Sleeping around a Centre Saloon table

[FOBeirne]

Hi All,
Not sure what's the best way to describe this, but here goes. We have a Dufour 455 GL with a centre saloon table. Continuous seating around fore, aft and outboard (Starboard) side and then a centre seating pod on the table's port side - standard enough for cruisers of this size.

Our challenge is a watch berth to snooze in. We usually have one crew member on stand-by to call upon if needed. Fore cabin is untenable in a seaway and we prefer to keep the two after cabins to give the off-watch crew proper rest.

While heeled to starboard (on port tack) the crew member is snug on the outboard settee & leaning into the Stb seat back. The issue arises when we tack and the boat leans to port, whereupon the crew tends to roll under the table. It kind of works with knees up leaning against the table, but the whole affair tends to be an uncomfortable balancing act and not restful. Not an uncommon problem in modern cruisers without enough sea-berths I'm sure. Wedged in between the settee back and table makes sense if we can devise a workable solution.

Has anyone come up with a solution to this which does not involve major reconfiguration.
Thanks in advance.

[Pandor]

I installed a lee cloth on this berth on my similar layout. Works great.

[JPA Cate]

Install a weather cloth on the berth so that the crew cannot tumble out of it. There are many ways to do this, but basically, use some kind of canvas, affix it to the settee, via a batton, or bolt rope track, or screws and fender washers, and pad eyes fore and aft, about a half a meter up from the settee bottom, so as to keep the person's body inside. You can get fancy with it, or keep it very simple, but all you need is something so the crew's body feels safe and secure on the uphill side. It's a little odd, but not terribly challenging. Such a "lee cloth" can also be extended upwards, with mesh, for air circulation, but high enough to keep a small child safely confined, as well.

Ann

[FOBeirne]

Hi Pandor, JPA Cate,

This is the response I anticipated and thanks v much for taking the time. I will give this a shot and look at moving the upright cushions across & against this new lee cloth while heeled to port so that the crew is not also leaning against a hard table edge through the lee cloth.

[GordMay]

IMO: A lee cloth only needs to be long enough, to keep the middle of one's body secure, and only needs to go as high as your shoulders, when sleeping on your side. No need for claustrophobic coverage that blocks visibility, & air flow.

I like this design ➘

[FOBeirne]

Very neat,
I like this design too.
I can do some research but if you have any ideas what the mesh is that would be great? I will probably make up myself (when the missus is not watching me hack her sewing machine).
Thanks GordMay.

[Pandor]

Best stuff is Phifertex from Sailrite. I used their awning track and awning rope to secure it to the edge of the berth.

[GordMay]

“Phifertex”® is Phifer’s range of vinyl mesh fabric for sling chairs, that includes many different weaves, colors and constructions:
➥ https://www.phifer.com/fabrics/outdo...yAAEgLXBPD_BwE

Sailrite sells “Phifertex”® Vinyl Mesh Fabric
Standard ➥ https://www.sailrite.com/Phifertex-Mesh-White-000-54
Plus ➥ https://www.sailrite.com/Phifertex-P...h-White-000-54

[wrwakefield]

We have U-shaped on 3 sides of a sliding, expandable [leaf] table which is mounted on a cabinet pedestal. The longer [hull] side makes a good pilot/ anchor watch berth. Do a sit up and see all instruments, MFD, etc. as well as look out the pilothouse windows, and quick access to both helms. [Having a helm station in the pilot house means we don’t have to sleep in our foulies when standing the rare anchor watch.]



A lee cloth is permanently attached to the cabinetry under the bottom cushions, and is the length of the table. It is easily deployed by lacing a line between grommets along the top of lee cloth and strong eyes installed under the table top.

When a lee cloth isn’t really needed, I instead remove the wedge shaped back cushions from the long part of the settee [against the hull] and drop them upside down [thick edge up] into the gap between the seat and cabinet- effectively widening the berth and filling the chasm I prefer to not discover while sleeping.

In case this helps.

Cheers, Bill

[JPA Cate]

The fabric in the picture Gord May posted looks to me like the soft nylon net that is sometimes used for lifeline netting. It is also useful as a spoiler to help your ensign stay together longer.

That's a nice installation, there, with plenty of room for access. It does need to be long and high enough for security, and that's all. If there is a child in it, they may need it to go higher because kids sometimes want to stand up in there.

On our boat that berth can be made safe enough to keep a person in during a rollover, which you really don't want to have to defend against, because of the mesh extension and lines to the pad eyes on the undersides of the deck beams. On our former boat, they were led to the handrails on the underside of the overhead.

Ann

[Kettlewell]

It may sound obvious, but we always try to tack at watch changes only to avoid flipping someone out of a comfy berth onto the floor, and then the offwatch can be comfortable and safe on the lee side. If a tack must be done we alert the offwatch so they don't wake up suddenly wondering if the boat is tipping over.

[JPA Cate]

^^^^
I'm impressed! You guys are really civilized. We just always have expected the off watch to turn over in their berth when we tack. And for the lee cloth to keep us safe, or the side of the berth. Different strokes for different folks, I guess.

Ann

[NightSky46]

We have a similar situation on our Beneteau 46 with a bench with 3 sides making a port-side U that sleeps one on a starboard tack; however our difference is the 4th side has two moveable stools/pods with cushions that can be positioned at the ends of the short sides of the U bench to effectively lengthen them to a sleep-able size that runs athwart-ships negating the need for lee cloths and sleeps two.

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by Kettlewell

It may sound obvious, but we always try to tack at watch changes only to avoid flipping someone out of a comfy berth onto the floor, and then the offwatch can be comfortable and safe on the lee side. If a tack must be done we alert the offwatch so they don't wake up suddenly wondering if the boat is tipping over.

One of the differences, between racers & cruisers:
Racers command: "Ready to tack - Helm's a-lee!"
Cruisers warn: "Timber!"

[svfinlandia]

Originally Posted by wrwakefield

We have U-shaped on 3 sides of a sliding, expandable [leaf] table which is mounted on a cabinet pedestal. The longer [hull] side makes a good pilot/ anchor watch berth. Do a sit up and see all instruments, MFD, etc. as well as look out the pilothouse windows, and quick access to both helms. [Having a helm station in the pilot house means we don’t have to sleep in our foulies when standing the rare anchor watch.]



A lee cloth is permanently attached to the cabinetry under the bottom cushions, and is the length of the table. It is easily deployed by lacing a line between grommets along the top of lee cloth and strong eyes installed under the table top.

When a lee cloth isn’t really needed, I instead remove the wedge shaped back cushions from the long part of the settee [against the hull] and drop them upside down [thick edge up] into the gap between the seat and cabinet- effectively widening the berth and filling the chasm I prefer to not discover while sleeping.

In case this helps.

Cheers, Bill

Hi Bill
I also have a Nauticat. She is a 36 and a little smaller than yours, but the salon table on mine drops down to make a full berth when filled with the other cushions. I wonder if the OP’s table does not do the same and if so, why not use it?

Al, S/V Finlandia