For a shorthanded non-racing layout,
it's all driven by the control lines in the cockpit.

What hurt me the most is having my first reef lines fall to starboard.
I keep referring back to that since it affected every aspect of my layout, and forced me to change everything, drill a bunch of holes, build/buy custom stuff,
etceteras etceteras and so forth

Click on the pic for: The Cockpit Layout

History:

In June 2001, I ripped off all the old
lines and removed Cabin Top Hardware.

and added Traveler Cam Cleats.
The whole traveler came off later

 

there was a six month hiatus while I did the standing rig...

 

The Halyard anti-slap thing went in
after I rebedded the grab bar at the mast.

And I built this trick
chock for the whisker pole.
(This little thing makes me smile every time I see it!)

But -- back to The Plan ( Revision C !!! )

The way the lines eventually worked their way across the deck is very simple. I just had to
bang my head against the standing rig for a while to avoid breaking some basic rules:

1. Keep all the runs as straight as possible.
2. Make sure no lines chafe against the rig or against another line,
   regardless of the point of sail.
3. Don't let the lines cross on deck
4. Keep lines that move a lot (Main Sheet) away from lines that go interminably slack and then suddenly "bight" you (reef lines! )

A couple of things aren't exactly the way I want, but that's because I didn't communicate effectively with my rigger. There was a point where I'd been into this for months
and stopped trying to control everything.

I just wanted the whole Rig Thing to be over, so I could go sailing.

We talked about how the lines should fall, but I stopped dropping by every few days to check in. So, the Topping Lift and my First Reef tack line fall to starboard. The topping lift doesn't really matter, but the first reef line was a huge problem, since my companionway is offset and all the lines need to run back to the cockpit on the port side.

In fairness, the job evolved into something bigger than anyone intended and dragged on forever, and my rigger ended up doing stuff he had never expected to do.
Of course, I did too...
Enough whining.

[ Though it's a bit annoying to listen to someone patiently explain to me
that the lines are in the wrong place because my boat wasn't designed like a Farr 40...
Nonetheless it's ultimately my responsibility. ]

Also to make space to run the lines from
starboard over to port, we had an idea to pull the main sheet down to the center of the deck. So I installed the Mother of All Padeyes. However, I really didn't like the way it worked, and ended up using the padeye for something else...

Which Brings us to
the Main Deck Layout!

And The Aftermath!

 

Holy Cow! I can pull all the power tools off the boat and clean it up, stick the name on the transom, let an appropriate woman bust a bottle of champagne on the bow, and go sailing!

 

Well, I did remove the self-tending Jib...

 

and then add track for the 90

 

In December 2002 . .
.Rebuild the Traveler

In March 2004
Add a Foredeck Padeye

 

In March 2005
a padeye for a turning block for the asym