starboard coffin berth make over?

[Atavist]

I've been living on my 365 for about 6 months now and have yet to figure out a good way to reconfigure the startboard coffin berth... I thought of putting in cabinets but this would greatly hinder access to the stantion bases, chainplate, and shower plumbing... so as it stands it's pretty much just junk bunk...

has anyone on here done a makeover on their starboard coffin berth??  Do you have pictures?  Do you like it?  How much does it hinder accessing those hard to reach places...

[Randy]

We fashioned a curtain in front of ours. Shove all gear in and pull the curtain closed. Hides it all and nobody is the wiser.

[Atavist]

not a bad idea... would be nice to have some shelves to make better use of all the space  but no boat is perfect

[EdHouston]

I find the pilot berth to be the most comfortable at sea the stb side provides roll out protection on a stbd tack and the lip roll out protection on a port tack. For week end sailing it makes a good catch all for sails gear bags etc. My five year old grandson just loves that berth also in fact its his berth whenever he is aboard.

Each to his own but I will be keeping my pilot perth just as it is.

Ed

S/V Moonlight Mile #110

[Dale Tanski]

Ed,
Right on!
If I had to do it over again I would consider putting one on the port side as well. 
Dale Tanski

[Atavist]

My favorite berth at sea is indeed the starboard one, but I prefer the lower one, with the sette pulled out the table gives me roll protection and I can leap right up to the cockpit if need be (which is not uncommon since I usuaully sail short handed, either alone or with one person)  Not to mention being 6'2 about 210 getting in and out of the coffin berth takes a bit of wiggling... I probably won't change it but no doubt it will continue to be full of clutter.

[Henri Hali]

Back in 2004 on the old pearson365.net site there was a posting with photos of converting the pilot berth to cabinets, shelves, entertainment center and A/C installation.
The boat was the "Janussea" owned by Bob Carsto and Dan Newton.

I printed a copy for possible future consideration. It was beautifully done.
I'd be happy to send it on, but someone will have to walk me through the process. I'm a real moron when it comes to this sort of stuff.

No question the loss of the berth is a consideration, but it sure looked great.


Henri Hali
SV Windrider

[SailingSeaDragon]

The cutter were configured without the starboard coffin berth.. Instead book shelves, liquor cabinet, and storage were installed in the same space...

http://www.sailingseadragon.com/TourSeaDragon.htm

The above link is a tour of Sea Dragon and you can see how the factory reconfigured the space...

Garner

[SV THIRD DAY]

Our Pilot berth is filled with 4 duffel bags of clothes...it's our clothes closet!  But when we are underway at sea for an overnight passage, we remove the duffel bags and use it as the best sea berth on the boat.

Rich

[wedelstein]

I converted the pilot berth to hold the AC plus general equipment cabinet. It has been very successful. Photos are available if requested.

[Henri Hali]

First Merry Christmas to all of you, and a special "Prettige Kerstdagen" to Dutchie on the other side of the pond.

I would be very interested in seeing the photos of you conversion. I'd like to compare it to the conversion on Janussea.

Henri Hali
SV Windrider

[wedelstein]

send an email to wedelstein@att.net and I will send them.

[wedelstein]

I made a false floor 6 inches above the origional floor of the pilot berth. This was used to crfeate a plenum for the Air contitioner system. I cut three registers behind the starboard bench above the storage to dump the cooled air into the cabin. The 16000 btu AC is mounted in the foot section of the pilot berth with a plastic duct directing the air down into the false floor plemun. There is a 4 inch duct going forward behind the shower and bathroom space to the forward cabin.
I made a top plate to square up the front of the pilot berth space for a front with sliding doors. This front is 52 inches wide and 19 inches high. This makes a good storage space with one shelf. There is a verticle devider between the storage cabinet and the AC installation. All of this must be screwed together so that it can be removed to service the AC system. This leaves a verticle surface that is 9.5 inches wide and 19 inches high. This is the air return for the AC. It needs a frame and grill.
The front I made was supposed to be tempoary to proof for a teak wood frame. I still need to make the final front and AC return air grill. As I am cruising the boat this will do for now.

[Firefly]

hi,Diana on Firefly.
We just moved aboard last November. We bought some nice looking storage baskets and a 4 drawer cabinet with cloth drawers for the berth area at Target. We kept the mattress and everything can be easily removed to access anything or later to use it as a berth. A curtain would look nice but for now easy access is more important. When we get ready to actually go cruising long term in a couple of years we will have to reassess how to best use it.