Why Not Regular Mattresses?

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by simer

Foam for berths is closed cell and does not absorbe moisture on the other hand a regular mattress will.

[Dulls]

Originally Posted by Chotu

My entire life I’ve assumed I needed to buy foam to create comfortable cushions for berths.

I’ve done this on all my boats and some RVs.

My girlfriend was challenging me on this and I didn’t have a single reason to support my belief that a standard mattress was a bad idea while foam was a good idea.

So, why do we use foam and not just a regular mattress??

I have a true queen size berth in each stateroom. Can I just buy a queen size mattress (without metal springs) and put it in?

In Australia we had a custom mattress made to any shape you want and had springs.

[Scubaseas]

Foam is easy, cuts with an electric carving knife and importantly crushes down to fit inside the companionway hatch. There are custom mattress makers that can fabricate just about any size and they are not much more than regular coil spring mattresses. Cutting an stock mattress is also an option. Me. I prefer memory foam or at very least a 2" memory foam topper mainly because my back is literally bolted together. YMMV


As long as a stock mattress will fit into the berth no reason not to use one.

[IslandHopper]

We had our 'regular' mattress made by these guys and it's the best thing we did, getting a quality sleep when sleep may be in short supply is a must, no need to have the old foam type these days...

https://www.madetomeasuremattresses.com.au/gallery.html

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by davenrino

I tried 3" blue supposedly cool memory foam toppers and hated them. It felt like they surrounded me and were way too hot for Hawaii. I replaced them with 2" natural latex toppers and love them.

I wouldn't give you two bits for memory foam. It remembers everywhere you made a dent and provides do support in that area.

[GRIT]

Originally Posted by Chotu

You are up early, my friend!

I wish that were the case. I was actually up LATE! Sailing down the coast.

I sent you an e-mail.

Cheers.
Paul.

[chrisr]

we have proper queen size inner spring with integral memory foam topper. only problem with this is you cannot turn the mattress but no need (and would be a nightmare to do this anyway !)

super comfy

came in vacuum pack roll which made ferrying in the dink a lot easier than it would have been otherwise !

visitors cabins are just foam as we don't want people to get too comfy for too long

cheers,

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by simer

Foam for berths is closed cell and does not absorbe moisture on the other hand a regular mattress will.

In my experience, the above is certainly not true. All the foam bunk mattresses I've ever investigated have been open cell foam... various chemistries, various firmness, but invariably open cell.

All the closed cell foams with which I am familiar are far too firm to sleep on. They are used for cockpit cushions ("Bottomsiders", etc) in some applications, but even there they are pretty firm for long term seating.

Jim

[Alan Mighty]

Originally Posted by Tupaia

What is a regular mattress without metal springs?

For 500 years, I think the answer is a palliase, a straw mattress.

[Dougtiff]

Closed cell foam is way to hard to sleep on, it's like a plank.

[Cadence]

I can recall as a kid, 4" real latex foam, which I believe is damn near impossible to get in a stock mattress, was very comfortable right on plywood.

[wingssail]

Originally Posted by Chotu

I can currently take a tsunami or even operate as a submarine at a small depth with no leaks at my berth. Ha ha. I’m actually not kidding. It’s uninterrupted, water and airtight glass currently around the berth area. I need to cut a hole and install a hatch there still. That hatch will be the only opening to the outside.

In a different area in the center beam that attaches to the staterooms, I’m putting some “catamaran dorades”. Air inlets that face downward and only allow air in because it travels upward against gravity.

We had new foam mattresses made (and for the settees and pilot berths as well) when we reupholstered in 2013. We selected a very firm open cell foam supplied by the upholstery shop (in Trinidad). They have to be custom cut but foam was affordable and fancy mattresses were not available and anyhow, we wouldn't have wanted to spend the money.

Water does find a way to our beds occasionally but they dry quickly with this foam. (A fan blowing on a wet bunk does miracles!)

Another problem however is condensation. If you cruise where the water is cold you will likely get condensation under your mattress and around the edges. It wicks up the sheets. Not only are they wet they begin to smell bad. An air space under the mattress helps prevent that. During cold winters we often took advantage of a sunny day to pull the mattresses out and on deck for drying.

So depending on where you might be cruising, think of how you can get plenty of air circulation under the mattress.

[Perfect Ride]

Another vote for the hypervent: HyperVent Marine - Product Information
Excellent results for us under many types of mattresses over the years.

[Captain Anthony]

Following , can anyone post a link to that Good Old Boat story mentioned by Phantom Jim?

[Tupaia]

Originally Posted by Chotu

I need to cut a hole and install a hatch there still. That hatch will be the only opening to the outside.

Slightly off topic but your mattress and you will be wet if you install the hatch directly over the berth and sail anywhere cooler because of condensation.



Forget and leave it open when it rains you will also have a wet berth.