Top: A simple but effective helm station and a broad sweep
of windows ease navigation of the Passagemaker 52. A
section of the settee is hinged to provide access to the port
door. Above: A galley window makes the mahogany cabinets
and household-type appliances gleam.
Parkinson on details. They hired a Seattle surveyor to
keep an eye on construction work.
“We got a very fine boat,” David said. “We are proud
of her.” Linda added: “I was impressed with the skill,
care, and pride of the [shipyard] crew.”
A LOOK AROUND
The Haywoods obviously are concerned about safety
on deck. They added the boarding platform staples
(stainless steel railings in an inverted “U” form) after
delivery of the boat. I grabbed them for an easy step
from the tender to the platform. A short ladder with
handrails is attached to the lower transom and leads to
the gate, which has another grab bar to the right.
The staples also offer security for David and Linda
Royal Passagemaker 52
when they are working with mooring lines from the
boarding platform.
The saloon door is off center to starboard and the
engine room entry is to port, with a large saloon window
above it. A stainless steel ladder, with good handgrips,
leads to the flybridge from the cockpit. Side decks with
protective railings and bulwarks lead all the way forward.
The interior follows a traditional layout for a raised
pilothouse yacht. The saloon, featuring beige upholstery
and mahogany cabinets and trim treated with a brown
stain and a soft finish, leads to the U-shaped galley. One
surprise: all wood is solid mahogany, David said. No
veneers were used, even on some curving sections of the
pilothouse where flexible veneer would have been the
easy choice.
In the saloon, an L-shaped settee flanked by cabinets
curves from the aft wall forward on the port side. The
AC/DC breaker panels are on the port side between a
cabinet and the galley counter. To starboard, the
Haywoods placed armchairs on either side of a cabinet
housing a pop-up TV. The saloon is carpeted, and the
galley and pilothouse are finished with teak flooring.
The walls are covered with a smooth vinyl material
called Arbeite “that cleans up easily,” Linda said. The
Haywoods chose white, but the maker offers about 150
colors. And the overhead is white paneling with V-grooving, something Ed Monk might have used in his
early career. Overhead structural beams are trimmed
with mahogany.
Mahogany is a popular choice, but Park Isle also will
finish a yacht in teak, cherry, maple, vertical grain fir, or
western and yellow cedar.
There are no overhead grabrails for a safe rough-water
passage through the saloon, galley, or pilothouse. The
stairways, however, have solid handrails.
The galley has enough cabinets for a liveaboard
family. One hangs from the overhead above the galley
counter but does not seriously affect the chef’s view
aft. The galley also is equipped with two sets of drawer-type refrigerators/freezers. That means two fridges and
two freezers, and plenty of space for perishables on a
long cruise.
I counted seven overhead cabinets in the galley, plus
storage beneath the sink and in other under-counter
spaces. The galley has a full-size electric range (big
enough to roast a turkey), a microwave, and a
dishwasher. “I wanted traditional, functional things,”
Linda said. “I didn’t want an electric wine cabinet.”
Two steps lead from the galley up to the pilothouse.
Another stairway on the starboard edge of the saloon
takes us to the staterooms below.
