Adding a Pilot Berth to Beneteau First 47.7

[okolehao]

Has anyone successfully ripped out the salon cabinets on a Beneteau First 47.7 and built pilots berths on the Beneteau First 47.7? Or has anyone managed to build some pipe berths in the aft cabins? I used to own a old 80s Beneteau First 38 that had pilot berths and aft pipe berths for night sailing, and really miss them. There simply was not as an effective STORAGE and SLEEPING arrangement as those pilot berths, which let me throw sails and people out of the main cabin when sailing at night.

Looking at the job, it looks like the chain plates narrow slightly around the feet which may still wide enough for a berth. I need to reroute the water filling hose and rip the wood cabinets.

In the aft cabins, I think some of cabinets can be removed and a pipe berth mounting brackets may be glassed into the hull.

Would love to see if anyone has done it before.

thanks in advance

 

[SG]

Wouldn't you be better trying to set-up lee clothes do you could divide the two doubles into four total?

 

[okolehao]

It's already been done to my boat. We have double lee cloths on the doubles. Not the same thing though, and doesn't work as well.

I guess the best rationale is: http://sailingmagazine.net/article-789-you-just-can’t-get-the-security-of-a-pilot-berth-anymore.html

 

[SG]

It doesn't look to me like you really don't have the headroom.

I set-up the lee clothes in both of my aft cabins -- execpt I didn't want to mess up my eeiling by cutting up the liner to get to something that would attach the lee cloths. Having said that, those aft cabins are really sweet in a snotty seaway :^)))

But we have mid cabin, port pilot berth. (there would have been one on the starborad side, but every owner seemed to convert that to storage, etc.