porion of the aft deck. Reminiscent of the older style motoryachts that were so popular until the mid 70s or so.

Here's a Lowland with galley up.

https://www.yachtworld.com/yacht/1985-lowland-trawler-6976777/

Peter

Nice find - the salon/galley layout on that Lowland is almost exactly what I would have preferred on the Van der Valk to make it just right.
Yes I think the wheelhouse attached forward of the aft deck really sells it. Images below are unbeatable in terms of finish and layout to me and they caught my initial attention

 

[Willie]

Here's another (bigger) beauty with the same forward galley layout. All that salon space used up for two sitting areas and then a cramped little galley sunken forward of it... boggles my mind!

https://www.sterkenburgyachtbrokers.com/motorboat/269/Valk-Continental-1900

 

[Willie]

Didn't mean to double post

 

[sunchaser]

I’ve spent much time on a sail boat with the galley likewise buried. As mentioned, on a new build many different layouts are possible with little concern given as to next owners desires.

Provided there is a nice airy space to sip coffee and eat, where the sink and stove are doesn’t seem a big deal to me.

 

[SIBERNUT]

That's so the paid cook and crew do not have to mingle with the important people. Prepare it, bring it up to the REAL dining area, depart.

 

[FWT]

The American mind places the kitchen/ galley as the centric focal point of the home. Which spawned the open floor plan rage in homes, which personally I don’t care for. And in boats seem to have culminated in placing the galley just inside aft sliding glass doors that fully open to the cockpit, making it truly central to everything. It’s a different mindset that places social seating in the premier locations.

Tastes vary. Choose what you like.

It’s a seriously beautiful boat by the way.

 

[Luna Apeg]

A forward and lower galley is often more secure in rough seas. It's closer to the boat's center of motion, reducing the risk of accidents while cooking. Additionally, the lower position can provide better protection from the elements if windows or hatches need to be opened for ventilation.

 

[Willie]

A forward and lower galley is often more secure in rough seas. It's closer to the boat's center of motion, reducing the risk of accidents while cooking. Additionally, the lower position can provide better protection from the elements if windows or hatches need to be opened for ventilation.

I can't see how a forward galley would be more secure as that would move more than if it was brought back closer to the centre, which is what I'm advocating for

 

[sunchaser]

Eating and cooking on a small vessel is difficult in rough weather no matter where the galley. Try eating in a 20 degree heel on a sail boat when the gimbaled table is yawing.

Galley location in a small trawler pales when compared to the pros and cons of safe decks and roomy machinery space.

 

[ksanders]

The problem with the design is that with the pilothouse to the rear of the boat and the cabin beneath you really have two choices.

Either galley aft and up, or forward and down.

American designs tend to prefer a pilothouse more mid boat, which allows for a salon and galley aft of the pilothouse.

I like the dutch designs, as they give some of the benefits of a aft cabin without making the boat boxy looking, but there are only a couple ways to cut up the space.