Room to Sleep

[Terri Page]

Has anyone over six feet tall figured out a good way to sleep on a CD25?



wiglintoes@aol.com

[Ed Haley]

When I'm not on watch on a rough sail, I place a regular sleeping pad between the berths in the main cabin of my CD28 and crawl in my sleeping bag there. All the rolling and tacking can go on and I won't move that far from side to side. Since I'm 6'3" I occasionally sleep there when anchored so I can stretch. Maybe you can try that!

[Carl Forsberg]

I had a Cape Dory 25 in which I finally sacrificed the starboard shelf and counter (all one piece) to make a reasonable berth. My problem was cramped size 12 feet under the counter and a V berth not permitting me to raise my knees sufficiently. With the shelf and counter removed and stored for the next buyer, I ended up with a pretty comfortable bunk sleeping with head toward the companionway. I even added a book shelf over my head. Cooking was done on the bridge deck.



Forsberg2@juno.com

[Frank Fitch]

Has anyone over six feet tall figured out a good way to sleep on a CD25?

My wife and I bought a CD25 last spring. I'm 6'-0" and 205 lbs. While the port and starboard berths are amply long (head forward - feet aft), the clearance between the berth cushion and the underside of the shelf is not enough for me to comfortably roll over. The port side berth with the sink and its plumbing is even less comfortable. Additionally, the berths are too narrow for comfort at the shoulder, due to the encroachment of the shelf on sleeping space.

Our boat's former owner had added a removable plywood board with cushion that would fit in the space between the port and starboard berths. This effectively allows two to sleep perpendicular to the bow-stern centerline if desired (would work much better for those 5'8" or less) or for two to sleep in a pseudo-vee with heads together near the bulkhead door opening and with feet under the shelves (legs far enough out from under the shelves for comfortable rollovers -- human rollover that is, not boat). This setup also works well for one person sleeping diagonally.

The downside on our boat is that our foam cushions are old and permanently compressed and the wooden lips on the edges of both settees cut into one's back --- imagine sleeping on railroad tracks --- very uncomfortable. We have tried foam pipe insulation over the lips, with so-so success. Bottom-line, we're still not comfortable.

Plans for next year, to improve the sleeping comfort are to replace the old cushion foam with new "denser" four inch thick foam. This will hopefully keep our bodies above the railroad tracks. Also, we're considering the possible removal of the undersink plumbing, maybe even the sink itself --- we never used it last year. The water tank under the vee berth could possibly be removed and that space converted into storage for sleeping bags, pillows, etc. We never filled the water tank, so I can not comment on the impact of a full vs. empty water tank on sailing performance.

Drop us an email next May and we'll let you know how it went. Frank



us003558@mindspring.com