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FPB 64 Interior Layout

If you have followed the development of the FPB 83, the layout of the FPB 64 will look familiar. Although we worked on many different design concepts for this space, in the end we came back to what has worked so well with the 83.

The concepts are the same. A "great room" where most day to day activities are centered (underway and at anchor), with a huge "basement" below.

Staterooms are at either end of the central area, separated by it for privacy. The great room sits over the pitch center of the boat, minimizing the motion you feel going uphill. And only the aft cabin shares a bulkhead with the engine room, keeping the salon and forward cabin almost silent underway.

OK, ready for a tour below? Let's start our tour in the great room. The galley is aft and salon forward.

Access from the deck is via a weatherproof door just off center to starboard at the aft end of this area, as shown in the sketch above which is a profile view looking from the center of the great room to port.

This drawing (above again) is a starboard profile view, looking at the entire salon and galley from the center of the boat.

As you enter the boat you stand on a landing with a large locker immediately to port in which you can store jackets, shoes, and foul weather gear. The galley is designed to hold you in place at sea against that once in a passage errant wave.

There is a huge amount of storage on top of the counters in hinged lid lockers, under the sink, adjacent to the sink, and under the counter to starboard of the stove (near the centerline). And there is sufficient room in front of the sink, four feet (1.2m), for two people to work. Steps to the outside are shown as a thick white line on the left of the drawing. Outboard of the foul weather gear locker is another galley locker which runs across the aft end of the galley. There are shelves within this sliding door locker and storage space on top, in front of the window for cookbooks, baskets, and commonly used appliances.

Fridge and freezer are substantial with 12.5 cubic feet (325 liters) of space in the fridge and 8 cubic feet (226 liters) in the freezer (and there's another large fridge/freezer box - this one also 8 cubic feet/226 liters - in the basement). On top of the fridge/freezer box, at the forward end of the galley, you are looking into the open end of the counter top locker. Note that there two fridge drawers worked into the fridge box in addition to the door making fridge storage easier to organize and use.

Opposite the galley you have a full size front loading washer and drier (lockers to the left above), with counter space on top to fold and iron clothes (with a lovely view outside). There's also another long hinged lid locker on top of the starboard counter, and a locker below the counter at the aft end.

The salon is forward, combined with the inside bridge. The table will seat four around the banquette with room to double this up for additional guests using folding chairs.

When standing at the helm, you have the option of sliding the helm chair aft six inches / 150mm (it is shown in its forward position above) so there is extra room for your legs and rear end. Or, you can stand alongside the helm seat with the table leave folded out of the way, and have more space.

The port side settee is 81 inches long (2.08m). When you subtract for cushions and pillows this seat is plenty long to sleep on, should the need arise.

With the table wing in its deployed position there is room for four adults on the settees, and another two or three using the helm chair and folding chairs.

On the starboard side you have a smaller settee, with provision for a pop up 42"/1060mm screen TV outboard. The locker forward of this settee is where the AC electrical panel, inverter, and genset controls reside with space for entertainment gear as well.

The bridge desk at the forward end has room for laying out electronics (three 17"/430mm monitors are shown) with additional space for charts, ships log, and guide books (the salon table also works well when you want several different charts close at hand). As is our standard practice, this area is designed so it is easy to change electronics as new gear becomes available. We should also point out that there is lots of space on the bulkhead below the bridge desk, in the basement, for installation of the "black boxes" so common these days with electronics. This makes installation and updating much simpler than if this gear were hidden in a locker, surrounded by a jumble of wiring.

The Owner's suite is forward, which is the quietest part of the boat, and where the best natural ventilation exists at anchor. There is lots of visual space with the aft bulkhead of the head providing a natural location for a piece of art or LCD TV. The bulkhead on the starboard side forward will allow for a large mirror or piece of art and the bulkhead over the bunk is a great spot for one or more large art works.

Coming down the steps from the salon, on the starboard side you have a large locker with 57" (1.48m) of length for hanging clothes. The vanity counter which extends forward from the hanging locker offers 120"/3060mm of length with storage below and above. At the forward end of the vanity, across the forward watertight bulkhead, is a 30" (750mm) wide set of drawers.

There will be AC electrical outlets at both ends on top of this locker. The forward outlet is ideal for use with a lit makeup mirror mounted on top of the cabinet, and there is a mirror built into the locker face as well.

The bunk is queen sized, with access all the way around. There are six large drawers under the starboard face of the bunk. Outboard on the port side, against the hull, are a pair of shelves. These can be used for books, family photos, and flowers while at the same time providing a place to hang on to.

The bathing compartment to port has enough room for a compact bath (similar to what we have on Wind Horse) with lots of room for showering. The bath tub has a seat outboard, great for showering. This is tough to show or photograph, and the drawing above does not do a good job of giving a feel for this space. The head is adjacent, with lots of storage on open shelves for linens, towels, and books.

We have included this photo of the FPB 83 tub/shower to try to show you how the space works. The tub itself is 44"+ (1125mm) in length, so there is plenty of space for sitting (this is in fact a couple of inches longer than the FPB83). We have employed this configuration for years; on Intermezzo II, Sundeer, Beowulf, and now Wind Horse, Linda has used the tub for a nightly bath (as does Steve on occasion).

The aft end of the boat is designed so it can be used in a number of different modes. Since most of our clients cruise as couples, with occasional guests, we look at this space as how it will be used most of the time by the Owners.

The cabin is laid out with a double bunk (six big drawers below) with an open feel, but with furniture that is close enough to keep you in place when this cabin is used in heavy weather.

The drawing above is looking to port, through the shower/head and hanging locker. The big locker across the forward bulkhead is 46" (1175mm) wide and comes to within a foot (300mm) of the headliner. Against the hull is a wide shelf for books, Kleenex, eyeglasses, etc.

There is a head/shower ensuite, which is also accessible from the passageway, so it can be used as a day head without disturbing the occupants of the aft cabin.

On the starboard side of the passageway is a large flat surface which can be used as a desk. It is private, there is lots of space, and we've allowed for two file drawers under the bench top (along with lots of shelf storage). Outboard, and above the desk, is another wide shelf. This shelf is an ideal place to keep guide books and ship's manuals. One of the things we really like about this space is the ability to have a full sized computer screen. Today we'd fit a 25" widescreen. When the boat is launched that will probably grow to a 30" wide screen. Perfect for design projects, working on photos, and editing video.

Aft of the office and adjacent to the engine room is another stateroom. This is an excellent third sleeping cabin, and when not needed for guests or crew, becomes a wonderful walk in closet (we could see lots of coat hooks on the bulkhead and there are three levels of storage below the bunk as well as the shelf above.

The view above is looking through the engine room bulkhead to starboard You can see the bunk, three levels of storage below, and the large book shelf above. Access from the interior to the engine room is through the forward part of this aft stateroom. There is, of course, deck access as well.

A word on storage is in order. We think that the ability to efficiently carry personal gear, tools, spares, general supplies, and a wide variety of "toys", ground tackle, and gear for tying up is one of the keys to successful cruising. We'll cover this in detail in the next section.