Is your V small

Feb 14, 2007
166
Ranger33 25 NewOrleans
So im going to be a live aboard someday and have had visions of sleeping in the v berth . but every boat I look at has small v berths. do they just look small because of the v shape, are you not suppose to sleep up front , is it not as comfortable so they don't make them longer or what's the deal. most boats I have looked at are right around 27-30 foot. even looked at a 40 foot and a 36 foot and they also had small v berths. Also wile cruising how do you deal with sleep wile out in the blue. sure if you are traveling with other people on the boat you can schedule times for everyone to sail the boat but what about the single handers.
 
May 23, 2004
3,319
I'm in the market as were . Colonial Beach
I thought that the V in my Catalina 30 was okay sized. The V in my uncle's Catalina 34 is pretty big.

Take a look at other boats because the V is bigger or smaller depending on the boat. When looking for boats see and visit a lot of different boats. Get a feel for them. Climb into the V and see how if feels. Look at the ventilation.

I have no blue-water experience. That being said, most of the blue water sailors that I have talked with tend to sleep in the cockpit for short cat-naps at night.

Really figure out where you want to sail to and what your sailing goals really are. If you are going to do the ICW/Bahamas thing you may not need a bluewater boat. If you are going to be a world cruiser then you do.
 
Mar 1, 2012
2,182
1961 Rhodes Meridian 25 Texas coast
On my boat the anchor locker is further aft, so the end of the V is wider. The entire berth at the head is 4 feet wide, and straight sided for about 3 feet, then the taper starts. Length is 6'6" Slept there with two people for 3 years.

On the single handing. When I'm off shore and singlehand, I set a timer for 20 minutes. Wake up, check horizon, check sails and course, reset timer and go back to sleep. After a while it becomes very easy. Many long distance sailors use the technique


Mind you, this would only happen in areas with little shipping, such as crossing the "armpit" of Florida. Sailing around the southern end of the keys, or crossing say the Galveston ship channel, or the entrance to the Chesapeake, you better stay awake
 
Oct 24, 2010
2,405
Hunter 30 Everett, WA
Do you mean for two people or for one. I'm 5'11" and I haven't found a V birth I can't sleep in, but when you add the Admiral, we don't sleep there. Not enough foot room. It then becomes a storage area.
Ken
 
Jun 19, 2004
512
Catalina 387 Hull # 24 Port Charlotte, Florida
V Berth Size

I think ours is fairly roomy for the two of us although we use the Captain's Cabin mostly since everything is stowed there that we use
 

Gunni

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Mar 16, 2010
5,937
Beneteau 411 Oceanis Annapolis
I have never been able to sleep in a vee berth while underway. Too much motion. So I selected a boat without one. You will need a bunk further aft, many of the older designs have them and call them pilot berths. You can make a passable berth in the saloon with a lee cloth. And you are right, while on passage you can adopt a hot-bunking schedule and share the comfortable berth.
 
Mar 1, 2012
2,182
1961 Rhodes Meridian 25 Texas coast
I have never been able to sleep in a vee berth while underway. Too much motion. So I selected a boat without one. You will need a bunk further aft, many of the older designs have them and call them pilot berths. You can make a passable berth in the saloon with a lee cloth. And you are right, while on passage you can adopt a hot-bunking schedule and share the comfortable berth.

Yep- looks kinda like this
 

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Jun 9, 2004
615
Catalina 385 Marquette. Mi
Now, now Stu. That's not true. The C310 and C350 have bigger V berths. But then again they are not true V berths because you can walk around them and don't have to do any acrobatics to get into them.
But!.............look at the actual size of the cushions. I find my C-22 vee berth was roomier than my C-385. Although the actual cabin much larger.
 
Oct 2, 2006
1,517
Jboat J24 commack
My J24 had a bigger V that the Cal 29 as they use a bunch of space for the anchor rode
 
Sep 27, 2008
80
Grampian 26 26 Penetang,Ontario
The V berth in the Grampian 26 is huge compared to the overall size of the boat,but with a 6" foam pad a degree in acrobatics is required to enter or exit.
 

KZW

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May 17, 2014
831
Catalina 310 #307 Bluewater Bay, FL
Regarding single handing on passages, you may find this interesting. My preference would be for some company. I don't do well in sleep denial situations.
 

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Feb 14, 2007
166
Ranger33 25 NewOrleans
I am 5' 8" I will have to walk around the docks and look for boats like yalls and check them out. the last boat I looked at was a union 36 and the vberth was smaller than my magregor 25.
 
Feb 26, 2004
22,760
Catalina 34 224 Maple Bay, BC, Canada
Now, now Stu. That's not true.

The C310 and C350 have bigger V berths. But then again they are not true V berths because you can walk around them and don't have to do any acrobatics to get into them.
\\


well put, he may not have been aware of these newer boats
 
Apr 8, 2010
1,942
Ericson Yachts Olson 34 28400 Portland OR
Stretching out comfortably

So im going to be a live aboard someday and have had visions of sleeping in the v berth . but every boat I look at has small v berths. do they just look small because of the v shape, are you not suppose to sleep up front , is it not as comfortable so they don't make them longer or what's the deal. most boats I have looked at are right around 27-30 foot. even looked at a 40 foot and a 36 foot and they also had small v berths. Also wile cruising how do you deal with sleep wile out in the blue. sure if you are traveling with other people on the boat you can schedule times for everyone to sail the boat but what about the single handers.
I have done quite a few deliveries over the decades and some boats really have great V berth accommodations that suit me and I am 6'2".
The thing is, the examples that I can cite are a mighty small "sample"...
And the bigger problem is that you can only really know what you are considering when you know the actual (!) measurements.
A while back we started a thread on the Ericson site where owners were encouraged to post up real feet-and-inches for the various sleeping areas on their model of boat.

So, here are the large V berths I have lounged around in with (plenty of) room to spare:
My own boat, the Olson 34, an Ericson 38, and a Willard 9 Ton (aka Willard 30 cutter).
There are probably lots of other good choices out there.

FWIW, I always use a pillow and hate any berth that lets it fall off the edge of the V berth. :)
Happy shopping!

Loren
 
Mar 1, 2012
2,182
1961 Rhodes Meridian 25 Texas coast
Regarding single handing on passages, you may find this interesting. My preference would be for some company. I don't do well in sleep denial situations.
:) Mine also. I only single hand overnight when I don't have a companion. MUCH prefer company:)

And really, I found the 20 minute deal to give plenty of sleep, for several days anyway. Longest I've used it was over a 3 days stretch, crossing the GOM

From what I've read about long distance sailing, more at a stretch is bad, because you get into a deeper sleep and wake groggy, and less is bad because you simply don't get enough. Most use the 20 minute time. Or at least most I've talked to or read about. Including several single hand circumnavigaters ( I'm for sure NOT one of those)
 
Nov 23, 2009
437
Beneteau Oceanis 361 Clipper --
The V birth of my Beneteau 361 is perfect for one person (even for me at 1.88m tall; I think that's 6.3ft) and OK for two persons.
 
Nov 18, 2010
2,441
Catalina 310 Hingham, MA
But!.............look at the actual size of the cushions. I find my C-22 vee berth was roomier than my C-385. Although the actual cabin much larger.
What cushions? We have an innerspring mattress.

On a Catalina above 36 the master berth is generally the stern berth. On the C385 the V is kind of setup for guests or kids or storage.
 
Jun 9, 2004
615
Catalina 385 Marquette. Mi
What cushions? We have an innerspring mattress. On a Catalina above 36 the master berth is generally the stern berth. On the C385 the V is kind of setup for guests or kids or storage.
. Yes, they are MATTRESSES on the newer Cats. You are correct....I misspoke. But most definitely the masters on the 385, 445 (and maybe the 355) are the fwd cabins. These are the "5" series boats. Ps.... i am 6'2. :).
 

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