Best sleep ever when sleeping on boat

[Hippocampus]

Think Ross is on to something. In many respects boat does reproduce the womb. Rhythmic sound (blood flow/heart beat) of mother, floating but with small motions, feeling of being enclosed. Add in you’re general more in tune with natural rhythms. Wake with dawn in bed at cruisers midnight ( 9:30 pm). Yet somehow all captains are sensitive to their boats. A subtle change in motion or sound wakes you right up both at anchor or if underway but off watch.

 

[Blissboat]

Hippocampus wrote, "Yet somehow all captains are sensitive to their boats. A subtle change in motion or sound wakes you right up both at anchor or if underway but off watch."

Yep. I sleep wonderfully aboard - dockside, on the hook or underway. But if something feels or sounds out of the ordinary, I seem to emerge instantly from deep sleep to wide-awake / alert.

 

[jeffnick]

...the raindrops plinking on the roof and the white noise of the snapping shrimp...

 

[Jay N]

MurrayM says:

There's only two anchorages with flat bottoms around here; everything else is on the edges of estuary drying flats with steep sloping bottoms to one hundred feet or more.

Obviously, you need a bigger/better anchor!

 

[Art]

Young age, during weekends - Was brought up often sleeping on the raised, center engine hatch of 1948 23' Chris Craft express... while traveling during three seasons on LI NY [not in the winter]. Dad would have the 115 hp. Chrysler Crown straight six humming right along with the Chris on full plane. Man... for my then young body...snoozing atop that ol' engine was toasty warm in the spring and fall.

So, anyway - Having learned to sleep on that noisy little gasoline slurping beast stood me in good stead for rest of my life. No matter where I am, noise or not, light or dark sleep takes seconds to accomplish.

When asleep on land I am sound a sleep and stay that way till early morning [I always wake early]. When asleep on boat I am also sound asleep... but... usually do automatically get up from once to twice in night just to look around and check things out. Immediately back asleep when laid back down.

I also love to power nap when required during the day. 10 to 20 minutes REM nap refreshes me for hours; supercharges my mind. Can accomplish such a nap sitting up or laying down.

 

[MurrayM]

MurrayM says:

There's only two anchorages with flat bottoms around here; everything else is on the edges of estuary drying flats with steep sloping bottoms to one hundred feet or more.

Obviously, you need a bigger/better anchor!

I hear you!

According to the Bruce Anchor chart, the 22 pound anchor on our 30 foot boat should be good for 47 knots, in an anchorage without large waves/surge.

Still, that's a flat bottom pull...not a pull perpendicular to a 45 degree slope of mud. If we start late fall/winter cruising (when it blows up to 60 knots at least a couple times per winter) we'll go for the bigger anchor for sure

 

[Arc]

Yes I sleep better, The 1/2 empty bottle of bourbon has nothing to do with it.

 

[EatSleepBoat]

Quite the opposite. I think it might be that I don't have a boat and only bareboat charter, but during these days at sea I find myself waking about 2 a.m. and immediately thinking about what to do the next day, best route to get there, what could go wrong, what I need to remember and so on ad infinitum. I then lie awake thinking about all this stuff and maybe nod off a few times, usually after getting up to use the head for the fifteenth time that night. I can't wait for a respectable time to get up and turn on the coffee maker - this is usually about 5 a.m. At least I see some spectacular sunrises...

 

[SteveK]

Better sleep and for longer hours.
my dirt home is in the city. But 20 years ago I lived in the country and had boat like sleeps. Anyone else?
I often wonder if it is just ambient noise of vehicles, trains, planes and just city noise or all the radio waves in the city from cell phones, TV's and the rest

 

[Woodland Hills]

The night before last we were anchored in Biscayne Bay and I slept terribly: the wind and the current conspired to set us at 90* to the waves which slapped just below my head off and on all night long as the boat slowly sailed around.
Last night we were tied up in a sheltered marina in a quiet estuary with no noise or traffic and I slept great. Because we were on shore power we could cool and dehumidify the boat and the location was dead calm so the boat did not move a bit. I slept soundly from 9:00 until 5:30 and woke refreshed and rarin’ to go.
On the other hand I have had some great nights at anchor and some really horrible ones in marinas. It really depends upon circumstances, not just docked vs anchored.

 

[Woodland Hills]

Quite the opposite. I think it might be that I don't have a boat and only bareboat charter, but during these days at sea I find myself waking about 2 a.m. and immediately thinking about what to do the next day, best route to get there, what could go wrong, what I need to remember and so on ad infinitum. I then lie awake thinking about all this stuff and maybe nod off a few times, usually after getting up to use the head for the fifteenth time that night. I can't wait for a respectable time to get up and turn on the coffee maker - this is usually about 5 a.m. At least I see some spectacular sunrises...

I never did that on our bare boat charters, but I do with the boat we own! I always toss and turn the night before setting out after a stay in a marina.

 

[hmason]

Another viewpoint here. When we first began doing overnight trips on our boat I slept peacefully all night. I left the worldly thoughts behind and was tranquil and at ease. All was right with my world.

Now that we liveaboard fulltime (for the past 10 years) I can't just leave the world behind like we used to do on overnight trips and longer cruises. I get good sleeps and restless sleeps; no different than when we were land dwellers. Be careful what you wish for!

 

[ScottC]

I've had the best sleep...and the worst sleep on the boat. Mostly, I can say it's "best". I think this is due to the gentle rocking motion. Poor weather & poor anchoring situations generally lead to a very poor night's sleep for me, however.