V berth

Hey folks does anyone have an idea on how to make the v-berth more comfortable?

Greetings,

That might work...until she talked

Spelling corrected

Move it to the back of the boat?

Bob

I've got little experience with V berths but find getting in and out awkward. My suggestion won't help this problem, but might make the cushion/mattress more tolerable.

We added a memory foam mattress topper (2 1/2 to 3 inch thick) which was a great improvement in firmness and temperature comfort. The some of the best $150 we spent on the boat.

My previous boat (Bluewater Blackwatch) had a V-berth. The backrests were made of cushion material mounted on various-sized boards and were held against the hull interior using wooden forms. The backrests could be removed to fill the open distance between the berths, resulting in one bed as wide as the boat.

Personally, my wife and I have always found v-berths to be quite comfortable. Some idea of why you think yours is not might help with getting more useful answers.

On the other hand, I like Rufus T's answer.

Sleep with your feet pointed towards the bow.

cowdogs said:

Sleep with your feet pointed towards the bow.

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Why? On many boats that puts your head downhill which isn't healthy...

We had a nice mattress custom made. I went into their store and got onto the nicest mattress in the place. We made a template and they made it for us. It is a local company in marysville, wa. Here is their website (http://www.bedandmattresseverett.com/). It was not cheap but best money I spent on my wife's boat happiness!

They are bulky to ship so you might look local...

psneeld said:

Why? On many boats that puts your head downhill which isn't healthy...

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My amidship stateroom sleeps feet forward/head aft. Most island queens in aft staterooms also sleep head aft. I never noticed any issue with my head being lower than my feet. Maybe this is fodder for a new 300 post thread!

FlyWright said:

My amidship stateroom sleeps feet forward/head aft. Most island queens in aft staterooms also sleep head aft. I never noticed any issue with my head being lower than my feet. Maybe this is fodder for a new 300 post thread!

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While that is the way vee berths are designed to be slept in...way too many boats are so poorly designed that the vee berths slope aft which makes sleeping that way not comfortable in my book nor in my doctors opinion...

my point is that just because that's the way the brochure suggests sleeping...it's not the "mandated" way as pointed out....two boat I've lived aboard previously I have slept head forward in the vee berth.

I agree with Denver what do you find wrong? Mattress, noise, ventilation, etc.
When we owned our Camano the vee berth was comfortable but in certain conditions the waves slapped the hull and could be quite noisy, but one of those things you get used to.

Steve said:

I agree with Denver what do you find wrong? Mattress, noise, ventilation, etc. When we owned our Camano the vee berth was comfortable but in certain conditions the waves slapped the hull and could be quite noisy, but one of those things you get used to.

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Yeah I know what you mean, after awhile though it goes away (mentally that is) and also find it kind of soothing.

I suppose it's a size thing being 6'2 220 i need space........so thinkin' of filling the whole thing with plywood and getting a custom mattress to fit the whole area

Interesting that some vee-berths are sloped? Of my last 3 sailboats, only one had an aft cabin. The other two had perfectly flat and level vee-berths. Not bad to sleep in, other than the climbing in and out part. Adding the Froli Sleep System on our last boat drastically improved sleeping comfort.

I would think the powerboat builder would have made/designed the berths to be flat while the boat was at rest. You're not sleeping up there while underway are you?

If you can locate plans for a Concordia Berth , these are probably the best.

As a backrest the flexible ash slats are great , as a bunk the swing arms can be cast to make the bunk as wide as required , and the mounting can be as long as the space permits.

The inner pipe when used as a bunk is away from the hull, so a deck leak or open port wont flood the bunk.

With a anything as a spacer under the bunk rest it becomes deeper and deeper , which may be a great help in a rolly anchorage , or underway with a beam sea.

A huge advantage is all the bedding is captured inside the bunk when its folded into the backrest position.

The bunk arms are usually cast aluminum or cast bronze.3 per side.

hitch said:

I suppose it's a size thing being 6'2 220 i need space........so thinkin' of filling the whole thing with plywood and getting a custom mattress to fit the whole area

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YES! then you will definitely need the accessory shown in post#2

hitch said:

I suppose it's a size thing being 6'2 220 i need space........so thinkin' of filling the whole thing with plywood and getting a custom mattress to fit the whole area

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Do you not have a removable insert that converts the two sides to one big platform?

-Chris

ranger42c said:

Do you not have a removable insert that converts the two sides to one big platform?

-Chris

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Negative

psneeld said:

...way too many boats are so poorly designed that the vee berths slope aft which makes sleeping that way not comfortable...

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Really? In all the boats I've chartered, and all the boats I've owned, I have never found this to be the case. I must be very lucky.

Oh, and for the OP... If your v-berth doesn't have an insert then you need to make one (or have one made), which should be relatively easy. Good luck to you.

If your v-berth doesn't have an insert then you need to make one (or have one made), which should be relatively easy.

The problem with an insert is,, instead of simply getting out of bed to visit the head ,

you need to do a back flip over the pillows and land feet up.

Or crawl over the pillows , find a hand grip and attempt to stand up dragging your knees over the pillows..

Climbing back in bed required climbing over the pillows and doing a U TURN , hopefully with out waking your bunkie.

The problem (besides the crap motion ) of bunks stuffed into the fore peak is always getting in & out of them.

These guys did a great job of making a custom mattress for Moonstruck. It sleeps great. They were on time and at the quoted price. Very happy.

Custom Mattress, Boat Mattress, Yacht Mattress, RV Mattress, Short Queen Mattress, Trailer Mattress, Marine Mattress, Round Mattress, Foam Mattress, Latex Mattress - Comfort Custom Mattresses & Marine Bedding Inc.

My V-birth wasn't wide enough. So I built in an extra level on top of the original. Raised it 4".
Made it wider as the hull slopes out the higher you go gave me an extra 6" of width.

Also extra hidden storage space for smuggling.

sd

FF said:

If your v-berth doesn't have an insert then you need to make one (or have one made), which should be relatively easy.

The problem with an insert is,, instead of simply getting out of bed to visit the head ,

you need to do a back flip over the pillows and land feet up.

Or crawl over the pillows , find a hand grip and attempt to stand up dragging your knees over the pillows..

Climbing back in bed required climbing over the pillows and doing a U TURN , hopefully with out waking your bunkie.

The problem (besides the crap motion ) of bunks stuffed into the fore peak is always getting in & out of them.

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FF: I couldn't help but imagine those contorted images while attempting to surmount the V-berth equipment described in post #2.

You guys all seem to have a basic misunderstanding of what v-berths are for. They are not for sleeping on. They are for storing things on. The salespeople managed to somehow convey that they are for sleeping on, so that they can advertise a 20' boat as "sleeps 25." But they are for storage, pure and simple. Once you accept that as a given fact, then it all makes sense.

I think you're onto something there, John. Our fwd stateroom has bunks instead of a V berth, but it serves as our storage center rather than sleeping quarters. Only 1 or 2 young kids or inebriated guests have ever slept there. Both lack the gift of reason to know better.

Hello Hitch. Although the entire forward part of Seaweed was a playpen at one time it had totally inadequate thin stiff hard miserable imitation foam that smelled funky when I bought the boat. I opted to toss that junk and put a mattress down the port side. 5" of foam at the bottom with a 4" memory foam mattress topper and it's right comfy. The excess playpen area is great for my coffee cup, Skipper's water dish and just to have a place to sit down while dressing and such.

It's not ideal getting into and out of -- thank goodness there are no witnesses, but I will say the addition of that 5" foam made all the difference in the world. The memory foam topper mattress I cut with scissors to accommodate the hull forward. It was a Walmart special (twin size/Skipper doesn't take much room) and the outer fabric cover had a zipper so tweaking it for the boat was relatively easy.

A decent mattress and great pillow helps a lot. What's wrong with yours? And if you don't have a great light for reading in your bunk, plus a fan, well, get those. I also have a VHF right by my bunk so that I can check weather and if someone calls on the main VHF I can answer without getting up. A pair of cigarette lighter outlets makes charging the Kindle or cell phone a snap. Ditto, the electric blanket that runs on 12-volts.

Good luck Hitch, but if you told us what's wrong specifically we might just have better and more specific ideas.

cowdogs said:

Sleep with your feet pointed towards the bow.

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That worked for us in our old CA 34 with a custom full mattress except when making the bed each day was a little tough.

ps these cute girl photos get me in trouble with the boss when she asks what am I looking at and I say "just a trawler forum" and that photo pops up !!! :lol: