Bedding down for the night

captd · Posted: Thu Oct 25, 2007 5:17 pm Post subject: Bedding down for the night

My Mis Dee (wife) has insisted on having a comfortable sleeping arrangements. At a Cabalas store we found the higher end air mattress and thought we would give it a try. It halfway inflates its self and a few more huffs and it becomes three inches thick. It felt ( to me ) as good as the select comfort ( The sleep number bed ) we use at home and in the camper. Mis Dee has not had any experience on it yet. We also have that real soft closed cell foam, 4 inches thick. When you press on it it leaves your hand print in it for awhile. Mis Dee has a hip problem and the foam works pretty good for her. What I don't like about it is, it is awful heavy stuff. This winter we will be sleeping many weeks on the boat. This problem must be solved or I will be boating alone. I have been warned.
( not only that but I will be sleeping alone.)
captd

thataway · Posted: Thu Oct 25, 2007 6:45 pm Post subject:

We got a queen size memory foam 2" thick for the Tom Cat 255--and one side of the CD 25--works well for us. It is a bit heavier, but doesn't seem to present a problem.

Jeff Brigner · Posted: Thu Oct 25, 2007 10:30 pm Post subject: memory foam

A memory foam mattress is cold and hard when you first get on it but quickly warms up and I think is warmer than a normal foam pad. We keep a ceramic heater in the v-berth and it keeps things cozy

Hunkydory · Posted: Thu Oct 25, 2007 10:35 pm Post subject:

We too have 2 " of memory foam cut to fit the sleeping area of the 22. Makes all the difference between a toss and turn and a good nights sleep waking up feeling rested. Well worth the extra weight.

Jay

Rob & Karen · Posted: Thu Oct 25, 2007 11:29 pm Post subject:

For those of you that have memory foam in the v-berth, what do you do with it during the day or on day cruises? Is it covered with a sheet of some kind to keep it clean? Are you also using a Travasak or just regular bedding? My daughter likes to play in the v-berth during the day and I am wondering if the memory foam would be in the way. Seems like it might make accessing the porta-potti more difficult as well. The idea of making things more comfortable is appealing though.

Rob & Karen

Hunkydory · Posted: Thu Oct 25, 2007 11:39 pm Post subject:

Rob and Karen

We have it lined and use a travasak too. Porta Poty goes to the cockpit when underway. The area in front of where the porta poty is normally stored is filled in and thats the area where my head rest when I sleep so I can stretch out and be comforable. During the day most of the time the travasak and memory foam is rolled forward. That area when under way is generally filled in with clothing and other soft gear where as if one of us wants to crawl in and take a nap while underway we can.

Jay

Doryman · Posted: Fri Oct 26, 2007 2:56 am Post subject: Re: Bedding down for the night

captd · Posted: Fri Oct 26, 2007 9:22 am Post subject:

Factory v-birth was and is to hard, plus it is too lumpy in all the wrong places. Dee has been suggesting having one custom made. One of the problems is having reasonable access to storage underneath. The air mattress works great, but they are not made in "V" shape . In the Ranger , there is enough room for two but everything you put in there must fit or it is lumpy or crawling up the bulkhead.

We ought to offer a reward for the beat idea for making the most comfy front v- birth.
captd

Captains Cat · Posted: Fri Oct 26, 2007 9:30 am Post subject:

Best comfy v berth is on a TomCat. Queen sized and square!! Very nice.

Charlie

jimcinfra · Posted: Fri Oct 26, 2007 11:35 am Post subject:

We also were very uncomfortable with the v-berth in our 22 and tried to up-grade by using a thin egg shell. We must have some hidden royalty in our blood because we were still uncomfortable. Not until we followed the advice from this site and purchased some memory foam did we get the comfort we were looking for. We got some 3" thick and put on top of the thin egg shell and now its like sleeping on a cloud. We trimmed the egg shell and the memory foam to fit into the v-berth. We cover the bed with a blanket so the we can still use the hatch in the bow without "sanding up" the berth. We also added a small board across the opening (over the poty) so that our heads do not sink into the depression. There is some extra effort in lifting the board to slide the poty out, but this arrangement works for us.

thataway · Posted: Fri Oct 26, 2007 1:38 pm Post subject:

To expand on Delta Bell's remark--we have a 7 x 5 foot piece of canvas which works great as a "Bed Spread"--and allows us to step thru the hatch etc--just shake it out, if there is grit--and folds up at night for sleeping.

starcrafttom · Posted: Fri Oct 26, 2007 3:14 pm Post subject:

I use the foam in the Susan E also and it has been great. I can not sleep unless Iam on my side and unless we have the foam my hipps hurt all night. the first year I got little sleep on the boat until we got the foam. I ened up rolling over on to the other hip every two hours, now with the foam I sleep thru the night. Susan even sewed a cover for the foam out of fleece. really works well for me.

Rob & Karen · Posted: Fri Oct 26, 2007 4:21 pm Post subject:

So is 2" of memory foam enough, or would 3" be better? We often fall into the "if some is good, more is better" routine.

Thanks,

Rob & Karen

Doryman · Posted: Fri Oct 26, 2007 6:07 pm Post subject:

thataway · Posted: Fri Oct 26, 2007 6:16 pm Post subject:

We thought that 2" was enough for us--and we have used 2" on two RV's, our bed at home and our boats. The weight is a problem when opening the hatches under the bunks...