Quarter Berths, huh! What are they good for?

[Spyro]

On my previous boat we called ours the Coffin. Oh the joys of a Trapper 300

 

[seumask]

Echo one of the most sought after berths on our boat for the reason's given above.

 

[Internet Sailor]

The last time I slept in a quarter berth it took me about 5 minutes to get out...

Agility classes from a personal trainer perhaps?

I was a fan of quarter berths until earlier this year when I crewed on a Sadler 26. I'm not tall, fat, or old, but getting out of the thing was really tough. If I was the other side of 40 I would have been looking for a different berth, I reckon.

Boat yoga!

The brave thing to do is to create a cockpit locker out of the space, but it's a fairly big job to cut a massive hole in the boat and make sure it seals well.

Westerly used to offer a kit for installing a small cockpit locker in one of the berths. It was just big enough to really annoy the occupant, below, but not to prevent the berth being used. If I turn cowardly, I might try to track one down. Even that small gain in storage would be useful.

My I just say how smart the OP's Tiger looks?

I think the photo was from another vessel to illustrate proposal.

Sorry, John. Ash is right, it's a picture taken from a yacht brochure's site, although I do aspire to this level of finish. It actually shows a Centaur with the B layout, but I consider the idea is readily adaptable to the Tiger. Also note the folding seat that sits next to one of the asymmetric steps.

When I was a boy, our dogs loved the quarter-berth -

I have a boat dog in training, so this is a consideration!

If I stayed on board more often then I would buy a dehumidifier instead for those rainy nights when the hatches need to be kept shut.

Rupert, have you tried burning a handful of tea lights in a dish? Dylan Winter recommends this for both heating and condensation reduction. Not tried it myself, yet.

Ain't just quarter berths, most stern 'cabins' have the same problem. I asked on here some time ago, if a person went in head or feet first, since both raise problems with evacuating said berth.

Very good point about evacuation.

Do you actually need a "Dedicated Nav Station"?

Good question. I guess it's more of a 'want' than a 'need'. I like the idea and think it's all part of the fun. But I'm also inherently tidy-minded and hate the idea of having charts, or a laptop, or any other associated materials floating around on my lap, or on a clipboard, or cluttering the table (which I'd prefer to keep folded down when at sea). I'd like to just duck my head through the hatch or quickly nip below and find everything where I left it; for everything a place and everything in its place!

I also do a certain amount of freelance work online when time permits at a mooring, and it would be better to have somewhere to leave the laptop and notes, etc., laid out where I left them, mid-thought process, rather than having to pack it all away so I can use the table for other things during the day. So it's an office, too. A very small one!

This was also the case with my 26 ft trailer yacht! (GOP construction)
I decided to make it possible for 3 adults to be comfortable (or 4 if two of them wanted to share the foreberths.)

My 2016 winter project was conversion of one quarter berth to a cockpit locker using the link here as a guide.
http://atomvoyages.com/articles/improvement-projects/241-cockpitlocker-1.html

My thinking, exactly. When finished, the boat will sleep three normally, or four if there's a couple using the double created by the dinette in-fill. To hell with the idea of cramming six in there!

One of those berths is going to be one of the quarter berths, but the question is port or starboard? The starboard berth places the occupant's head right under the feet of whomever might be sleeping in the saloon, which is both potentially uncomfortable, awkward, and dangerous in the event of an evacuation, as alant noted. The portside berth separates the occupant from the saloon sleeper(s) but shares the portside with the galley. Thus, there is only about 2 feet of space in which to haul oneself in and out of the berth, which makes the problems that Kelpie and grumpy_o_g mentioned worse! I was thinking of putting a handrail over the entrance, but you still need to be fairly agile and strong to make use of it.

Nevertheless, the chart table is currently planned for the starboard side, in order to separate the sleeping arrangements, the idea being that either myself (as I do a bit of yoga) or the smallest/youngest guest will draw the short straw and get the portside quarter.

Thanks all for the replies.

 

[DoubleEnder]

I have 2settee berths and a quarter berth. The QB is the longest widest and safest of all but hard to get into and out of. I didn’t want to lose it completely, however, so I have a portable chart table that sits either at the head of the qb (most of the time) or on the galley opposite. The underside of the chart table/box has lugs that locate on the fiddles in the galley to stop it slipping around. The galley is better lit than the qb so it can be useful to use this location for chartwork at night. The qb is rarely used for sleeping, and mostly for stowage, but it is still available if needed

 

[ashtead]

Boat yoga!



Westerly used to offer a kit for installing a small cockpit locker in one of the berths. It was just big enough to really annoy the occupant, below, but not to prevent the berth being used. If I turn cowardly, I might try to track one down. Even that small gain in storage would be useful.




Sorry, John. Ash is right, it's a picture taken from a yacht brochure's site, although I do aspire to this level of finish. It actually shows a Centaur with the B layout, but I consider the idea is readily adaptable to the Tiger. Also note the folding seat that sits next to one of the asymmetric steps.



I have a boat dog in training, so this is a consideration!



Rupert, have you tried burning a handful of tea lights in a dish? Dylan Winter recommends this for both heating and condensation reduction. Not tried it myself, yet.



Very good point about evacuation.



Good question. I guess it's more of a 'want' than a 'need'. I like the idea and think it's all part of the fun. But I'm also inherently tidy-minded and hate the idea of having charts, or a laptop, or any other associated materials floating around on my lap, or on a clipboard, or cluttering the table (which I'd prefer to keep folded down when at sea). I'd like to just duck my head through the hatch or quickly nip below and find everything where I left it; for everything a place and everything in its place!

I also do a certain amount of freelance work online when time permits at a mooring, and it would be better to have somewhere to leave the laptop and notes, etc., laid out where I left them, mid-thought process, rather than having to pack it all away so I can use the table for other things during the day. So it's an office, too. A very small one!



My thinking, exactly. When finished, the boat will sleep three normally, or four if there's a couple using the double created by the dinette in-fill. To hell with the idea of cramming six in there!

One of those berths is going to be one of the quarter berths, but the question is port or starboard? The starboard berth places the occupant's head right under the feet of whomever might be sleeping in the saloon, which is both potentially uncomfortable, awkward, and dangerous in the event of an evacuation, as alant noted. The portside berth separates the occupant from the saloon sleeper(s) but shares the portside with the galley. Thus, there is only about 2 feet of space in which to haul oneself in and out of the berth, which makes the problems that Kelpie and grumpy_o_g mentioned worse! I was thinking of putting a handrail over the entrance, but you still need to be fairly agile and strong to make use of it.

Nevertheless, the chart table is currently planned for the starboard side, in order to separate the sleeping arrangements, the idea being that either myself (as I do a bit of yoga) or the smallest/youngest guest will draw the short straw and get the portside quarter.

Thanks all for the replies.

 

[ashtead]

Always found the coffin berth on the dining table side best to use on a Centaur B layout as it means you don't have to be totally entombed whereas on galley side it's rather uncomfortable to sleep partly out so given the chances of using the double berth conversion at same time is slight might be logical approach ?

 

[Internet Sailor]

This was also the case with my 26 ft trailer yacht! (GOP construction)
I decided to make it possible for 3 adults to be comfortable (or 4 if two of them wanted to share the foreberths.)

My 2016 winter project was conversion of one quarter berth to a cockpit locker using the link here as a guide.
http://atomvoyages.com/articles/improvement-projects/241-cockpitlocker-1.html
Sorry i have no photos of my own version with me.

That's a very good link. Cheers!

 

[alan_d]

Always use the quarter berth on my Westerly Konsort. I am a not-particularly-flexible 70-year-old but find getting in and out not too difficult. Main benefit is that I can control the radio and the heating without leaving my bunk.

 

[grumpy_o_g]

Agility classes from a personal trainer perhaps?

They're called mobility classes at my age apparently but it had quite a bit to do with getting trapped in all junk stuffed down in the berth with me and on the seat that the quarter berth became as it went into the cabin (that's my story anyway, and I'm sticking to it)...

 

[Humblebee]

Couple more thoughts...
We have a Westerly Longbow, one of the 31 footers. There is a ort side quarter berth with a sliding chart table occupying some of the head room there. I use the chart table for storing charts and the like but usually sit at the saloon table to do my planning.
Also, we took out the quarter berth mattress to create a bit more storage space. A couple of milk crate sized plastic boxes now live in there, each with a bit of string leading into the cabin so they can be pulled out easily when we need into them. Great for storing dog food, cat food and cat litter. The cat litter tray sits at the front of the quarter berth nearest the saloon.

 

[alant]

Couple more thoughts...
We have a Westerly Longbow, one of the 31 footers. There is a ort side quarter berth with a sliding chart table occupying some of the head room there. I use the chart table for storing charts and the like but usually sit at the saloon table to do my planning.
Also, we took out the quarter berth mattress to create a bit more storage space. A couple of milk crate sized plastic boxes now live in there, each with a bit of string leading into the cabin so they can be pulled out easily when we need into them. Great for storing dog food, cat food and cat litter. The cat litter tray sits at the front of the quarter berth nearest the saloon.

"Cat litter tray", the mind boggles.

 

[LittleSister]

The cat litter tray sits at the front of the quarter berth nearest the saloon.

That's seriously impressive. Shockingly few boats have a waste paper bin for the crew, let alone a separate one for the ship's mog!

 

[Gunfleet]

My main concern with a quarter berth would be cramp. I've had it with my feet in the trotter box in the saloon on my Nic. Being stuffed down a quarter berth with agonized shins would be unbearable.

 

[Rafiki]

I used to use the quarter berth on a Westerly Konsort - not too difficult to get into, and indeed I have found that you can squeeze a second one in there ----- but that's another story, and I was quite a bit younger !

 

[ghostlymoron]

Quote Originally Posted by grumpy_o_g View Post
"The last time I slept in a quarter berth it took me about 5 minutes to get out..."
You should try using the pilot berth on a Sigma 38. It's like getting into the luggage rack on a train. I did it ten years ago but couldn't now.