The plan in the left margin is the customized layout of roam (click on it to see a larger view). Our primary modifications were
in the galley and starboard hull. In the galley, we moved the sink and stove aft, where there is greater headroom. If
we hadn't done that, Steve would not be able to do the dishes. In the starboard hull, we removed a wall that we thought made
it kind of cramped, rearranged cabintes and made the bed quite a bit wider (the bed is about 75 inches wide, nearly a king size).
At the bottom of this page are various interior photos.
Specifications
Detailed specifications for a basic Dolphin 460 can be found
on The Multihull Company's website. Other equipment we had the factory add includes:
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Sails and Sail Handling- We have an electric
winch by the helm, with the main halyard lead back to this winch. While it makes me feel like a puss, the boat has a very large, very
heavy full-battened main and the electric winch makes it a lot easier to raise. We also added a screecher, which is a very large,
lighter air headsail on a bow sprit and a furler.
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Electronics/Communications- B & G wind, speed, depth and autopilot,
Simrad CX 44 radar/chartplotter, and VHF and SSB radios (ICOM). For the non-sailors, the chartplotter almost makes navigation idiot-proof.
The unit displays a chart of the area with the boat position shown (even as it moves), along with any obstructions and aids to
navigation (like buoys). If you like, you can overlay the radar on the chart or show it split screen. Also, you can make a route to
travel by inserting waypoints on the electronic chart, and then set the autopilot to follow the route. The only thing the sailor has
to due is adjust sails (and keep a good lookout so you don't run into anything or get run over by a big freighter).
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Comfort- We have
an Onan generator, Spectra watermaker (turns saltwater into drinking water), air conditioning, stereo and flat screen TV/DVD. We also
had Dolphin plumb and wire a cabinet in the starboard head for a combo washer/dryer. After living on roam during our trip
home, our thinking now is that this is something we really don't need, but it's nice to know it would be easy to add.
If I were to
do it again, I probably would not get the SSB radio. It was pretty expensive, is kind of difficult to use and we'd need
a $1,000+ modem to be able to send e-mail by SSB. The same amount of money would have gotten an irridium sat. phone and
lots of airtime to handle e-mail, Ocens weather service and talk time. (By the way, we also bought a Globalstar sat phone
and would never do that again. I'm really surprised it didn't end up in the water. The coverage was spotty at best, and
I don't think we ever had a conversation last more than two minutes without dropping. Oh well, live and learn.)
