E32-3 head access

[dhill]

I like everything about the E32-3 layout except for the head access through the front stateroom. It would be fine for just my wife and me, but perhaps a bit awkward if others were overnighting on board. How inconvenient is this in practice?

Thanks!
Dave

 

[Frank Langer]

I think we have the same arrangement in our 1984 E30+, with the head door just aft of the v-berth and just aft of that is a folding door that normally separates the v-berth and main salon for privacy. We have adult kids or another couple sail with us for a couple of weeks each year, the rest of the time being only my wife and me or me singlehanding. We put guests in the v-berth, and explain that if we have to use the head in the night we'll respect their privacy, but opening the folding door is unavoidable. In 13 years of sailing, no one has complained, and it works. Having the head towards the stern near the companionway might be nice, but then guests from the v-berth would come through the salon, where my wife and I sleep, so again is somewhat disruptive.
I think people just recognize that boats are confined spaces, and you only invite people you like.
Frank

 

[Loren Beach]

NA Bob Perry used to call this very common interior arrangement for sailboats the "type A design". The shape of the hull does kind of make this juxtaposition a little easier to design. In turn, after decades of boat production, most buyers are familiar with it and accept it as the most livable compromise in a smaller-to-midsize boat.
Our former Niagara 26 had an athwartship head located immediate to the base of the V berth, and we got used to it. It really could have used a curtain for some modesty for a 3 am head call, tho.... !

If you visit aboard an Ericson 32-200 or a late-80's Ericson 34, check out the aft head. Similar layout to our Olson 34, and it does move the head further away from sleeping areas. Well, As If... any part of a sailboat under about 40 or 45 feet is really very much removed from the other areas!

Since your head has a door, that satisfies the common desire for visual privacy.
"In practice" this is very subjective stuff.
BTW, I have done a multi-day delivery on your Ericson model, and for me and the couple that owned the boat it all worked out fine.

You did not ask, but one other advantage of your interior layout is more 'roominess'. Our aft head configuration pushes the main cabin volume forward some and visually and physically reduces the social & lounging area in the main cabin. We do not miss the additional small amount of elbow room until we visit aboard the Ericson 33 or 32-3 at our moorage.

I predict that you will warm to it.

 

[goldenstate]

I like everything about the E32-3 layout except for the head access through the front stateroom. It would be fine for just my wife and me, but perhaps a bit awkward if others were overnighting on board. How inconvenient is this in practice?

Thanks!
Dave

Pssst - the 32-200. Everything that sails well about the 32-3 with a larger head with independent access. Stand-up nav station, different dining table layout as compromise. Plus two double-berths if you're serious about a double-date sleepover.

E32-200 - How I bought my boat:

General Research So the Ericson 32 choice narrowed down my search. I did some internet reading. There’s plenty of comment on message boards, but here’s a great article from Practical Sailor...

ericsonyachts.org

 

[Bolo]

There really isn’t any sort of “privacy” on board a 32 foot boat like ours and besides just seeing someone going to the head there is the noise factor. Be it from just opening the toilet seat, to pumping out the bowl to.....well, you get the idea. But one thing I did do was to install a white light/red light fixture in the head. My wife often goes to bed earlier then I while I use a small light or my iPad to read or watch movies/videos (with head phones) in the salon. When nature calls I try and be as quiet as possible and then use the red light in the head to keep any white light from disturbing my wife and to retain my night vision since I keep the cabin relatively dark. I also have a red light installed just under the companion way, above the engine cover, so that the occasional trip to the gallery for a “nighttime” snack or whatever is possible without affecting night vision.

 

[Loren Beach]

Bob, we have one of the Alpenglow standard (rectangular) fixtures over our galley for well over a decade and love it. Two levels of while, and two levels of red. Offshore at night the lower red level is plenty to see to transit the cabin and change in and out of foulies.
Now they have a smaller square base version that can replace the existing bright light in our head. Same concern for being dazzled when you only need a little bit of light for a 3 am head call.

LED Overhead Light with Dual Power and Night Vision: Catalina NV

Our smaller LED Overhead Light was built to fit in tight spaces. It provides wide-angle, even illumination in area lighting for marine or RV interior applications. This dual-power model allows you to choose bright light or lower output with a warm, gentle

www.alpenglowlights.com