# Tricks to make the cabin feel bigger



## Mariner777 (Feb 19, 2011)

Have been contemplating how to make my interior feel like less of a cave. Am thinking painting the ceiling and walls a light ice blue might help give a larger feeling below. Am considering the idea of putting mirrored paneling on the V berth walls and the anchor locker bulkhead to give the illusion of depth and space. Am also considering mirrored tinting on the windows instead of curtains might help make her feel bigger as well...

Anyone try things to make the cave like cabin less claustrophobic?


----------



## Ajax_MD (Nov 24, 2009)

I think opening windows and fresh air would give the cabin a better feeling than mirrors or paint. Obviously avoid dark colors for paint, but I don't think the mirror will do much for you.

I'm not very sympathetic, I've been sailing a Coronado 25 which makes inefficient use of it's space. A Pearson 10M is a nice boat. You sure you don't have enough room?


----------



## Tim R. (Mar 23, 2003)

I would not use mirrors. That may really mess with your head in the dark or in rough seas.

But if you do, make sure you use unbreakable types.

White laminate along the inside of the cabin top and ceiling will lighten the interior and make it feel bigger. Laminate is easy to install and keep clean. Trimming it out with wood will give it some depth which should also feel roomier.


----------



## Cptken (Apr 23, 2008)

Light is the key to openess. I would suggest get rid of the sliding curtains. Velcro tabbed covers can be used when privacy is needed. When we replaced our opening ports due to crazing we went with a clear instead of gray tint, it made a huge difference in the amount of light in the salon. 

We have a bulkhead similiar in size to the one with your folding table, a PO put a mirror on it that takes up about 60% of the eye level space....really seems to make the salon feel bigger. In your case, perhaps just mirror the top 1/2 of the bottom of the folding table. 

Nice blog


----------



## Mariner777 (Feb 19, 2011)

The boat has a good amount of room but I think it doesn't feel as big as it is at the moment. I am mostly doing this in hopes members of the fairer sex might be more likely to hang around as it is a bit of a "man cave" as it stands. P10Ms are pretty no frills practical boats - am trying to give it a different feel.

I hadnt considered how the illusion of depth might enhance seasicknesses hmmm. Was going to get polycarbonate mirrored sheet and trim it to the anchor locker buckheald and possibly the V berth side paneling. It might turn out real horrorshow was wondering if anyone tried this and if it was a disaster. Would probably just velcro the polycarbonate so its easily undone just an experiment... If I do paint it will be in a very light color.

All my ports are non opening perhaps converting them would help the three hatches provide pretty good ventilation as is.

The PO had glued in some carpet and there are some marks where the adhesive was - am considering painting the cabin floor with maybe waterproof outdoor porch/ deck paint and then maybe some sort of bamboo matting - the bare glass is easy to clean and low maintenance but mancaveish.


----------



## Mariner777 (Feb 19, 2011)

CptKen - does that mean that you found clear untinted windows made the place feel bigger then tinted windows? I currently have no tint on the windows but was about to pull the trigger on some. I figure if I get the privacy tint I can do away with the curtains. Its not soo much I want it to be brighter just more appealing to nonsailors coming to visit. Mirroring the table is a good idea except that I would wind up with a mirror on my table when I deploy the settee. Perhaps the bulkhead behind the bar behind the settee could have mirror and it would only be visible when the table is down.


----------



## ilikerust (Apr 19, 2010)

White paint. Replace large expanses of dark panels with white. In my boat (1968 Pearson Wanderer), the bulkheads were all covered with dark brown fake woodgrain plastic laminate. The previous owner painted all with an off-white. I've seen other Wanderers, and I like the brightness of my cabin. It's ready to be painted again, and I'm going with white, not just off-white, in a satin finish. There is a decent amount of solid mahogany trim, and the cabinet doors and drawer fronts are solid mahogany, so I still get some nice warm wood tones, but without the vast expanses of dark brown bulkheads. 

Also, good lighting - like LEDs - helps.


----------



## Tim R. (Mar 23, 2003)

Presently our boat is too light. We actually have to cover the hatches and portlights to darken it sometimes. It has 14 opening portlights, 2 - 20x20 hatches and 5 - 12x12 hatches.

In the photo you can see we have white behind the settees, on the cabin top and the ceiling. I think the one thing that makes our boat feel bigger is the white vinyl headliner material that is on the side of the hull in an around the cabinets. I was on another Caliber recently that had the teak wood slats on the inside of the hull and the boat definitely felt a little darker.

The forward cabin, where we sleep, is darker because we blocked out the hatch with some opaque bubble-wrap. We also have curtains on the portlights. The forward head is very bright with a single portlight and hatch.


----------



## MarkSF (Feb 21, 2011)

Get a piece of clear lexan that'll fit where the companionway hatch boards go. Obviously that only makes it brighter in situations where the hatch boards would be installed...


----------



## wingNwing (Apr 28, 2008)

Clean and sparkly helps. Light walls, as many have recommended - or - light-colored upholstery. (Not white on both walls and upholstery, though, or your place will have all the warmth and charm of the inside of a refrigerator!). NO CLUTTER! Flat surfaces should be clear, like you have just come back from a sail. Lockers and shelves should still have some empty space inside, as though you have so much room you can't even fill it all.


----------



## SlowButSteady (Feb 17, 2010)

Maybe it would help to realize that it's a boat, not a Winnebego.


----------



## montenido (May 14, 2008)

In reference to the clear portlights idea, I am getting ready to replace my crazed tinted portlight lenses. I might be able to get by with clear lenses because I made snap-on covers for the outsides made of Phifertex, a sceen-type of material. The covers let in plenty of light, while protecting the ports from direct sunlight. Maybe I'll go with clear lenses. Would it look too wierd if I went with bothclear and tinted?
Thanks for the ideas.

Cheers, Bill


----------



## sailguy40 (Feb 6, 2010)

@treilley... wow that is a nice looking interior!


----------



## MikeinLA (Jul 25, 2006)

sailguy40 said:


> @treilley... wow that is a nice looking interior!


I second that! Other than the nav station, I've always loved the Caliber. Seeing how nice you have yours set up makes me like them even more.

To the OP, I can share one trick I use on my Cat 36 after dark when entertaining. I put on the lights in the V berth and the aft cabin even though we're in the main salon. Being able to see from one end to the other REALLY makes the boat feel much bigger.

Mike


----------



## bandaidmd (Jul 28, 2011)

I guess cutting out is your bulkheads is kind of a radical solution,forget i mentioned it. lol


----------



## bandaidmd (Jul 28, 2011)

sorry if this gos to the wrong person, I'm a newbie to this forum format.

to wingnwing, which blog in the capital is yours? I'm still under the 10 post threshold so links don't show for me..


----------



## wingNwing (Apr 28, 2008)

bandaidmd said:


> sorry if this gos to the wrong person, I'm a newbie to this forum format.
> 
> to wingnwing, which blog in the capital is yours? I'm still under the 10 post threshold so links don't show for me..


Hi bandaidmd ... it's "Life Afloat" and shows up if you go to the top banner under voices>blogs. Or, if you go to the homepage of the paper, on the lower left where recent blog posts appear, the newest from that blog is called "taking risks," and clicking on it will bring you to where you can get to others. My blog is also the first thing that comes up if you google "Life Afloat Annapolis"

Hey, thanx for reading, and welcome to Sailnet!


----------



## wescarroll (Jan 9, 2005)

Adding 3 feet to the length makes a boat feel larger, then there is the old "get a larger boat" trick, that too can eleviate the cave syndrome. Other wise look at the sales brochures and look at the styling clues the manufacturers use. They are trying to make their boats seem as large as possible, while making them as profitable as possible, hence making a small boat seem much larger. Bright colors, lightly tinted or clear glass, weight loss, less table area and smaller fixtures. Or just acceptance that Slowbutsteady's point and centuries of development have pointed you in the best direction as far as cabin space is concerned. I am not a big fan of wide open cabin space in a seaway.


----------



## stefrrr (Mar 21, 2011)

wingNwing said:


> Clean and sparkly helps. Light walls, as many have recommended - or - light-colored upholstery. (Not white on both walls and upholstery, though, or your place will have all the warmth and charm of the inside of a refrigerator!). NO CLUTTER! Flat surfaces should be clear, like you have just come back from a sail. Lockers and shelves should still have some empty space inside, as though you have so much room you can't even fill it all.


I agree - first thing that came to mind to me was clean and clutter-free. Unworn upholstery and nice smells would probably make up for any smallness. Think cozy.


----------



## Bene505 (Jul 31, 2008)

wingNwing said:


> Clean and sparkly helps. Light walls, as many have recommended - or - light-colored upholstery. (Not white on both walls and upholstery, though, or your place will have all the warmth and charm of the inside of a refrigerator!). NO CLUTTER! Flat surfaces should be clear, like you have just come back from a sail. Lockers and shelves should still have some empty space inside, as though you have so much room you can't even fill it all.


You completely beat me to the punch on the clutter thing. NO CLUTTER.

That includes every spot on the boat. The shelves should be mostly empty, the table top completly empty. If that was your picture with the apples on the table, then lose the apples. Make the beds. Use thin blankets. (Thick blanket are clutter with messed up. They have a 3 dimentional "bulk" or space-hogging to them.)

Keep everything mostly empty -- as an overall theme -- and there will be room for you and your guest.

Regards,
Brad


----------



## rockDAWG (Sep 6, 2006)

wingNwing said:


> Clean and sparkly helps. Light walls, as many have recommended - or - light-colored upholstery. (Not white on both walls and upholstery, though, or your place will have all the warmth and charm of the inside of a refrigerator!). NO CLUTTER! Flat surfaces should be clear, like you have just come back from a sail. Lockers and shelves should still have some empty space inside, as though you have so much room you can't even fill it all.





Bene505 said:


> You completely beat me to the punch on the clutter thing. NO CLUTTER.
> 
> That includes every spot on the boat. The shelves should be mostly empty, the table top completly empty. If that was your picture with the apples on the table, then lose the apples. Make the beds. Use thin blankets. (Thick blanket are clutter with messed up. They have a 3 dimentional "bulk" or space-hogging to them.)
> 
> ...


All are good advises, but don't forget you need to live in there.  IT is nice to have an "Open House" showroom condition, so you can invite others come on board in a moment of notice.

I often go to some people's house, looking at their kitchen. I can immediately come to the conclusion that they never cook except boiling water and using microwave.

Back to original programming:
Get rid the junk you don't need and buy a bigger boat. Humans need space, a lot of it


----------



## beachbm61 (Feb 18, 2006)

Our boat came originally with a good amount of mirrors on the bulkheads which really "opens" up the boat. Also she is what now is called a deck salon but obviously you can't change that.


----------



## jrd22 (Nov 14, 2000)

Best trick I've found is to spend some time on a much smaller boat.


----------



## deborahmaas (May 18, 2009)

*To the caliber 40 lrc*

We have a 98 caliber lrc. Lots of light for sure. What kind of engine do you have?


----------



## St Anna (Mar 15, 2003)

I agree with most of the above. Uncluttered, white and a mirror.
http://i665.photobucket.com/albums/vv14/saintanna/IMG_0284_21.jpg


----------



## Cherp (Aug 3, 2011)

Stick of gelignite. Place on sole in main cabin area. Light wick. Run. Done.


----------

