Hi, considering a H23.5 and would like owners realistic thoughts on the sleeping arrangements. Can two comfortably sleep in the v-birth? Is it long enough? Can an adult sleep on the starbord setee? Just how difficult is it to get into the aft birth? In the pictures it looks very tight. thanks James
H23.5 sleeping arrangements
- Thread starter jbreland
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Comfortable, relatively speaking
James, I own a 1994 23.5 and have slept on it with my wife and two children numerous times comfortably (my wife and I slept on it for a week a cople summers ago). However, I must state that I am only 5'9" 160 lbs and my wife is only 5'2" and 108 lbs soaking wet, so my opinion may not be the same as someone elses. My wife and I have slept in the vee birth comfortably as well as the aft birth under the cockpit. To be quite honest I prefer the aft birth which is as big as a queen size bed (queen sheets fit quite well). The sleeping arrangements is one of many reasons why I bought a 23.5. With regards to the stbd. settee, I think it would be a little difficult to get a good night's sleep there since it is a little narrow. But the previous owner of my boat said he usually slept there. It is a very roomy boat for its size. Good luck in your decision. I didn't regret buying a 23.5. Jonathan Costello Heeling Powers
James, I own a 1994 23.5 and have slept on it with my wife and two children numerous times comfortably (my wife and I slept on it for a week a cople summers ago). However, I must state that I am only 5'9" 160 lbs and my wife is only 5'2" and 108 lbs soaking wet, so my opinion may not be the same as someone elses. My wife and I have slept in the vee birth comfortably as well as the aft birth under the cockpit. To be quite honest I prefer the aft birth which is as big as a queen size bed (queen sheets fit quite well). The sleeping arrangements is one of many reasons why I bought a 23.5. With regards to the stbd. settee, I think it would be a little difficult to get a good night's sleep there since it is a little narrow. But the previous owner of my boat said he usually slept there. It is a very roomy boat for its size. Good luck in your decision. I didn't regret buying a 23.5. Jonathan Costello Heeling Powers
I'm in the process of making a few changes
My wife is claustrophobic so sleeping in the aft berth is out of the question. We like having access to the head at night, so sleeping in the V-berth is not practical. So, I'm building filler panels w/cushions to fit between the settee's in the main salon. This will make another queen bed in the middle under the hatch and pop top. Plan is to leave the rear cushions at home and store the new middle cushions under the cockpit until needed. Also building a half wall with stained glass panels to enclose the head. Expect to have the mods done by the start of the Sailing Season in October. Compared to my old Precision 165..this thing is huge inside.
My wife is claustrophobic so sleeping in the aft berth is out of the question. We like having access to the head at night, so sleeping in the V-berth is not practical. So, I'm building filler panels w/cushions to fit between the settee's in the main salon. This will make another queen bed in the middle under the hatch and pop top. Plan is to leave the rear cushions at home and store the new middle cushions under the cockpit until needed. Also building a half wall with stained glass panels to enclose the head. Expect to have the mods done by the start of the Sailing Season in October. Compared to my old Precision 165..this thing is huge inside.
Portapotty issue
We previously owned a 1995 H23.5, and we always used the aft berth, if you want to use the forward v-berth you must relocate the portapotty for the night, as it is under the v-berth. No problem, if you can go the night without requiring its function. The aft berth is roomy enough, just awkward getting in and out. We never overnighted with anyone else onboard.
We previously owned a 1995 H23.5, and we always used the aft berth, if you want to use the forward v-berth you must relocate the portapotty for the night, as it is under the v-berth. No problem, if you can go the night without requiring its function. The aft berth is roomy enough, just awkward getting in and out. We never overnighted with anyone else onboard.
H240 Aft berth
I'm a big guy (6'2" and 285 lbs) and have no problems in the aft berth. My wife and I find it quite comfy. I'm in the outermost position for the inevitable middle of the night potty run. We usually anchor out so I generally go overboard. I've slept in the V berth solo when it gets really hot out. The aft berth doesn't get much airflow. The V berth is a bit short for me and I couldn't see more than one adult up there. One accesory to buy ASAP is a Breeze Booster to funnel more air into the cabin at night.
I'm a big guy (6'2" and 285 lbs) and have no problems in the aft berth. My wife and I find it quite comfy. I'm in the outermost position for the inevitable middle of the night potty run. We usually anchor out so I generally go overboard. I've slept in the V berth solo when it gets really hot out. The aft berth doesn't get much airflow. The V berth is a bit short for me and I couldn't see more than one adult up there. One accesory to buy ASAP is a Breeze Booster to funnel more air into the cabin at night.
Family of 5 and a dog sleep very well in our 23.5
Granted three of the five are children, but we all sleep very well. My oldest (10yr old) sleeps in the V berth, and our 6yr old and 3yr old sleep on both settee's. We tried having our 6yr old in with the 10yr old in the V berth, but we heard too much of the "He's touching me", so we changed their sleeping configuration. The 50lb yellow lab is on the sole of the cabin during stormy weather, otherwise we try to have her sleep outside on the sole of the cockpit when we can. Just for a little extra room. However in stormy weather, it still isn’t too bad. My wife and I sleep in the aft berth with no problems. Being the bigger one of the two, I sleep on the starboard side, while she gets the tighter, more claustrophobic side. She does OK with it, and unless she needs to get up to use the rest room in the middle of the night we sleep soundly. Speaking of the facilities, we have yet to anchor out at night with our 23.5. We keep her in the slip so using the rest room is a two minute walk down the finger to the modern facilities. Since my wife tends to be the one that has to get up the most at night, if we ever anchored out in a cove, I guess we would need to move the head to the cockpit for her, otherwise the guys would just go off the swim ladder. Finally, KenKindy1 mentioned the airflow issue. There is virtually none going through the aft berth, so some air flow considerations should be made. We purchased the hatchway screen (found here on this site) and they are wonderful. They keep everything out and cools off the cabin down to a comfortable 70 degrees or so. We sail in a lake that gets up to over 100 degrees easy during the day, so cooling off at night is great. There have been times that my wife sleeps under the covers and comforter to stay warm. Good luck and happy sailing!
Granted three of the five are children, but we all sleep very well. My oldest (10yr old) sleeps in the V berth, and our 6yr old and 3yr old sleep on both settee's. We tried having our 6yr old in with the 10yr old in the V berth, but we heard too much of the "He's touching me", so we changed their sleeping configuration. The 50lb yellow lab is on the sole of the cabin during stormy weather, otherwise we try to have her sleep outside on the sole of the cockpit when we can. Just for a little extra room. However in stormy weather, it still isn’t too bad. My wife and I sleep in the aft berth with no problems. Being the bigger one of the two, I sleep on the starboard side, while she gets the tighter, more claustrophobic side. She does OK with it, and unless she needs to get up to use the rest room in the middle of the night we sleep soundly. Speaking of the facilities, we have yet to anchor out at night with our 23.5. We keep her in the slip so using the rest room is a two minute walk down the finger to the modern facilities. Since my wife tends to be the one that has to get up the most at night, if we ever anchored out in a cove, I guess we would need to move the head to the cockpit for her, otherwise the guys would just go off the swim ladder. Finally, KenKindy1 mentioned the airflow issue. There is virtually none going through the aft berth, so some air flow considerations should be made. We purchased the hatchway screen (found here on this site) and they are wonderful. They keep everything out and cools off the cabin down to a comfortable 70 degrees or so. We sail in a lake that gets up to over 100 degrees easy during the day, so cooling off at night is great. There have been times that my wife sleeps under the covers and comforter to stay warm. Good luck and happy sailing!
Depends on how you sleep; Aft a bit stuffy
We FINALLY got the keel wet this past weekend on our new-to-us '93 23.5, Grasshopper. Hooray!!! The kids love to "camp out" when she's on the trailer, so we had a few nights "onboard" prior to sleeping truly onboard this weekend. For me, about 6', the v-berth was fine, but the aft berth was difficult. I tend to rollover frequently in the night. My wife claimed the starboard side, so I had trouble with my hips hitting the underside of the cockpit. This past weekend I was in the v-berth & I loved having the hatch open with the screens in the companionway. Had a nice breeze. We have a hatch screen to keep the bugs down, a netting which conforms to the hatch weighted down with chains on the perimeter. Initially, our kids (12-year old boy, 9-year-old girl) were fine in the aft berth, but it got a little stuffy, so my daughter bailed first & claimed the starboard settee. When my son bailed, only port was left (pardon the pun) & he was too large. He whined enough that my wife let him use the v-berth with me & she used the aft berth, in which she slept very well. My daughter had left her sleeping bag in the aft berth & eventually went back there because she was now cold (!) and slept fine the rest of the night. The one thing we'll use next time is a small 12VDC fan to keep the air moving in the aft berth.
We FINALLY got the keel wet this past weekend on our new-to-us '93 23.5, Grasshopper. Hooray!!! The kids love to "camp out" when she's on the trailer, so we had a few nights "onboard" prior to sleeping truly onboard this weekend. For me, about 6', the v-berth was fine, but the aft berth was difficult. I tend to rollover frequently in the night. My wife claimed the starboard side, so I had trouble with my hips hitting the underside of the cockpit. This past weekend I was in the v-berth & I loved having the hatch open with the screens in the companionway. Had a nice breeze. We have a hatch screen to keep the bugs down, a netting which conforms to the hatch weighted down with chains on the perimeter. Initially, our kids (12-year old boy, 9-year-old girl) were fine in the aft berth, but it got a little stuffy, so my daughter bailed first & claimed the starboard settee. When my son bailed, only port was left (pardon the pun) & he was too large. He whined enough that my wife let him use the v-berth with me & she used the aft berth, in which she slept very well. My daughter had left her sleeping bag in the aft berth & eventually went back there because she was now cold (!) and slept fine the rest of the night. The one thing we'll use next time is a small 12VDC fan to keep the air moving in the aft berth.
Aft Berth Air
I purchased two small battery operated retangular folding fans that I secure(removable and relocatable) with a high strength 3-M velcro tape available at most marine stores. I place them on the high ceiling sides of the berth. The fans angle and speed can be adjusted, and the 4 D batteries last in excess of 200 hours before requiring replacement. With or without the rear berth hatch open, they do a great job of keeping air in the berth cool an comfortable, even in the hot muggy nights of coastal Georgia.
I purchased two small battery operated retangular folding fans that I secure(removable and relocatable) with a high strength 3-M velcro tape available at most marine stores. I place them on the high ceiling sides of the berth. The fans angle and speed can be adjusted, and the 4 D batteries last in excess of 200 hours before requiring replacement. With or without the rear berth hatch open, they do a great job of keeping air in the berth cool an comfortable, even in the hot muggy nights of coastal Georgia.
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