V berth foam mattress replacement, with or without memory foam?

[seumask]

I am planning on replacing the as supplied V berth cushions / mattress with new foam mattress's to about 4"or 5" depth. The current cushions don't have memory foam on them but I am thinking of cutting up a new foam mattress and wondering if I should doi it with one with a top inch of Memory foam or not!
I have found I quite like the memory foam inch on our mattress at home which has it on top of springs. I am good at sewing so can sort the cover out reasonably easily.
Anyone any experience of doing this, pros and cons of memory foam on the boat.

 

[Alfie168]

I went and asked my foam V berth cushion, but it can't remember Seriously though id go with memory foam. It much improved mine.

 

[Blueboatman]

On my last boat but one what made more difference than anything was having a 4 inch one piece mattress .

A bugger to manipulate but oh-so-civilised and comfortable
Zzzzzzzzzzzzz

 

[oldharry]

Agree: anything less than 4" just doesnt cut it. And if you are used to sleeping on memory foam, you will miss it when you dont have it.

 

[alan_d]

Agree: anything less than 4" just doesnt cut it. And if you are used to sleeping on memory foam, you will miss it when you dont have it.

A word of warning about memory foam - sufferers from certain back conditions find it makes them worse.

 

[LittleSister]

We replaced a V shaped forepeak double bed using foam bought from a prominent online foam supply shop (I'm pretty sure it was Efoam Foam cut to size & upholstery foam - UK's largest foam store which gave very satisfactory service, but there are other similar suppliers). They had various foams available, including laminates of different firmness/types of foams - useful especially when the depth is limited (ours was very limited - only 2.5" IIRC!) or if the mattress is also used as a seat (which requires firmer foam).

Our 'mattress' was, and remained, in several pieces, mainly to re-use the existing vinyl (!) berth-cushion covers, but also to retain access to the under berth storage (accessed from the top, under the 'mattress'), but might in any case have been needed to get it into our small boat and even smaller forepeak.

The sides of the 'mattress' were sloping, where it met the hull, with the sides curving upwards and also fore and aft, and the angle of the slope changing along its length. We had the foam supplied cut slightly over-sized width-ways (they will work to drawings or paper templates for non-rectangular shapes), and then trimmed it ourselves with a Stanley knife to match the angles and curves in the hull sides and existing berth-cushion covers. (We were told an electric carving knife is ideal for cutting foam, but didn't have one.)

We were very pleased with the result (especially given the modest outlay and work involved), which was a serious comfort improvement on the old foam, which had been so worn we'd be partly lying on the plywood base underneath!

 

[Stemar]

Some people swear by it, I'm more inclined to swear at it. I move a fair bit during the night. We had a foam mattress with memory foam topper, from Ikea, I think, and cut to shape - WAY cheaper than "proper" boaty mattresses.

The memory foam would get used to how I was lying, then I'd want to move. The MF (stands for whatever you like) would fight me tooth and nail. We've had plain foam every since.

 

[geem]

We have found it hard to get a matress just how we want it in terms of softness. We bought new foam and cut it to fit out bed. Even though it was medium density it felt a little firm. We added a seperate memory foam layer. Still too firm so we then added a normal mattress topper. It's now perfect.
It might take a bit of adjustment to get it how you like it

 

[seumask]

Thanks all for the informing replies.

 

[Humblebee]

Hmm, I'm not a big fan of memory foam, can't see the advantage of it retaining it's shape when you move or roll over. What I would go with is a mattress of medium density foam, then a layer of softer foam on top of it. Four inches medium density and one or two of softer foam would be my preference.
Also, just pointing out, some high density foams are fine for seats etc, when your whole weight is placed on a relatively small area, but may prove too hard for a mattress where your weight is spread out more.

 

[ashtead]

Memory foam tends to keep you warmer-just buy a piece from ikea ,take to boat with your electric carving knife and cut to size . You might find it too hot in summer though so don’t ditch the old cushions just unroll the MF on top .