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..............................................--- Enlarge V-Berth Part I ---
The main objective of the new head installation in the main cabin described on the preceding pages was to be able to enlarge the V-berth so that my feet wouldn't be crammed into the forward V part of the berth.
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Here the rear head partition has been removed. The top arrow points to the sink/main supporting partition. The two other arrows point to part of the teardrop trailers mattress that for now I decided to extend the v-berth. It is standard bed size in width and about 17 inches wide (front to back in this picture). It is plenty wide for us and the extra space at each end will be used for vertical storage shelves and also the space in front of it forward to the bulkhead will also be used for storage shelving. On this page we will build a hinged support for the mattress extension and space under it for storage along with water storage and a place for a second battery.
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First a piece of plywood was cut to fit from side to side at the head of the old v-berth space. It is 17 inches in depth and the center section is sized for the mattress extension to fit on it.
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Stiffeners were screwed to the back side and .....
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....... lips were screwed on (arrows) that will support the center section on it's ends.
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Here the center section is in place.
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Here is the starboard side support. part of it is supported by the two legs and the side of it is screwed into the shelf that is part of the interior by the hull side.
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These overlapping boxes were built to hold Reliance 7 gallon water jugs. The left arrows point to a taller section that supports the end of the new bed platform.
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Another view showing how the new platform is support on the starboard side and over to the left on the port side above the water container area.
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Here the platform is trial tested. The space in front of it (to the right) will be occupied by shelving for clothing.
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Here two of the water jugs are in place. Later the opening in the top of the v-berth will be enlarged and space for 4-5 of the similar 4 gallon containers will be made. I'm getting too old to lug these 7 gallon ones around. On a later page you will see how I adapted the left one of these for a hose fitting on the bottom that goes to a pump and the sink. That one will stay in place and will be filled from the others as it goes low. This location pretty much centers the weight in the boat.
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A view with the water containers in place and the bed platform on. I just clears the tops of these.
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The top arrow points to the piece that still has to be placed in the space where the bottom arrow is.
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I got looking at the space behind the one water container and wondered if my RV battery would fit there. I went an measured it and found that it would. The only problem is that the forward wall that supports the v-berth behind the battery slopes forward as it goes down. The battery wouldn't fit at the bottom of the space, but by filling it with some wood pieces I was able to move the batter up enough so that it would fit in the space. I was going to put the battery in a compartment under the v-berth, but dreaded lifting it in and out of there. This space proved perfect. It is easy to get to and service and it's weight is centered in the boat.
The arrows on the right point to additions that secure the right end of the battery so that it can't move in that direction.
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I added a back piece (top arrow) and another piece over the battery (bottom arrow) to firmly secure it. You could turn the boat upside down and it wouldn't go anywhere.
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The left arrow points to a piece of plywood that makes a shelf from the hull side over to the water containers. It gives a small storage space under the bed platform and is screwed to the side of the boat and to the water container storage area, which secures everything together.
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The platform was finished on the port side of the mattress extension.
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The arrows point to about how far down my feet go now. I'm 6-1 and they end about 16 inches from the front of the old v-berth area. We've slept in the boat 4 nights as I write this and we really like the v-Berth location for sleeping and don't feel cramped sleeping there.
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The left arrows point to where there will be a partition just to the aft of this platform and the right arrows point to where shelving will go in to store cloths on.
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Here is a shot after the food and clothing storage went in and with the new cushions from The Foam Factory in place with covers that Ruth made. Notice that the cushions are now in 3 pieces with the seams running across the boat instead of fore/aft.
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Cutting the cushions in this matter helps in a couple ways. To get to the storage area under the near cushion in the picture where the head use to be I can just lift it. To get to the storage under the V-Berth (old part) I just need to push the bedding back to the second cushion and lift just that cushion. Also you now no longer roll into the seam that went fore/aft and one cushion supports your head/shoulders the next your hips and the last your lower legs. You don't feel any of the seams. The arrow points to and area ahead of the cushions that was left open and where we store a spare anchor chain and other items. Our feet no longer go down into that narrow part of the bow.
We are really happy with this change to the boat. At night I liked being able to just sit up in bed and pop the forward hatch and look to see where we were on our anchorage. We also have more ventilation with the hatch and more head room while in bed. The only drawback is if there are heavy waves at night as the front of the boat pitches further up and down than the aft berth. If the waves are really bad we still have the option of moving to the aft berth.
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