We're currently the owners of a H33 and are considering moving up to a Hunter 38. I am the one who sleeps aft on our current boat and would really prefer being done with that. I have seen a H38 where the aft berth was made into a King by way of adding filler cushions all around. Has anyone with a H38 given some thought on rearranging the mattress so as to move the berth the other way? I believe the headboard could be repositioned and secured in front of the engine box (there is 23 inches between the bed and the engine box, on paper it looks feasable) and the bed platform extended. Both people would then be able to exit the berth from their respective side. This could be a temporary set up.
Interesting concept. Haven't seen anything like it but there are some considerations as you think about this.
- the vent for the aft air conditioner is in the forward facing panel of the berth towards the port side and is right about where this extension you are talking about would go.
- the drive shaft, coupling and stuffing box is right where this extension would go. So you’d be complicating your ability to get to it for inspections or in the event of an emergency.
- the rear of the engine is there and is covered by what amounts to a small vanity counter. It lifts off to access the fuel filter, the built in fire suppression system, the transmission and and any other service points on the back of the engine. Blocking that would complicate access. Checking transmission fluid level would be complicated. Plus the vanity height is much taller than the berth so you’d have to deal with that somehow.
- we frequently use that walk through area and you’d be cutting that off. That means the person sleeping on the port side of the berth would have to go through the head to exit the aft cabin. And the person sleeping on the starboard side would have to go through the galley to access the head.
Not totally related to your topic but I did have a new mattress built to replace the factory original. Had a custom design made. Essentially had the mattress made in two sections with the seam running athwarthship down the middle. The reason was to make it easier to access the air conditioner that is under the bed, to make it easier to access the muffler which is under the bed next to the air conditioner (draining the muffler for winterization was a real pain while trying to balance the mattress on my head). The new mattress has a zipper that runs the full length of the mattress. They sewed a flap on one half of the mattress and it spans the seam / zipper so you can’t feel it when you sleep. Fastens down with Velcro.
To get under now I can open the zipper and put one half on top of the other. Access is much easier.