V berth sheet size

[KittyB]

Hi, all,

Excuse the monumental ignorance and appreciate any and all thoughts. We are new owners of a 1984 C30, but haven't stepped foot aboard it yet. We inspected from afar and will go to Seattle in the next couple of weeks to take possession. I'm trying to make some preparations for moving aboard for the summer and don't know what sheet size would come closest to fitting the V-berth. I realize nothing will fit it exactly, and am expecting that either queen or full sheets will come closest - with adjustments, obviously. I just need to know which size to start with, and many thanks for your help. The exact dimensions of the V-berth cushions overall would be the holy grail!

Cheers,
Kitty

 

[PrincessoftheLake]

Kitty-
I have no idea of the Vberth dimensions but I would go with queen size because I would rather have too big than too small, you know? If you have a fitted sheet use that on the on the cushion and the flat sheet on top. If you don't have a fitted sheet just use another flat one on the bottom. It just won't make any difference I don't think. Good luck and congratulations on your purchase!

 

[LuzSD]

There were posts about this recently and I know there have been previous conversations before that so I went to the SEARCH above and put in V Berth Bedding and many posts came up. Check those out and see if you get some answers.
As you will probably see, we have same boat 1988, and my solution is to use quilted comforters on the bottom instead of sheets. We use a synthetic down lightweight blanket over us, and add a heavier quilt on top of that if needed. It works great and laundering the quilt is easy and maintaining a tight bottom layer is even easier. Sheets seem like a nightmare to me because they would never stay tight. Personal preference.
Alot of our discussion recently was about what to put on top of the V Berth cushions and many of us have been really happy with adding a Novafoam topper. I bought a full one and should have gotten a queen instead. You must cut it down no matter what size and the queen would have been easier. They are really clumsy to move around so be prepared and don't choose a warm day to set this all up if you can help it!!!
Once you know what you are leaning towards, I'm sure you can get specific details from this site, an probably much much more

 

[SVCarolena]

I don't know the dimensions of your vberth, but our Pearson 303 is about the same size boat and we needed kings to fit the widest part of the berth. We have a fitted on the bottom where the corners fit perfectly over the wide end, then we just tuck the rest under. We also have a flat king sheet for the top. Personally, I can't imagine sleeping well on the boat without nice sheets. We also bought a kingsized 2 in. Serta memory foam topper from overstock.com. We pulled out the cushions, laid out the foam in the clubhouse, and used the cushions to trace out where we needed to cut. What a difference! It is now almost more comfortable than our bed at home, and an added benefit is with the foam we don't even notice where the port and starboard cushions come together. Some people suggest 3 or even 4 in. foam, but we found the 2in. is more than enough.

 

[KittyB]

Thanks, all, for the help. LuzSD, I did read the forums and saw your post about quilts. Very interesting. Also had seen all the info about toppers, which I'm sure we'll do because it got so many thumbs up. I just hadn't seen anyone saying which standard sized sheets came closest to fitting.

 

[BillyK]

did you have the boat surveyed? i'm nervous for you as to what you'll find when you do finally step aboard... you might be worrying a lot less about the size of a sheet and more about an engine issue or the mast step in the bilge..

 

[LuzSD]

Kitty, I see that the post above your latest one by SVCarolena, much prefers sheets and said King was the size needed. I would agree with that because they must be large enough to cover well otherwise you are fighting with them all the time. I thought their way of doing it all was brilliant....they took the cushions off the boat, went inside their club and probably customized the sheets or at least did a runthrough as to how everything fit best. They definitely made the cutting of the topper easier that way....... but carrying the opened package back into the boat is not easy (it comes compressed and easy to maneuver but once open look out!! That said, I still would do it the way they did if you have the ability somewhere close to your boat.

Our use of quilts works so well for us, it also looks really great when we aren't in it! There are so many beautiful, inexpensive quilts around now. Good luck, enjoy getting just what you want, it is one of the things that either draws you to your boat or makes you dread overnights.

 

[LuzSD]

under a black cloud ....

did you have the boat surveyed? i'm nervous for you as to what you'll find when you do finally step aboard... you might be worrying a lot less about the size of a sheet and more about an engine issue or the mast step in the bilge..

gosh, where did that come from Wouldn't we all assume they'll do a boat survey before things are final........ but making a comfortable bed is one question they have and can start getting prepared about. Geezzzz Billy, don't rain on their parade.........

 

[Stu Jackson]

One option for you to consider: they do sell sheets in Seattle, I'm sure of it because of that Tom Hanks' movie, right? So you could wait until you get there to buy the sheets, rough it for a night with whatever cover you plan to use, or bring sleeping bags from home, put them in the car after you've purchased the sheets.

Another simple option: get the C30 brochure out and scale the size of the V berth from the dimensions of the rest of the boat.

Good luck, and congratulations on your new boat.

 

[BillyK]

gosh, where did that come from Wouldn't we all assume they'll do a boat survey before things are final........ but making a comfortable bed is one question they have and can start getting prepared about. Geezzzz Billy, don't rain on their parade.........

i know.. shame on me..

to answer the question.. we just used a full sized bed sheet in the v birth and it tucked in just fine i think there was a small section at the end of the v that wasnt covered.. so a towel went there.. not that it was needed really.

 

[jrowan]

Sorry, but I have to completely agree with BillyK - I can't even imagine buying an almost 30 year old sailboat without visually inspecting it with my own eyes first. We all know just how many potential pitfalls there are with the C 30, or any boat of this vintage. I quote "we haven't stepped foot aboard it yet." This is unbelievable to me.
I work as a building inspector and spent 8 hours coming through my C 30 & still managed to miss a few things, and I still hired a diesel mechanic to follow up behind me. I sure hope they hired a pro surveyor, or they may want to measure for lifejackets, or an inflatalbe dingy, instead of sheets. God forbid if they get a gusher on their hands. I speak from experience. My first boat ( A Catalina 25) I bought without surveying it, & came back to the dock a week after purchase to find 2 feet of water in the cabin. Not a welcome surprise. Good luck.

 

[LuzSD]

assuming the best or worst?

Maybe I am reading the OP incorrectly. I assumed that no one would actually purchase a boat without physically inspecting as jrowan describes...... I ASSUMED that this deal would only be completed upon their actual inspection......so, if that is not true and the boat was literally purchase, as in a check was written and delivered, then I completely agree.

That said, when making such an exciting purchase as this, one cannot help but start preparing the comforts aboard and the bed is a logical beginning. Now I will cross my fingers and hope we hear that of course they will do the inspection before handing over payment

 

[KittyB]

Yikes! Haven't been here in a couple of days and just noticed all the survey comments. Yes, it's been surveyed. We also have a son in Seattle who went aboard and checked everything for us as we talked to the owner via Skype on our son's iPhone from here in Florida. And, we are actually not newbies. We built our FL boat ourselves (a wooden boat) from the ground up and lived aboard and cruised for 10 years. My husband has worked on fiberglass boats, small and large (100' +) for many years. We have rebuilt a diesel engine, do all our own canvas work, all our own wood maintenance and repairs, rebuilt heads, installed electronics (including radar) ourselves on the FL boat -- the list goes on. There will undoubtedly be issues that need to be attended to on the new C30, but we're pretty sure we're equal to whatever comes our way. Thanks, though, for the many expressions of concern!

 

[LuzSD]

yep, my assumptions were validated, inteligence prevails. Glad to hear it.

 

[Bad Obsession]

My fitted sheet is a king size to fit the widest part of the berth. They work good.

 

[KittyB]

Thanks very much, Bad Obsession. Just what I was looking for!
Kitty

 

[Coriolisbc]

Thanks for the posts all, I was just wondering about this.