First time sleeping onboard

[Spartan]

Well tonight will be my first night sleeping onboard my CP16.
I doubled up my foam (both on one side) hopefully will be better cushion.
I'm hoping the weather holds dark clouds on and off all day.
Low 70's should be comfortable.
Will report out tomorrow.

Cheers

[jthatcher]

hey spartan,
     good luck!    i have yet to  figure out screens ..   hasn't been too much of a problem this past week, but  lots of mosquitoes  tonight for some reason      it will be  good to hear  about your experience.   jt

[kickingbug1]

    i made a simple two piece screen set up for my 16----two pieces cause it stores much easier. gotta have them----only thing kills the claustraphobia

[Spartan]

Well the results are in and Kickingbug is spot on.

While the bunk with double cushions was comfortable, the overall volume is way small and frankly claustrophobic. 
Luckily my hips were beyond the cockpit seats, my legs were not so any roll awake or asleep caused a bump. 
I did open the sliding hatch and drop board hoping from some air movement, there was none and temp inside was about 10 degrees warmer than outside.
I did also have gear on the other bunk which did not help in giving the feeling of space. Also it takes a bit to get in and out of the cabin, so that doesn't help the feeling of being to get out if needed, or even the ability to sit up in cabin if needed.

So in conclusion, I don't think I'll try it again, but will consider other options such as cockpit tent, 3 footitis.
Years ago I owned an MFG19 (similar in size to CP-19 and my and two 7 year old boys were quite comfy. 

I did have a fun day sailing and met some new folks at the marina who took interest in my experiment so it was a good day.

Cheers
Spartan

[MacGyver]

Cool, atleast you gave it a shot.

sleeping in the cockpit might be the answer, Be like sleeping in a bed roll under the stars......

Mac

[NateD]

The berths on a CP16 have all the charm and none of the amenities of a coffin. Or maybe it is the other way around.

Personally I liked sleeping in the cabin more than the cockpit. Adding a hatch to the foredeck and/or a small electric fan (either running off disposable batteries, or the house battery) would greatly increase the air flow. A hatch would do the most good and require no battery usage, but significantly more expensive than a fan.

[skip1930]

Figure out some way to hold the back of the boom up and a very nice boom tent could be fashioned if you have lifelines.
Going to Iola, Wisconsin car thingy I use to sleep in my Saturn parked at the railroad station with the back seat folded down, my head in the trunk, and my feet 'tween the buckets.
Navy brat. I can sleep any where, any time, hot or cold, quiet or noisy, wind slapping waves or dead calm.

skip.

[MHardy]

I slept comfortably on my CP16 for the first and only time so far last summer in Oriental, NC for two nights. It was just me in the cabin. I would do it again, just haven't had the chance. I would not try it with two adults, but would consider it with one of my kids. I had a small battery operated fan and a bug screen borrowed from a friend's larger boat. The screen was oversized for the 16, but worked fine. http://www.sogeman.com/bugbusters-companionway-screens.html

[wes]

As a veteran CP 19 sleeper-on-board, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't try it on anything smaller. For me the 19 is right on the cozy/claustrophobic line. I sleep on the quarter berth, not the v-berth, mainly because First Dog Max claimed the V early on. Sliding my legs down into the depths of the berth is always a bit of an operation, but once settled I don't mind it. When the weather gets warm enough I move to the cockpit, which I really like except for waking up in a puddle when a heavy dew fall leaves water on every fiberglass surface.

If I ever venture on a longer cruise, I'm going to rig a platform in the cockpit to convert it to a triple-wide bed, a la Robert Burgess.

Wes

[Brian 1851]

Last year my son and i stayed over night on my cp16 and it was not too bad.  For me what made a big difference was to put my pillow and head on the shelf which ment only about my knees down were under the cockpit.  I am six feet tall.

[kickingbug1]

 i added a makeshift wooden support that lifts the cushion up at the head end moving you up even with the elevated section forward of the berth. this enabled me to move my hips forward of the enclosed section of the berth. kind of hard to explain but it did work well. at 6'5" i was actually able to sleep.

[skip1930]

Bob Burgess normally slept on the settees of his CP-16 and gave up going below, as written in his book.

skip.

[MaritimeElevation]

I built the decking platform and cross bar supports that fills in flush with the cockpit seats, outlined in photos elsewhere on this forum. My wife and I slept great in the nearly 6' x 7' space of our CP-16 cockpit bed under the stars.

[Spartan]

Lots of interesting ideas, I'd need some sort of boom tent to have a little privacy at the Marina - haven't been sailing in a while as my daughters softball tournament season finished up, hoping to get out this weekend.

Cheers

[InertBert]

Navy brat. I can sleep any where, any time, hot or cold, quiet or noisy, wind slapping waves or dead calm.

skip.

When I was in the Army we always had a chuckle about who would be pacing back and forth and who would just find a shady spot to take a nap.  There is something about "finding" a spot to sleep makes it a better nap. 

Also, on my CP-16 the berths were totally rotted out and instead of rebuilding them, I removed them and built in storage boxes.  I'd like to find some cooler and/or storage boxes that fill in the footwell in the cockpit well enough to make it a triple wide.  I think Wes has the right idea with that.  If only there was a way to rig a hammock on board.  That'd be perfect.  Now to find a big enough mosquito net to cover the whole boat...