Research and yet more research!

One of the advantages of having more than five years to research and plan the boat is the ability to read other boat owners blogs and consider their ideas.

One idea we have adopted is to lower the height of the foredeck in the cratch area. Conventionally the water tank goes under the foredeck. However by relocating the water tank it is possible to lower the deck height. This reduces the number of steps required to enter the boat, increases the height of the cabin doors and provides a large storage area under the deck.  Lesley and Joe, the owners of nb Caxton recently extended their cratch area and created a storage compartment under the deck.  Our intention is to have something similar.

Photo courtesy of nb Caxton blog

Lowering the deck also increases the head height in the cratch area. The lowered deck may mean it is below the waterline and we have yet to finalise how any water entering the cratch might be removed.  A cratch cover will resolve much of the problem.  The options for removing any leakage into the storage area include a pipe through to the bilge in the engine compartment or we may fit a separate bilge pump.

The water compartment in the bow will be spray foamed lined.  The primary purpose of the spray foam is to protect a flexible bladder tank from abrasion.  The bow will still have a conventional hatch cover under which will be a sealed access plate.  The plate will incorporate the filling point.  Alternatively, we may relocate the filling point inside the cratch as this would avoid the hassle of accessing the bow hatch.  Yet another decision!