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Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums

Catalina 25 Specific Forum

Cleaning + sleeping in the V berth

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bbriner
Captain

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349 Posts

Initially Posted - 09/05/2005 : 01:10:25

If you don't have carpet, the "Swifter" is a really good way to clean the cabin floor... it's flexible and the handle can be as short or as long as you need because it is segmented. Saves your back!

On another note, for the first time I slept in the V-Berth. I don't think it's at all possible for two medium sized adults to sleep there togther (at the same time). If one has to get up in the middle of the night to relieve oneself (which is a common affliction as you get older..), I don't see any way of getting out without kicking your partner in the head on the way.

One person ...ok. Two? forget about it.

Bill B
Wind Dancer
#4036 84 SR/FK
San Francisco Bay

Edited by - on

jwilliams
Captain

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USA
357 Posts

Response Posted - 09/05/2005 : 02:34:20

Hiya Bill,

Good tip on the swifter.

Ditto on sleeping two adults in the Vberth, if you are not tangling feet all night then you are freezing a hip against the hull...so thats where I got that bump on the head that night.

BTW, Kirsten and I leave Denmark today to come home. Wow three months sure goes by fast. I did get one sail with a friend...down the Roskilde Fjord, just where they discovered the 5 sunken viking ships. Wet, cold, have another Tuborg, fun.

Jim

ps: Lets rendezvous at Angel Island this fall.

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Dave Laux
Captain

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318 Posts

Response Posted - 09/05/2005 : 07:46:54

Well I've been sleeping in our vee berth with Donna for 5 weeks and we got along alright. Its not bad for us anyway and I would rather sleep together rather than apart.
Dave

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Gloss
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1916 Posts

Response Posted - 09/05/2005 : 09:57:43

My biggest complaint about the 89 wing is that the deeper anchor locker comes down and greatly infringes into the VEE berth. I'm a little over 6'2" and cannot stretch out, even if I'm sleeping solo. I guesse it's OK if you are "less tall" (Is that the politically correct term?)
I have been considering taking some space out stern end of the anchor locker, but that would be a big hassle. I think building a bed between the setees in the cabin would be better

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John V.
Admiral

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USA
559 Posts

Response Posted - 09/05/2005 : 10:11:29

I'm 5'6" and Linda is 5'1" the V berth is pretty comfey for us though Linda doesn't like having her feet crammed into the bow. I did away with sleeping bags long ago, and have a sheet fitted to the v-berth cushions and use a big comforter for a cover. From our perspective we love the standing head room provided by the C25.
Linda did insist on bringing two dogs on our last cruise toghether, that probably erased any advantage our diminutive size may have given us.

I spent an evening this summer aboard MYSTIC the C&C 30 belonging it Karen Larson and Jerry Powlas. Karen is tall and the C&C has a unique bubble in the cabin roof giving about 6' + of head room. We joked about how each boat and owner have a unique fit that can be either boon or bane. "blessing or curse" (sorry my scottish herritage creeps into my language choices from time to time)

On another point:
Though we are more than a thousand miles from the disaster area there are many in our community who are preparing to open their homes to the refugees of Katrina. Though our home will not accomodate another person we are propared to help in any way we can once these new friends arrive in our community.

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bbriner
Captain

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349 Posts

Response Posted - 09/05/2005 : 11:32:25

I actually found the V berth to be comfortable since I am 5'8" and my wife is about the same. The problem is that I am not all that "flexible" so getting out of it in the middle of the night without kicking her or sticking my feet in her face in the process is quite impossible for me (her too). I'm thinking of putting a hand-hold on the cabin top so I can just reach up and pull myself out. I don't think I would use it for some gymnastic manuever for getting in though

Until then I'm banished to the quarter berth... there I can also be the first line of defense if the need arises to repel boarders

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seastream
Navigator

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USA
242 Posts

Response Posted - 09/05/2005 : 21:20:43

Bill:

If it's usually a couple on the boat for overnights, my wife and I found that converting the main cabin into a queen sized bed works best for us. There's many ways to do this, follow the below link for our method. If it doesn't work as a hyperlink, just cut and paste it into your browser. Neither the worst nor best, just our way.

http://www.catalina25-250.org/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=9511&SearchTerms=queen

Bob

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dhunt
1st Mate

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USA
83 Posts

Response Posted - 09/06/2005 : 07:58:23

The recent failure of our main cabin air mattress (we were anchored in a beautiful cove, 5 miles from the marina at 11pm) forced us back into the V after 2 years of main cabin sleeping.

Had a GREAT night's sleep and ENJOYED not having to reconfigure the boat in the morning. I packed up all the stuff that went into modifying the main cabin and we've returned to using the V as it was intended.

The major problem for us (we're both under 5'10") is access. I'm imagining widening the passageway by cutting the bulkheads back a few inches on both sides (more to port). I picture the cutout to start a couple of inches below the top of the V cushions and ending a couple of inches below the top . . . rounded corners, of course. I'm thinking that this mod will not have a structural effect but should make ingress and egress easier. Also thinking about a step system and 'memory foam' cushions.

Has anyone done anything like this? I'm just tired of just using the V for storage and having to reconfigure the main cabin.

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Frank Hopper
Past Commodore

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Pitcairn Island
6776 Posts

Response Posted - 09/06/2005 : 13:28:14

I think you could go a long way toward removing both bulkheads and not compromise the boat.

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PamC
Navigator

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171 Posts

Response Posted - 09/06/2005 : 16:36:58

Bill,

I agree on the ingress/egress issue. We discussed this a bit a couple of weeks ago here and I finally took Frank's advice and banished Dave to the quarter berth (actually I think he did more of a cut and run)

. The two of us fit in the vee just fine if we could just teleport ourselves into position. The other problem is the room to do the requisite tossing & turning required by out-of-whack backs, shoulders and hips. We definately gave it a concerted effort, but ultimately we both sleep better on opposite ends of the boat. And I find I'm much happier to see him in the morning when I haven't been herding him and his feet to starboard all night

And as you mentioned he's in perfect position to thwart pirates AND get the coffee started in the morning!

The other sleeping enhancement I did was to add two eggcrate pads on top of the vee berth cushions. (The aforementioned creaky bodies don't do well with the lovely new memory foam -can't be comfortable in one position that long.) It's quite the comfortable pod for sleeping now.

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dlucier
Master Marine Consultant

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Virgin Islands (United Kingdom)
7583 Posts

Response Posted - 09/07/2005 : 09:04:42

Along with the cramped conditions and required gymnastics associated with sleeping in the V-berth, my wife and I also had to get used to sleeping on a slight incline (feet above our heads

) due to the gross tonnage of supplies shoe-horned into the aft quarterberth warehouse!

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bbriner
Captain

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349 Posts

Response Posted - 09/07/2005 : 10:02:39

Pam,
I agree that even though we aren't sleeping next to each other, we are definitely sleeping better. Since we are in the (smallish) boat together it's not that we aren't sleeping **together**

and yes, my duty is to prepare the coffee too!

So, all in all it's really not bad. I don't know how Catalina can say that the 25 sleeps more than 2 though, unless the others are small pets, children ... or college students

A bonus too is that in the quarter berth my feet aren't higher than my head!

Edited by - on

stampeder
Master Marine Consultant

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1608 Posts

Response Posted - 09/07/2005 : 18:58:08

I sleep in the V-berth with my head forward and the Admiral sleeps with the Dog in the quarter berth, head forward - our bow sits higher than the aft end. I like my sleeping arrangements to be different than my working conditions- which are best described as headdown-assup. I find that entering and exiting the V-berth with the feet aft works best for me. Makes getting up in the middle of the night to haul this old less-than-a-beer sized bladder to the head reasonably quick and effortless. And, despite the fact that the Admiral really really likes me, the original Catalina design with the accordion doors that isolate the v-berth and the cabin are one of the best interior design features of the C25. Despite the fact that the Admiral and I have been Pals since 1970, we like to leave some of the dainties and jiggly bits to the imagination.

I hadn't thought about having a repelling the borders plan - but I suppose that having the Dog situated under the cockpit constitutes an early warning system and that the distance from the V-berth to the cockpit suggests just enough launching space for my body to rocket aftwards, a sort of body missle to repel borders.

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pjeffarch
Navigator

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USA
135 Posts

Response Posted - 09/11/2005 : 09:57:17

It's interesting and reassuring that so many of us have the same issues with sleeping on our C25's, and apparently lots of the same solutions! I too allow my first mate to have the V all to herself, while I follow tradition of being captain, guard, and coffee chef from the quarter berth.

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Doug
Captain

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USA
457 Posts

Response Posted - 09/11/2005 : 11:41:10

Mom in the V. Dad in the quarter and the (2) kids were left to fend for themselves.

Then we built the super bed: Kids in the V and Mom & Dad in the main cabin. Bags, coolers, and other loose gear stows under the super bed at night.

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dave holtgrave
Captain

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USA
427 Posts

Response Posted - 09/11/2005 : 21:37:50

hey pam
give me a little more insight to the egg crate pads.

where did you find these?

what size did you use?

what is the costs?

thanks in advance

know what you mean about the standard cushion. it can be tuff to get moving in the moving.

dave holtgrave
5722 sk/tr
sailing carlyle lake in southern illinois

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ronrryan
Admiral

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USA
561 Posts

Response Posted - 09/12/2005 : 09:35:36

We have a couple of cushions bought many years ago from Campmor (I think) or some other camping supply place. These go under the various cushions in use. I have a jury-rigged filler piece of wood that converts the port settee into a wider berth, uses the seat cushion plus the back cushion, with the eggcrate under it, also have made a short piece that goes across from the top end of the starboard berth to the swing keel trunk, widens the top end (fwd) of that settee enough so a thin person can sleep pretty well. We don't use the quarterberth, as it is full of gear. Fair winds, ron srsk Orion SW FL

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PamC
Navigator

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171 Posts

Response Posted - 09/12/2005 : 11:21:47

Dave,

I bought a pair of twin size eggcrate pads from Target and cut them with a pair of kitchen sheers to fit the contour of the vee berth. At the time they were $8 each and maybe 1"+ thick. That wasn't enough so I bought a King sized with a deeper, rounder pattern (looks like a bunch of little rolling hills and cut it to size and put that on top. I bought that one at Fred Meyer which I beleive is part of the Kroger chain for $25 on sale. In both cases I ended up with lots of excess trimming which I'm sure I'll fine another use for

It seemed the queen sized pads were all a few inches too narrow for the wide end of the vee. Using two different patterns/layers gives lots of cushion.

Hope that helps.

Edited by - on

gracer
1st Mate

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USA
39 Posts

Response Posted - 09/14/2005 : 14:59:54

A year ago some one posted the brand name of a queen size air mattress that did not need support between the dinette (with table down) and the settee. Does anyone recall that post?

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atgep
Master Marine Consultant

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1009 Posts

Response Posted - 09/14/2005 : 20:11:10

I have found that a full size air mattress fits perfect across the cabin (Traditional). For support, I figured out that the totes we use for food, clothes, etc, work for center support. It takes 4 of them. They also fit in the never used space under the cockpit in the q-birth. The totes are actually a little short so I take the back cushions off and it is all good.

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pjeffarch
Navigator

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USA
135 Posts

Response Posted - 09/14/2005 : 21:33:07

What's better - egg crates or air mattress?

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PamC
Navigator

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171 Posts

Response Posted - 09/15/2005 : 00:16:30

My vote goes to the eggcrates. But I have air mattress issues that go back to the things I used as a kid camping. You know the ones with the tubes & pillows. I would always end up rolling off of the darn things, or they would spring a leak, and they were squeeky. I know the new ones are much nicer. But I only had to cut my eggcrates once, didn't have to blow them up, and they don't make noises that raise eyebrows. Did I mention that they are cheap?

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ronrryan
Admiral

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USA
561 Posts

Response Posted - 09/15/2005 : 20:44:39

Eggcrates and closed cell foam camp pads are both good under the regular foam cushions. I weigh--well--ahem--over 250--and the regular pads are nice for about half an hour, then they bottom out. God bless a goood nites sleep, ron srsk Orion SW FL

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Frank Hopper
Past Commodore

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Pitcairn Island
6776 Posts

Response Posted - 09/16/2005 : 07:40:09

I am 300lb and cuter than a bug's ear! As I have mentioned before, I use an oversized fairly heavy sleeping bag with two tempur-pedic mattress toppers from SAM'S inside it, I then put a fitted twin sheet over the entire thing. I do not use the factory cushions at all. This "mattress" fits very well except for the aft most outside corner which has to go up the hull a bit. I may trim the pads this winter if I can get up the courage to cut them. I have some friends with an ODay 27, they just had a custom mattress made for their V-berth. It is so tall they are having trouble getting in and rolling over.

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