Recommendation for "mattress in a box"
- Thread starter spadaforaj
- Start date
We got on once for a temporary bedroom. Worked fine, comfortable.
Condensation. Many of these are memory foam, and every night when you sleep, moisture needs to go through the mattress and evaporate from the underside. But it can't because the mattress is on fiberglass. Even at home, people can have problems with mold on the underside.
Consider your ventilation options. Was the original mattress wrapped in a waterproof cover? Ventilation under the bed?
I don't have any experience using it on boats but I can highly recommend the Linen Spa brand on amazon.
We use Hypervent under the V-berth. After spending close to 2 years living aboard never had a condensation problem under the mattress, even when condensation was dripping off the hatches.
I think you have to template the area and cut the memory foam in your shop or garage/living room. They don’t cut very easily if you want even edges. There are probably specialized tools. Remember that the space is 3 dimensional and the cuts will need to be too.
We did this with open cell foam, which is different than memory foam, to create an athwartships bunk in the cabin or our Ranger 29 and Mark 25. It was very much more comfortable to sleep on than the OEM cushions. In the athwartship situation our body weight was primarily on the foam and only our heads and feet were on the settee cushions.
basically a good upgrade.
We did this with open cell foam, which is different than memory foam, to create an athwartships bunk in the cabin or our Ranger 29 and Mark 25. It was very much more comfortable to sleep on than the OEM cushions. In the athwartship situation our body weight was primarily on the foam and only our heads and feet were on the settee cushions.
basically a good upgrade.
Memory foam can be cut with an electric knife or an expensive foam cutting tool from Sailrite.com. These knives will give you a clean cut, cutting with regular knives or scissors will be jagged.
It helps to understand HOW water accumulates on the underside of the mattress. As @thinwater points out, once the moisture goes through the mattress, it can't evaporate. No air movement. The FG surface under the mattress is impermeable. The only solution is to stop the sweat from entering through the top of the mattress.
See post #7.
Just remember when working on this, you sweat in tremendous blobs. Your wife only glows. And don't forget it
.
Now, now Ralph, the proper terms are:It helps to understand HOW water accumulates on the underside of the mattress. As @thinwater points out, once the moisture goes through the mattress, it can't evaporate. No air movement. The FG surface under the mattress is impermeable. The only solution is to stop the sweat from entering through the top of the mattress.
See post #7.
Just remember when working on this, you sweat in tremendous blobs. Your wife only glows. And don't forget it
"Horses sweat, men perspire, and women are aglow"....
dj
I did my double quarterberth with SailRite extra firm premium. It is a bit too firm for sleeping on. I later did the V-berth with 3 in of firm with 1 in of medium on top. This is pretty good. SailRite also had a lot of instructions.
Sailrite
Discover top-quality fabric, leather, sewing machines, and more at our one-stop shop. From notions to hardware, we provide everything you need for your crafting projects. Explore our extensive selection of pillows, webbing, adhesive, and beyond to bring your creative vision to life. Shop now for...
www.sailrite.com
My cushions come with some of that white stuffing wrapped around foam. It's a great combination. Comfortable, yet supportive
jssailem
SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
- Oct 22, 2014
- 24,453
I have foam in my V-Berth. As @thinwater and @Ralph Johnstone identify, moisture from sweat, body heat near a cold surface, etc., is your enemy. In the link Ralph provided, I show in post #2 an underlayment that helped resolve my moisture problem. I cover the V-Berth deck with the HyperVent and make sure there is about an inch from the mattress to the walls of the hull so that air can get beneath the mattress.
I bought a 6" latex from The Foam Factory and used hypervent I bought through Defender. Three seasons and we love it but it's really heavy to move around.
www.thefoamfactory.com
The Foam Factory, Pillows and Cushions, Lower Body
www.thefoamfactory.com
I went with two 3" Talalay Latex toppers from SleepEZ. The reason for two toppers instead of a single mattress was to make it easier to wrestle them around on the boat. One medium, one firm in case we needed to adjust. In theory you can vacuum pack and return to swap to a different one but I knew from the big SleepEZ at home that it would be far too much of an effort for me to ever try and get the 'mattress back into the box'. Plus shipping, etc. This solution worked well.
This was for the aft cabin in a Hunter 41DS. The bed platform other than a small inclined rise in one corner is basically USA Queen size so I don't have any experience with cutting. Original mattress was a 4" box spring, and we had a 2" futon topper on it for quite a few years as well. The original 4" had one corner slightly trimmed underneath for that boat corner, but we would rotate the mattress anyway.
If you plan to keep the boat for some years, I would go with latex vs. memory foam. It is also my understanding that Latex is more fungus/mold resistant than memory foam, and Talalay Latex even a bit more. There is hypervent under the mattress as well which I strongly recommend.
I think SleepEZ also has a sister company that is more of a discount store - exact same blocks of latex, just more of a do-it-yourself type outlet which is probably what you want if you need to cut anyway.
For cutting - check sail rite online, and if you buy a tool from there, you can call or chat and they have great support and can provide some pointers and tips & tricks about how to do it.
Side note - don't forget to mark off the benefits for yourself (your back, good sleep, etc) in addition to the marriage
Life is short and we spend a good chunk of sleeping already. A good quality mattress is expensive but you spend 1/3rd of your life there!
EDIT: Also SleepEZ customer support was great. I had to change my order, they followed up in person to confirm things, seemed knowledgeable about their business, etc.
EDIT2: I asked Gemini AI, it said this: Talalay latex is vastly superior to memory foam at resisting mold. While memory foam is highly susceptible to mold growth, Talalay latex actively prevents it.
Even with the hypervent, a boat is a boat. Anything to stay ahead of the curve on preventing mold is worth it my book. I am also a liveaboard in the rainy/soggy PacificNW.
This was for the aft cabin in a Hunter 41DS. The bed platform other than a small inclined rise in one corner is basically USA Queen size so I don't have any experience with cutting. Original mattress was a 4" box spring, and we had a 2" futon topper on it for quite a few years as well. The original 4" had one corner slightly trimmed underneath for that boat corner, but we would rotate the mattress anyway.
If you plan to keep the boat for some years, I would go with latex vs. memory foam. It is also my understanding that Latex is more fungus/mold resistant than memory foam, and Talalay Latex even a bit more. There is hypervent under the mattress as well which I strongly recommend.
I think SleepEZ also has a sister company that is more of a discount store - exact same blocks of latex, just more of a do-it-yourself type outlet which is probably what you want if you need to cut anyway.
For cutting - check sail rite online, and if you buy a tool from there, you can call or chat and they have great support and can provide some pointers and tips & tricks about how to do it.
Side note - don't forget to mark off the benefits for yourself (your back, good sleep, etc) in addition to the marriage
Life is short and we spend a good chunk of sleeping already. A good quality mattress is expensive but you spend 1/3rd of your life there!
EDIT: Also SleepEZ customer support was great. I had to change my order, they followed up in person to confirm things, seemed knowledgeable about their business, etc.
EDIT2: I asked Gemini AI, it said this: Talalay latex is vastly superior to memory foam at resisting mold. While memory foam is highly susceptible to mold growth, Talalay latex actively prevents it.
Even with the hypervent, a boat is a boat. Anything to stay ahead of the curve on preventing mold is worth it my book. I am also a liveaboard in the rainy/soggy PacificNW.
Last edited: