Decisions: Decorating the Main Deck

The look and feel of the main deck (salon, galley and pilot house) influenced the next set of decisions, which ultimately had an impact on the entire interior.  Let's start with the basics.

Essentially, Outer Reef offers three "looks" which they categorize as traditional, transitional and modern (Euro).  Below are examples of each.

Traditional interior with open layout and TV forward  on a 63 LRMY

The traditional interior uses teak, oriented with a vertical grain, with an optional coffered ceiling (note the teak beams in the above photo).   Lighting is very traditional.  Optional hardwood flooring is teak with holly or wenge between each board.  Cabinetry has raised panels.

Euro Interior on a 63 LRMY

The Euro look combines teak, oriented with  horizontal grain, with bold dark wenge wood accents (including betwen panels).  The ceiling is recessed with chrome handholds for both appearance and utility.  Lighting is very modern.  The floor is solid teak. Cabinetry is smooth faced.


Transitional Interior on Creative Edge, a 72 LRMY

The transitional look combines vertically oriented teak with wenge wood accents on horizontal surfaces and as bullnose (flat), a recessed ceiling and modern lighting.  Optional hardwood flooring is solid teak trimed with a wenge border.  Cabinetry is smooth faced.

Creative Edge galley with Emprador Marble and GE Monogram stainless steel appliances

We chose a transitional look similar to Creative Edge and followed many of their design features.  But let's start  from the beginning. 

The design process actually started in early November with a conference call with Jeff Druek and Mike Schlichtig.  During this meeting we confirmed our desire for an open floor plan.  We also broadly discussed the design options and chose the transitional look (which, at that point, meant specifying smooth faced cabinets).  Jeff and Mike provided us with numerous examples using photos and the virtual tours on their website.

The transitional look was an easy decision as both Diana and I like a modern, somewhat monochromatic, look.  We also have a decided preference for earth tones (see material photo below).

The hard work started with a meeting at Outer Reef's headquarters in Fort Lauderdale in late November on our way down to our Sarasota rental home.  We met with Mike Schlichtig and Colleen Deverteuil for a very full day (9:00 am to 7:00 pm).  The day started with visits to several Outer Reef yachts (Bravo, a 70, Good Times, a 65 and others) that were in the area to get a better idea of our options.   This meeting was followed by another in January and a third in March.  Each was long but very productive.  Our friends at Outer Reef worked hard to help us sort out choices and were very patient (i.e., we changed our minds several times). 

Remember, from my earlier article (Decisions - Boat and Machinery), Outer Reef does not have "stock" interiors.  Hence we had to make well over 130 separate interior decorating decisions. 

Side story: In the winter of 2006 Diana and I visited Skipper Buds in Northbrook Illinois to look at a new 2006 48 Sundancer.  The plan was to find a used one if Diana liked the boat.  Diana fell in love with the "C" interior on the 48 on display.  It was one of four options.  We bought that boat.  Their were ZERO interior decisions!

Diana, Colleen and Mike pondering decorating decisions

Kodi was rather bored by the whole thing

The decision to have an open floor plan had a profound influence as all of the design features are visible from the salon, the galley and the pilothouse.  The starting point for the "soft" decorating decisions was the marble.  We chose Emprador as shown in the photo below (and the galley above) and the rest of the decisions followed suit.  The salon and pilot house fabrics are shown in the lower left corner of the photo below.

Decorating materials for the flybridge (top), the main deck (left), and the aft and fore deck (right)

The decorating materials for the main deck are in the lower left hand corner of the above photo.  They are:

• Emprador Marble (for galley)
• Ultraleather bull (for salon and pilot house settees)
• Brisa Distressed saddle (for barrel chairs)
• Wenge wood (for horizontal surfaces and flat bull nose)

Note: We avoided fabrics in the salon due to Kodi (who has furniture privileges).  We had great success with the ultraleather on the 48 Sundancer.

Below are photos showing examples of some of the styling decisions:

Sara 1 salon wall sconces
Solid block crystal formed into an elegant cylinder covering an inner white glass difuser



Smooth cabinets, wenge top and bull nose, our window coverings (disregard the posts)
Note: The sconces are larger version of the Sara 1.

Recessed ceiling

Rope lighting in recessed ceiling



Pilothouse settee teak table with wenge border and compass rose (holly and wenge)

Staiwell to lower deck.  Note the wenge trim and black nonslip Bolon step pads 

We also made some expensive but we think wise decisions to make this all work.  The wenge trim, the solid team salon floor with wenge border, the recessed ceiling are all options.  We also felt that the boat would have a richer look if we used teak on aft deck and the swim platform (the latter giving better traction when boarding).   The fore deck, side decks, flybridge and boat deck will be fiberglass with a beige non-skid surface.

The following is a summary of our major decorating decisions moving from the aft deck to the pilot house.

• Teak deck (aft deck)
• Teak table with compass rose and chrome legs (aft deck)
• Wenge wood trim on horizontal surfaces (entire main deck)
• Wenge flat bull nose (entire main deck)
• Recessed ceiling with chrome handholds (salon)
• Solid teak hardwood floor with wenge border (entire main deck)
• Ultraleather buff settee (salon)
• Brisa Distressed saddle barrel chairs (salon)
• Wenge trimmed teak coffee table (salon)
• Emprador marble (galley)
• Stainless steel appliances (galley)
• Recessed ceiling with chrome handles (galley and pilot house)
• Ultraleather buff settee (pilot house)
• Teak table with chrome posts and compass rose (pilot house settee)
• Black ultra leather Stidd helm chair with chrome base (pilot house)
• Black control station horizontal and vertical surfaces (pilot house)
• Chrome handrails on the control panel (instead of wood) (pilot house)
• Polished stainless steel wheel (pilot house)

Pilot house helm chair and control station (holly trim will be replaced with wenge)

The settee on the aft deck and seating on the foredeck will be covered in Sunbrella Renata Hemp.  The aft deck will be teak.  The polished teak settee table will have chrome posts and a wenge border with a compass rose in the center.


Aft deck layout with beige non skid (our's will have teak)



Sunbrella Renatta Hemp used on aft and fore deck seating

Sunbrella Renatta seat back on aft settee (ours will not be piped)

Teak deck replacing nonskid and the deck chair we plan to use

Aft teak table with wenge boarder and compass rose (holley and wenge)

Bow seating in Sunbrella Maxim Beige (ours will be Renatta Hemp)

It has taken considerable work to get to this point but all in all we are very pleased with our decisions and can't wait to see the photos of the "real" thing as construction proceeds.

Note: The below deck accomodations and flybridge are covered is a separate article.

Written by Les.