Modifications to V-Berth "Breakfast Bar"

marie

Member
Joined
Oct 3, 2014
Messages
7
Fluid Motion Model
C-24 C
Non-Fluid Motion Model
Cutwater 28 (Hunter Green)
Vessel Name
CruiseOn
We live in Port Townsend and will be getting our new Hunter Green Cutwater around Thanksgiving. Has anyone redone that corner in the V-Berth? We are wanting to put that microwave in the main salon and have a floor to ceiling cabinet that will hold clothes, etc.
 
Interesting that you bring up that silly fourth sink and associated cabinetry. It's the only thing my wife and I didn't like about the boat, and we tried to get the factory to ship the boat sans that cabinet work. We'd much rather have had a larger closet with maybe a couple of drawers below. As for the microwave, it's a treat to have and we use it for something or other daily and thought we could maybe suspend it above the forward berth forward of either the new cabinet work or the head. Of course, we are less inclined to rip the boat apart and find a good custom cabinet maker since taking delivery but we never use that stupid sink ( how many do you need in a 28 foot boat?) and there is always a personal "sea bag" heaped on top of it anyways. I do wish they would change this. For the typical couple (or pair) cruising, especially on longer duration cruises, they would almost assuredly leave the forward stateroom configured as a berth, and that space would be far better used for 100% clothes storage and perhaps Nav info/ seamanship info storage.

On our boat we did get them to omit the wine cooler under the helm seat and this was configured with two deep shelves instead which has proved invaluable for foodstuffs on a longer cruise. With the addition of a 12 volt cooler sized portable freezer, two of us can now easily go two weeks without provisioning - and all with just the factory solar panel and twin house battery package - even if we are 2 - 3 days on the hook here and there along the way. Terrific boat with this one sore spot. Now the Volvo is broken in we can even get 0.2 gallons an hour at 4.5 knots in still waters - talk about stretching a tank of fuel when you are just enjoying the day!
 
Thanks for the response. So where did you put the portable freezer? Does the solar keep the portable freezer cold?? We are still talking to Andrew Custis about modifications. Apparently he said that the wine cooler can be easily taken out and we would have the same space that you have in that area. Do you think that is accurate? We can't wait til Thanksgiving when we are supposed to take possession. We just got word that our 3 year wait is over for a slip at the Cape George Marina on Discovery Bay. We are looking forward to Barkley Sound where we previously had trailered our sailboat and had an absolute magical time. Take care............Marie
 
You'll love Barkley Sound for sure. Great to explore with kayaks after you find a snug anchorage. Desolation Sound and the inlets up the inside passage are also great off season cruising. The factory just put another matching cupboard door on to finish the excluded bar fridge and we find those shelves are an almost essential addition. All our dry and canned goods are catagorized in plastic tubs with lids and these are labelled so we can slide what we need in and out of any of the kitchen cabinets. As for the 12 Volt freezer/cooler we had the factory add 12 V outlets below the seat that lifts to access the lower berth, below the kitchen table at the rear of the helm outboard "armrest", and in the cockpit. We simply leave the freezer plugged in at the bottom of the stairs normally, and if we are using that lower berth for sleeping, move it to the cockpit overnight, but it is quite quiet and could just go below the kitchen table also. We don't miss the bar fridge at all. We keep rotating freezer packs through the icebox in the fridge, or the freezer if there is room, and pre chill a few beverages with the vegetables we keep in the picnic cooler under the counter, outside the cabin door. The main fridge is plenty big enough for anything else requiring temperature control. If you do manage to get them to custom design a better wardrobe and storage area in the forward berth sans sink, we'd sure love to see pics and may be interested in purchasing another set of components to get the local cabinet maker to replace our set-up with CAD drawn and fabricated pieces that would fit properly, rather than re-invent the wheel. The solar panel has no problem keeping up with our two person electrical demands, even in winter with the furnace going and the long hours of evening reading or movies. You will love this boat. Nobody does it better than Ranger/Cutwater.
 
Very nice with the quick response. You can email us directly at fishonbw@gmail.com - it would be nice to meet sometime. We would be interested to know the make and model number of the 12-volt freezer, since you are so happy with it.

Great idea having extra 12-volt outlets. I hate to keep asking Andrew for upgrades, but I will in a very polite way.

We are thinking that the 19" TV will not be sufficient for great viewing. We think that we might install a 24" TV where they have put the mirror. We love to take fotos/videos and then play them through an HDMI to the TV. It is especially nice when we have guests and I have taken a lot of fotos that day. Then, of course, we will have two TV's. The little TV serves extra purposes for the fishfinder (I had not realized that initially). Better two TV's than 4 sinks (LOL)! We have a Boston Whaler 285 Conquest that we will be selling. The TV antenna works great for "over-the-air" stations. We also like to watch DVD's.

Anyway, thanks so much for your input. I will definitely send fotos of a corner cabinet if/when it becomes a reality.

We have ordered a Propane cooktop. The options below this were propane oven or Convection/Microwave (only for shore power.) We were told that the Convection/Microwave can easily be taken out. So we think we will locate the little Microwave oven there and maybe even have some extra space to boot!! Then we will just bring the Convection/Microwave oven home as it probably is much better than our present one.

Take care............Marie, Craig and Jack (our 2 1/2 yo Schnoodle)
 
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