Passagemaker - Sleeping Aboard?

I'm in the planning stage for doing the inaugural Salish 100, which is a seven day sail in company from Olympia to Port Townsend in June.  There are some options for camping ashore at a few of the stops, but it appears that sleeping aboard might be more preferable at others.

I've been wracking my brain about how to come up with some kind of portable sleeping platform for a sleeping bag or air mattress.  So far, all I can come up with is some kind of tambour that I can roll up or just an old school cot that I can disassemble.

Please let me know if you have any suggestions.

I'm also contemplating a topping lift or possibly boom gallows to allow me to use a boom tent of some sort.


16 replies:

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RE: Passagemaker - Sleeping Aboard?

Here's a solution for a Welsford Navigator, you might be able to adapt it.

Everything fold flat for easy storage. Details at:  http://navigatorjoel.blogspot.com/2014/07/a-sleeping-platform-for-navigator.html

+1 on the boom tent.

Good luck,

Laszlo

 

 

RE: Passagemaker - Sleeping Aboard?

Been puzzling about this myself, not that I've done more'n just cogitate.  If you don't need to sleep all stretched out, you might be able just to curl up between the sternsheets and the midship thwart.  You'll want some floorboards or Dri-Deck panels or some such to keep your butt and bedding out of whatever little bit of water will invariably be trickling around there.  If you put all your gear forward of the midship thwart, the weight should about balance.  Most folks don't need a six-foot space in which to stretch out, but that might or might not work for you.

A step up from that would be to rig some sort of hammock-like business over the same space, still figurin' to sleep curled up some.  Eliminates need for much, if any, padding, and also serves to keep you out of any puddle.  The trick there would be to figure out where to attach such a thing and to do something that will spread the stress out enough so that it doesn't hurt the boat.  The idea needs further development, for sure.

If you really need to stretch out, maybe you can adapt a military-style folding stretcher, or fabricate something like that, to lay out fore'n'aft between the bow seat and the sternsheets; the midship thwart being an inch or so lower might be enough to allow for the sag in the middle.  You probably ought to be careful about getting your body up too high, though; wouldn't due to wake up in the drink after a capsize.

It might be that the biggest issue will be keeping water out of the boat.  A simple boom tent won't do much more than keep the dew off you.  I guess you could always sleep in your foulies.  I've done that in a hard chance, but it ain't especially restful.  To really tent the thing in snuggly is going to require some tricky canvas work to work around the mast and rigging.  (You've got the gunter rig, right?)  Not that it ain't possible, but it won't be simple.  Even with the lug rig, it'd require some thought about how to do it.

Then there're the toilet arrangements to think about....

.....Michael

RE: Passagemaker - Sleeping Aboard?

Good stuff guys.  Thanks for the ideas and encouragement!  In addition to the above, I also did a quick search on Amazon for "inflatable bean bag chair adult" and got some interesting results for a inflatable hammocks, which I didn't know existed.

I've made a bunch of stuff out of PVC pipe in the past, so maybe a military-style cot from PVC fittings.  Also, if I did a boom gallows, I could suspend a hammock along the length of the boom, but then you get into the whole top-heavy thing.

Will keep percolating.  Got a few months...

RE: Passagemaker - Sleeping Aboard?

   Here is an earlier tread on a pvc cot for the N E dory.

RE: Passagemaker - Sleeping Aboard?

Good thread.  I purchased a tent to use on my NE Dory for 2 adults and a large dog.   I will probably go the plywood/plank route to maximize sleeping area.  Figure a way to raise the boom easily out of the way when sleeping and a way to raise a solar light to the top of the mast each evening. 

RE: Passagemaker - Sleeping Aboard?

Thanks Jeff!  That's a great idea for the PVC cot.  Should support a twin air mattress.  I think we're getting closer to a solution.  This can even break down and slide through the 6" deck plate in the forward buoyancy tank and is water-proof.

Here's a pic of Jeff's cot from the thread linked above:

RE: Passagemaker - Sleeping Aboard?

I just remembered that when I was installing the thwarts, I took some extra care in getting them to be as coplanar as possible, especially considering the amount of rocker in the PM.  I added some blocking under the forward and aft thwarts to support my 200#, so I used a 4' level between thwarts to register them.

RE: Passagemaker - Sleeping Aboard?

I like the PVC cot and it works well, but the best solution for the NE Dory was shown on the forum several months ago. (Sorry, I don't have the link handy.) Essentially, it was two silding bench seats for the second open section of the boat. When sailing or rowing, they are slid to the sides, opening up the center for one's legs. For sleeping, they are slid together to meet in the center and provide a platform for sleeping (support from the head to the hips). The aft section of the boat (supporting the legs) is filled with the inevitable baggage of camp-cruising. It's an elegant solution -- very nicely done by the boat owner.  

RE: Passagemaker - Sleeping Aboard?

   One more thought: instead of a tent I'll be using my SOL Escape Bivvy to keep dew and rain off my air mattress and sleeping bag. I've used it for winter camping here in the Ozarks and am quite impressed.

RE: Passagemaker - Sleeping Aboard?

 Thanks for the kind words Birch too. Here's a link to some photos.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/31735445@N06/albums/72157667267363123

Click the thumbnails, some images have captions. 

RE: Passagemaker - Sleeping Aboard?

Here's direct shots of the sliding bench, but do follow his link to see the rest of the pictures. It's one of the most beautiful and organized NE Dories ever.

Laszlo

RE: Passagemaker - Sleeping Aboard?

   At the risk of dragging this thread on sleeping on a Passagemaker to a place a bit off-topic, I've made a similar set of side-board seats for my NE Dory.  I added them specifically to improve comfort while sailing and very HIGHLY recommend them for the purpose.  They provide an easier and more comfortable counter-balance seat position, no need to slither down to the butt-on-the-bottom sailing position, and are much easier on the neck when trying to watch the sails, steer, etc.

Like those in the picture preceeding, I cut the outboard edges to follow the contour of the hull.  However, mine simply rest on top of the current athwartships seats.  They are slightly narrower, as I never intended them for a slide-together sleeping platform.  Mine simply have self-stick shelving cork on the underside to prevent some abrasion and slippage - could go for velcro (less traditional look) for even more security if desired. If I do want them out of the way, they can simply be picked up and left ashore or tossed in the bow or whatever, but they aren't in the way for rowing and don't really interfere with usable space in the boat if left in place.  I'm guessing some folk might desire to permanently install side-seats and put extra floatation under them.  

If anyone does think that they might like the seats, it will take just a few minutes and a few bucks to cut a couple of pieces (or you only need one if you swap sides with the board on each tack) of 2x10 pine board to length (from rib to rib).  Throw them in the boat and give them a try.  If you decide you like the seats, then make a nicely shaped set out of whatever fancy wood and glossy varnish you desire.

And now that I've done all the typing I decided I'll re-post this as a new topic, too.

RE: Passagemaker - Sleeping Aboard?

 Laszlo is funny, my boat is a horror show.  But thanks!
I’m in process of making some radical mods for camping aboard and safety. Stay tuned.

RE: Passagemaker - Sleeping Aboard?

For my self, i bought an air mattress from Nest Bedding promo code.
It is ligt-weighted and a comfortable mattress and you can carry it easily.
I also recommend you to buy an air mattress.

RE: Passagemaker - Sleeping Aboard?

   

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RE: Passagemaker - Sleeping Aboard?

 I like the welsford navigator idea for ne dory cheap easy lightweight but I'd try cutting the platform into 4 pieces laced together and overlap the benches. I have toggles on second and  third benches and could include  a strip across to secure it even  more 

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