Designing Duracell's Navigation Station [EP 144]

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[TATX]

Love how this project is progressing 😎
First thing I thought seeing you sat at the nav station is I’d put an angled footrest against that bulkhead to wedge yourself in if the boats pitching around in rough weather 🤔
Oh and watch those bouncy chairs on shiny surfaces that little man’s in because when they get enthusiastic in them they tend to move further than you’d expect 😂

[incentiverse]

Cool spot! Two ideas and notes: I'd be worried about falling out when on a port tack. If you put a slide up mini leeboard on the side of the bench, that could hold you securely in place while in bigger seas. Also, because of the elevation of the whole setup, you have a cool opportunity to use it as a hybrid standing desk. All you would need would be to have a little leaf that folds out from the side of the desk, and you could rotate the monitor and slide over the keyboard to use it as a standing desk from the side! You could also use this for two people to collaborate on the screen at the same time.

[susanmccarthy]

I didn't realize how much I had missed the Inspector, until he/she? arrived. Janni, I love the music behind the important work of La Paws. Looking back at the arc of this project, I have to say it just gets better and better. Love to you all. PS Alder is so stinkin' cute.

[Stinkwheeler]

I owned a Sun Odyssey 49 which had a sculptured nav seat which acted as both a seat and recliner for taking a nap on night passages. I was a bit tall for it, but idea was excellent. Also, the one thing I always wanted was a chair with arms! All sailing boats have church pews, a pain for relaxing and reading a book. Love what doing and your channel. All the best from the Solent, UK.

[cherichambers]

Locking swivel seat. Base swivels out and seat swivels with locks for both.

[bellofello]

I like the stern facing as well, if you need to shout something up to the cockpit you are already facing that direction, and access to all the switches will be nice and easy in front of you 👌👌

[andreagruffe]

Very cool! A couple ideas: having the below-the-window storage seems a good idea in every other part of the boaat, but I think it forces you to be more cramped in the chat table... I'd keep that open, adding a wooden railing to contain objects 10-20cm from the sidings. Also you can extend the table towards the center of the room like 20cm, wrapping around the electronic cabinet and reaching the back cabin. Put some railink and you have perfect storage for quick-to-grab items ;)

[jeanneauowners]

Another fantastic episode Matt. Love the chart table mock up and the plan for the lockers. Great job the fairing team are doing too! Best wishes to the family too! Malcolm Perrins UK.

[bryantarms]

I have liked the comments that talk about using a swing-out stool so that you can have a hybrid standing nav/nerd station. That would cause you to be facing the window. But that also creates an opportunity to have a larger desktop with a drawer under the right side. By the way, those low cabinets are a nice idea. Maybe you can have more space in them by eliminating the countertop in their footprints.

[juliandrake]

Hehe, love the shot of inspector kitty at the end. 😁

[IEnigIMa]

I rebuilt a rolled over 1968 Austin-Healey bug eyed Sprite. The bodywork took me over a year to get it right, so I can only image the commitment to do the bodywork on this entire boat. Bravo for outsourcing to allow your creative juices to flow on the interior. Outstanding! Also, just a shout out to Janneke for the editing on this video. Great job capturing the interior work, the exterior work and timed edits. ❤

[ainord]

In Australia we would say, Chunder Chunder Chunder.!!! For the Nav station design 😅 maybe you should have rear vision mirrors on your head or programmed into your navionics.. maybe if you did a headstand at the same time it would improve your relationship to your course travelled and travelling. Plus all other navigational factors.

[sandycalifbeach]

Re seating direction of nav station:
I understand appeal of aft facing (as based solely upon use of space and bulkhead) . . . But that orientation will always be “backwards”. Always a human ergonomic/psychological problem. Don’t do it!
This is a NAV (navigational) hub, for you and anyone else. In fair, or in emergency, situations. There are deeply ingrained native conventions — in our head/body (proprioception), on maps, on displays, in our boat — and all need to easily and automatically coordinate to the external marine environment/geography. Facing forward, our brains naturally align port with left; up with forward, etc. It’s so natural that we seldom even think about it.
Yes, facing the seated direction aft is “possible”, but every navigation or orientation step will require an extra translation calculation in our heads. A delay at best, and an opportunity for error at the worst. Consider trying to ride a bicycle, or helm your boat, while facing backwards . . .

[Observations and sincere constructive criticism — from a 70-something architectural designer, and offshore sailor, living in Minneapolis.]

[samoxenham]

I love the desk! One thought. With the bulkhead above the cabinet you have the opportunity for a small (say 6”) monitor facing toward the kitchen. This would give you a quick glance for levels (battery, water, fuel) without having to sit down and utilize the full nav station. It should be pretty easy to wire with the cabinet itself right there, and can even mirror the larger monitor, if desired

[chris]

I like this Project so much. I follow you since duracell was brought to you, seeing all the steps makes me so happy. You put so much brain and effort in all little projects on duracell. I send you a big thank you for the videos from Germany :)

[patchmack]

i am liking the layout, and i also liked the Nav station that Leo built on Tally Ho, there were some amazing storage built into the bench, which incorporated a desk style lid so maps can be stowed below the lid, under the bench was an angled stowage bay for what ever was required with the door opening at the side, still had room to put feet and legs stretched out

love the low line stowage with a smooth rounded front, a nice feature as the boat has a lot of rounded edges, when its all faired and finished in glossy white its going to look so clean, cannot wait to see, very exciting

also i been watching Rico and Victoria with their Bering boat (ship) being built on NautiGuys channel, they did three videos covering their navigation/radar gear from Furuno, the third video was very cool showing the gear in operation, i know much will be down to personal choices, manufacturers, budget etc, but the modern stuff does blow your mind, from the videos i am pretty convinced that Furuno are one of the best companies that really look after their customers and cater for all your needs, 3d mapping and AI routing, with personal bathymetric generator is just makes you boat so much safer particularly at night and when you are seeking shelter in bays etc with live sonar mapping and uploadable data to share online - sure you know it all already but its mind blowing and stupidly easy to use

[irisgilliard]

Thanks Matt for showing off my GGSon! So precious!

[sailingyachtrocknroll]

That pneumatic long board is way cool. Great episode as usual

[claverton]

Mike Plant would be impressed, she's going to be a beauty! I do hope you keep the name "Duracell", such a famous name and famous boat!

[ronkluwe]

Matt - Think about making your seat adjustable (+/- 15 degrees with 5-degree increments should be more than enough). That way you can keep the seat "level" when you are on long tacks during offshore passages.