We checked out the Hunter 460 and several other manufacturers in the same size range before we decided on the 450. I liked the layout of the forward stateroom because it leant itself to the kinds of modifications I thought would make it a convertible office. We plan to retire in about 3 years and I tried to set this up so it would be convertible from office to guest room and later from workroom to guest room.

The mattress is 6” foam and folds on top of itself. The guests we have had say it is comfortable. The cabinets replace the shelf that Hunter installs. The speaker is moved out and mounted to the face of the cabinetry. When the mattress is folded inwards (amidships towards hull) it can then be pulled out to the edge of the mattress platform. This wedges it in tightly enough to allow you to store things between the folded mattress and the starboard hull liner.

Forward stateroom

Even with the cabinets extended out a bit none of the berth space is sacrificed or made uncomfortable. We placed the dry deck between the mattress and hull to minimize condensation and insure the mattress doesn’t get wet and mildew.

Cabinets extended

This large cabinet at the foot of the bunk is where I keep the printer/fax/scanner/copier. I wanted the drop down panels, but in retrospect, I should have had large, single doors installed. This is functional but less convenient.

Printer/fax/scanner/copier

The power cable, phone line and printer cable all run through the bottom of the forward cabinet. There is a 110 Volt AC outlet inside the cabinet. The printer plugs into one of the outlets and an 8 outlet, circuit breaker protected, power strip plugs into the other one and then runs down into the desk below. You’ll see this in following pictures.

Power cables

These cabinets are used for office supplies, files and miscellaneous.

Supply cabinets (1)

These cabinets are used for office supplies, files and miscellaneous.

Supply cabinets (2)

With the mattress folded onto itself the desktop is visible. Notice that the fiddle is cut down level with the laminate top. The one-piece single top was cut into three sections. The end sections are 16” wide and are hinged. The center section is just over 31” and slides out on rails.

Desktop

This is a simple latch that holds the center section in place when the office is packed up and we are sailing or using it as a guest room.

Desktop latch

You can see that the desktop extends out quite a way. I am careful not to put a lot of weight on the end. I measured and there is more than enough room under the top to install two drop down legs to support the desk top when out. I just haven’t gotten around to it.

Desktop extended

The right side section with the hinged lid up. I store another printer, HP Color Ink Jet, and other office supplies in here.

In-desk storage

These are the desk rails on which the desktop slides in and out. The inside of the storage area was modified to support these rails and allow them to extend and retract.

Desk rails

This is where the power strip terminates. The one that is plugged into the 110 Volt AC outlet inside the cabinet holding the printer/fax.

Power strip termination

I have 4 phone lines on board. I had to have 4 Marinco outlets installed on the stern to accommodate this. Three of the lines come into my office. The 4th is for our private phone line. The 3 office line outlets are mounted just above the water tank on the bulkhead between the main salon and the forward stateroom. I’ve also set up an Ethernet hub so that the laptop at the nav station can share the same cable modem as the laptop in my office. It’s great! My wife and I can both be on the net at the same time.

Four phone lines

This is where the TV/Cable Modem cable comes into the forward stateroom. It is easy to get to, was an easily accessible place to install it and you can always just remove the cable when you go for extended cruising.

Cable jack in fwd stateroom

This allows everything to remain connected when I start to break the office down for a weekend sail or a cruise for several days. Everything stay plugged in and I can get everything put away and ready to go in less than 10 minutes.

Everything can remian connected

This is where the power strip pigtail goes through the desktop, as well as the cable connecting the laptop to the printer/fax.

Power, cable runs

I used starboard from West Marine to extend the seat. The back cushion pushes me forward and there wasn’t enough leg support when sitting there for any length of time. There is just enough clearance to allow the cabin door to still swing past. It does rub against the seat cushion when it’s in place. This made a huge difference in comfort and was the easiest thing I did here.

Seat extension

This is what it looks like when everything is set up. I have several of the small portable file boxes.

Office in operation

You can see how far out the desktop comes and where the laptop sits when in a working position.

Desktop fully extended

This is the view when seated and the desktop is pushed back, almost all the way in.

View from the seat of power