Sleeping bags vs duvets on board

On passages, single handed, I like to be able to get out of the bunk fast. Duvet wrap around for me. With vinyl I might put a single sleeping bag as a sheet around the squab to keep the vinyl well away.
 
On my boat, duvets, but we never sleep under way now. With vinyl cushions, I'd want a duvet or some sort of plush mattress protector under the bottom sheet, as well as on top. The V-berth stays made up as long as we're on board, so storage isn't an issue.

On passage on someone else's boat, I use a sleeping bag, but don't want to be enclosed in case I have to get on deck in a hurry, so I use an XL bag. something like this Aurora XL. I close the bottom, which keeps my tootsies warm, but leave the side open ready for a quick exit.
 
I have had phases of different things but one of the best was accidental. When I lived in Beijing I walked past a market stall selling “production over-runs” of quilted bedcovers, aimed I would think at the American market. I bought as many as I could stagger home with, so we have a pile of thin quilts, meaning that the thickness can be varied with the weather.

Drifting the thread slightly, I once asked my father, whose active sailing career went from 1920 to 1983, what people did before leeboards and leecloths were invented by the offshore racers after WW2. “Oh, you needed all hands to tack, so we always took the lee bunk!”
 
Amazon do some nice double sleeping bags.. the synthetic ones roll down a lot smaller than than the cotton ones. So a synthetic double sleeping bag with a cotton duvet cover put inside the bag is one option.
 
For camping I gave up on bags and now use a large duvet, under and over, it rolls up as tight as a sleeping bag and goes in a black bin liner. Much better in every way, and I will use same aboard.
 
Kukri said:
I associate sleeping bags with happy little adventures, perhaps thanks to reading the “Swallows and Amazons” books, sixty years ago, so I rather like them.

Tesco ten quid sleeping bags on passage - easy to wash and dry but not really comfortable - and duvets at anchor or alongside.
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I associate sleeping bags with little adventures too! She was 16 I was 17, we squeezed into one! It was very cozy!
 
Drifting the thread slightly, I once asked my father, whose active sailing career went from 1920 to 1983, what people did before leeboards and leecloths were invented by the offshore racers after WW2. “Oh, you needed all hands to tack, so we always took the lee bunk!”
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An old ships trick because a lee cloth is impractical ... prop up one side of mattress with your lifejacket !!

The modern joke I heard was to have a good dose of Viagra !!
 
I use an extra large non tapered sleeping bag usually not zipped up except when unusually cold. I've got a more compact bag for use on friends boats if I need to take one.
 
Two 10 quid rectangular sleeping bags, which can be zipped together -or not, is our sleeping covering of choice for the warmer weather. Can be augmented with a fleece blanket if necessary. For colder weather we use a mummy sleeping bags, but oversize, so that it does not feel constricting,but has the necessary insulating qualities not found in the cheapo ones. The mummy is also useful when on a delivery, etc., as it can be stuffed into quite a small bag, for keeping the sea-berth tidy if hot-bunking on watches, and for travelling to from boat.
Regarding sheets/liners, etc., I don't bother with that, just bring it home after each trip, to be aired or laundered as necessary.
One of my mummy sleeping bags is cotton lined and quite comfortable in the right circumstances, but I leave that one at home and bring one made entirely of synthetic fibres if a trip is expected to entail crawling into the bag in damp clothing - synthetic wicks away moisture more readily and dries out quicker than cotton.
For those who don't like the constricting feeling of being in a mummy-style bag, this might work:
Sleeping Bag With Leg Pants
 
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We’ve been using Duvalays for some time. They aren’t cheap but they are really comfortable with a memory foam base and the equivalent of a double duvet on top. Much less constricting than a sleeping bag, although they don’t roll up quite so tight
Duvalay - Sleep Specialist
 
michael_w said:
One of my neighbours in my marina was extolling the advantages of his electric blanket, until I pointed out that my electric blanket had t*ts and his didn't.
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Quite.....I was wondering why the popularity of the single occupancy sleeping bag among YBW members!
 
VicS said:
Sleeping bag for me but I bought one which is wider than some. Would not want a mummy shaped one or even a tapered one
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Agreed about the shape. Also, I don't like shiny finishes - they always feel cold and damp to me. When I bought my boat I found some surprisingly nice rectangular sleeping bags with a soft finish for a tenner each in Tesco, and they are still going strong, ten years later.

I tried a shaped duvet in the forecabin, but it was hopelessly cold, probably because it had well under half the filling per square metre specified on its label. Ship-Shape Bedding flatly refused to refund me or change it, which is why I will never do business with them, or recommend them, again.
 
Spirit (of Glenans) said:
Two 10 quid rectangularsleeping bags, which can be zipped together -or not, is our sleeping covering of choice for the warmer weather. Can be augmented with a fleece blanket if necessary. For colder weather we use a mummy sleeping bags, but oversize, so that it does not feel constricting,but has the necessary insulating qualities not found in the cheapo ones. The mummy is also useful when on a delivery, etc., as it can be stuffed into quite a small bag, for keeping the sea-berth tidy if hot-bunking on watches, and for travelling to from boat.
Regarding sheets/liners, etc., I don't bother with that, just bring it home after each trip, to be aired or laundered as necessary.
One of my mummy sleeping bags is cotton lined and quite comfortable in the right circumstances, but I leave that one at home and bring one made entirely of synthetic fibres if a trip is expected to entail crawling into the bag in damp clothing - synthetic wicks away moisture more readily and dries out quicker than cotton.
For those who don't like the constricting feeling of being in a mummy-style bag, this might work:
Sleeping Bag With Leg Pants
Click to expand...
Not seen the sleeping bag with leg pants. From this link there is an ebay.com link which is to list of baby size sleep romper suits. In the list of items with fewer words brought up this link. Wearable Warm Sleeping Bag Full Body Suit Arms Legs for Adults Outdoor Survival | eBay Looks exactly the same but from China.
 
Sleeping bags - we have two old ones of a decent size that have cotton liners, I think we got them from Woolworths years ago. They are lightweight and easily washable. I always unzip the ends in any sleeping bags so my feet can be free. Then we have the three season silk lined large (and expensive) sleeping bags, Vango I think, that were bought after a 4x4 meet camping meet in Lincolnshire a goodly few years ago, where the overnight temperature went down to minus 3 and we froze in the other ones. These things are simply fantastic. Only problem is that the dog tries to get in it as well, but she's quite small and very short haired so makes an excellent hot water bottle.
 
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