Dilligara Layout
Port Hull
Forward is a very large single berth Lots of stowage under the berth and immediately behind the collision bulkhead. The cushions to convert the saloon into a queens size bed are stored here, on a strengthening rib. They are just held there by a couple of pieces of Velcro, and have yet to move in a sea-way. All the way forward is a shelf where the CALAMITY PACK lives. This is basically a big wide mouth screw top bucket with flares, v-sheets, signal mirrors, bottled water, energy food, hand held VHF and handheld GPS all inside. When we are cruising it lives up on deck ready to hopefully never be used. Mid ships is a double berth up on the bridgedeck with stowage below and between the midships berth and the forward berth. Aft is a toilet & shower (yeah I know its called a head) – Its clean and spacious, with plenty of stowage for light and bulky items behind the toilet, also in the locker behind the loo is the gas hot water system and the black-water holding tank. There is plenty of stowage for toiletries and laundry and similar requirements here. The first aid kit lives under the sink. I have assembled bedding, i.e. a mattress protector, sheets, and doona for each bed and have them put them in vacuum storage bags, these are really good, as they keep the bedding dry and protected and they take up a heap less space.
A cupboard on the outer wall is designed as a hanging cupboard. My view is that if I need to hang it – it shouldn’t be on the boat. So we put a shelf inside in way that makes it more usable – but can be returned to original. Photos show the cupboard closed and the shelves installed. Its only a little thing – but it gives me another good little stowage spot
Starboard Hull
Aft in this hull is a cosy double and forward is a very large single berth with a 2 person dinette aft of it. In the aft starboard cabin is another hanging cupboard, same deal here – I made shelves that are totally removable with leaving a trace. Photos to follow.
Mid ships is an excellent galley with a fridge and freezer. These both run off batteries (obviously) but they draw so little power that the solar panels have more than kept up, the boat has never been plugged into a battery charger or shore power and the fridge/freezer have never been turned off. Very impressed with these ICEER brand gear, made here in Brisbane by another multihull sailor, Malcolm Betts. Cooking is on a two burner LPG stove with Griller. An oven can be fitted to the galley but we elected not to and rather to utilise the rear deck barbie instead.The main switch board is also located in this area. There is heaps of stowage space in the galley area and we can store full size cooking pots under the stove. Its a galley that wouldn’t be out of place on a 45 foot mono. But the most important item in the galley is the stove top espresso coffee maker, if I want Sonja to come sailing it has to be aboard. It makes espresso and has a milk frother attachment. This is a link to the details – Di Bartoli Website – and a photo below:
Insect & Sun Screening
One of the biggest challenges in our part of the world is insect screening. Not so much where we live, but a little north of us the insects can actually honestly carry you away! I have the genuine Gebo insect screens and I wasn’t very happy with them, and indeed they live under my house now if anyone wants them, too large and cumbersome but most importantly they just don’t work. I stole an idea from Len & Isla on Peer Pressure for insect screens and a really nice idea for the front opening saloon windows from Deb on Next Phase. Through Geoff at ABU trimming we have made hatch screens that are midge mesh wrapped around spline rubber. They work really well – easy to fit easy to remove, totally sealed and light, see photo below. When we first got the boat I made some blockout curtains for the hull windows out of a couple of old pillow cases, reasonably effective, but I wanted a slightly better solution and again through Geoff at ABU we made the shade screens that we saw on Next Phase. And Geoff also made the screens for the forward saloon windows.
General Comments
As you can see, the timber work is really very impressive, makes the boat very homely to spend time on. The fittings are all first class and the quality of the workmanship makes you proud to know its an Australian product. There is a tendency in recent years to go bigger and bigger. I have to say – this boat is very comfortable and easy to live with. One option we picked in the build was timber floor on the port hull, normally its carpet, we are very pleased with that, really easy to keep clean.
