Aesthetic question

[bcooke]

I have an aesthetic question concerning a detail in my Triton's interior.

The two opposed settees are not aligned. The starboard settee is forward and a short bulkhead is installed creating a little pocket.





My question is... the bulkhead overlaps the settee face that I intent to cover with thin decorative plywood. I was thinking about how to blend in the mini-bulkhead with the settee front and then it occured to me that I might simply remove the bulkhead.

Those that have been around a bit know that I am pretty quick to swing the 'Big Hammer' so knowing this I thought I would solicit permission before I commit an irrevocable sin. If I simply remove the mini-bulkhead is it going to make the space look weird?

I may still swing the hammer but considering that I have never seen this simple mod before I would see if there is an aesthetic quality that I hadn't considered before.

Thoughts?

-Britton

[Figment]

I think the 'bulkhead return' (as I've always thought of it) creates a great little nook that just begs for a couple of bookshelves. or a heater.

I think that the forward end of the space would lack definition without it. I know that the "door" in this location is really a joke, but the more one can do to achieve a genuine cased-opening here, the better.

[Tim]

I like the little nook created by that bulkhead, for the reasons that Mike indicated. To me, this is the only place for a cabin heater, as it keeps it out of the way in what is already an extremely small cabin. We put bookshelves there, as you know.

You probably don't need the doorway, per se, so you don't strictly need that bulkhead. But even without a door, that bulkhead helps define the main saloon, and also provides more of a buffer between the head and the saloon. Do you really want to sit in your cabin and be directly opposite the MSD? It's close enough as it is! There's no hiding the toilet in a Triton, but it's nicer, I think, if it's not quite front and center.

If you want to blend the settee front into the bulkhead, why not just build out the settee front so that it's even before you apply your final covering of choice? Then install a piece of solid trim on the aft edge of the bulkhead to cover it all. Since you also need a fiddle on the settee front to hold your cushion, maybe you could make the fiddle an extension of the settee covering and keep the whole thing flush.

I was trying to figure out why I didn't run into this problem myself, and it's because I have a short return (2-3") on the aft end of that bulkhead that extends inwards into the door opening. Maybe you had one of these too, but removed it during your demolition. This picture shows my return.

[Figment]

I love that photo, Tim. The very well-appointed and finished cabin, finely dressed with blinds on the deadlights and piping on the cushions...... and still it's a REAL triton. cute little bowls to catch the drips from the portlights.

Gotta love it! ;)

[Eric]

...cute little bowls to catch the drips from the portlights

Oh! All this time I have been thinking they were the missing speaker grills ;-)

-- E

[Tim]

I love that photo, Tim. The very well-appointed and finished cabin, finely dressed with blinds on the deadlights and piping on the cushions...... and still it's a REAL triton. cute little bowls to catch the drips from the portlights.

Gotta love it! ;)

All boats have their quirks! hehe

[bcooke]

Thanks people,

I think the 'bulkhead return' (as I've always thought of it) creates a great little nook that just begs for a couple of bookshelves. or a heater

The boat came with a bulkhead mounted heater and it will definitely be going back in there. Otherwise I agree that it begs for a bookshelf. I was thinking the heater might do the same aesthetically as the 'bulkhead return' but I would get better heating airflow through the area. As I think about it, the mini-bulkhead would keep me from leaning into a hot stove which might be nice as well.

The doors are definitely out of my boat for good too!

why not just build out the settee front ...

That was definitely an idea I was considering. The downside is that the narrow walking space just gets narrow-er - and it just seems sloppy to add a chunk of dead wood in front of the settee just to fill space in a space starved boat.

After adding the filler I am still left with an ugly surface on the bulkhead in question that would take some fairing to make pretty. If I wanted to add a veneer, or more likely a thin decorative plywood to blend with the main saloon decor, then I need to build out the surface even further. Thinking about all this is what made me consider ripping the thing out in the first place.

I agree that hiding the toilet is a good thing - as far as practical at least.

I have a short return (2-3") on the aft end of that bulkhead that extends inwards into the door opening. Maybe you had one of these too

Nope. I just had a one inch piece of teak molding stuck on the end.

I love that photo, Tim

Me too, it is one of the photos I pause on the most when surfing through the Glissando site. Clean and elegant. My decision to go with a Triton was probably heavily influenced by that photo.

-Britton

[Summersdawn]

If the "bulkhead return" is aesthetic, can you rip it out, and put in a new one (or cut down old one) protruding up from the edge of the settee. If it is tabbed to the settee top, tabbed up the bulhead, tabbed to the deckhead and covered with decorative ply on the front, it should be strong enough.

As a bonus, it still allows you to bring out the big hammer.

[Tim]

why not just build out the settee front ...

That was definitely an idea I was considering. The downside is that the narrow walking space just gets narrow-er - and it just seems sloppy to add a chunk of dead wood in front of the settee just to fill space in a space starved boat.

After adding the filler I am still left with an ugly surface on the bulkhead in question that would take some fairing to make pretty. If I wanted to add a veneer, or more likely a thin decorative plywood to blend with the main saloon decor, then I need to build out the surface even further. Thinking about all this is what made me consider ripping the thing out in the first place.


-Britton

While I completely agree that the Triton interior needs every bit of space possible, I would opine that you wouldn't lose any noticeable space by doing this. Your passageway width is already defined by the thickness of that bulkhead return, and you'd never notice the 3/4" space missing if you built out the settee to match. And even if you added, say, a 1/4" plywood veneer, you're only talking an inch total. If you keep your new fiddle even with the new settee front and bulkhead return, you're really not stealing any more space from the passageway than in the original configuration.

The settees are up and back enough from the actual cabin sole that until you start to impinge on the sole itself, I don't think you'd notice too much in the way of obstruction.

If the "bulkhead return" is aesthetic, can you rip it out, and put in a new one (or cut down old one) protruding up from the edge of the settee. If it is tabbed to the settee top, tabbed up the bulhead, tabbed to the deckhead and covered with decorative ply on the front, it should be strong enough.

As a bonus, it still allows you to bring out the big hammer.

This is a good idea worth considering. Whether or not it is practical will depend on how securely your little return is glassed to the transverse bulkhead and other areas, and how much demolition you want to get into. In my boat, the bulkhead return is very securely glassed to the transverse bulkhead, the old hanging locker face, and just about anywhere else it possibly could be. Removal is well within the realm, of course, if you were so inclined. To save 3/4" of space, though, I'm not sure the effort is worth it.