sitting headroom

[Seadub]

Al, I'm with you on figuring out the sleeping arrangements aboard the 16 in the hot and buggy south. This weekend I mounted  a 12 volt fan on the forward bulkhead, quiet and really moves a lot of air. The PO installed a forward hatch - that helps, too. Got the bimini set up this weekend (it was in pieces) and ordered a mosquito net from Campmor that I should able to throw over the bimini and weight down with socks filled with pebbles to enclose the cockpit. I'm gonna try to make a grate for the cockpit floor that can be supported by crosspieces with "Z" brackets on each end to fill in the footwell gap. Saw that brilliantly and beautifully done in a post here, but can't find it now. Found Coleman fleece bag liners that will zip together to enlose the Thermarest mattresses for a full size bed in the cockpit or keep 'em separate to protect the mattresses in the cabin when we sleep in what I've taken to calling the "berth canals".
Clint

[Duckie]

I'm in the cold and buggy north, but bugs is bugs.  Even one of those little bastards will keep me awake until I can goosh it.  On my weekender I use a six foot by four foot piece of mosquito netting taped to the sliding hatch and draped down over the bulkhead.  I don't have to weight it.  It simply hangs down over the companionway and rumples out on the bridge deck.  With all that extra netting all over the place I don't have to seal the edges.  I bought a package of six of those pieces from Sportsman's Guide for a couple of bucks just  for that purpose.  I was going to do the same for the CP, but I needed a project last winter, so I made it more complex and maybe more reliable. 

I also have a teak cockpit grate that I am thinking about lifting to make a big bed area out there.  I doubt that I will over night out there, but I might lounge around on it for naps.

 

[Seadub]

Bugs is definitely bugs. We're in South Carolina now, but I'm a Florida native, and my wife was born and raised in Michigan. When we start telling mosquito tales, hers are hard to top. And I can't even come close to the black fly stories.

[Duckie]

We have a bug up here that some of us call stable flies. I'm sure you have them too.  When they bite you, there is no ignoring it.  Hurts like the devil.  Fortunately they don't come out much before mid-summer.  It seems that they like to stow away on sailboats until you get to the middle of the lake, then bite the hell out of you.  I have taken to carrying a real nice wood and leather fly swatter on all my trips on the water now.  I tried bug dope, but it takes the paint off of my weekender, and doesn't really work with those buggers.  It is funny to watch them when the swatter comes out.  They disappear right quick.  Eventually they come back because I suppose they can't help themselves, but whack a couple and they vanish again.  I have made special accommodations on my boats just for the swatters, which never leave my reach. 

It's funny what becomes a necessity on boats.

Al

[MKBLK]

In New Jersey, they have what we call "no see-ums". You can't see them and they come out just as the sun sets and take chunks out of your body!

From wiseGEEK:

Many people don't know what a no see um looks like because of its tiny size, but if one bites, it's hard to miss. The insect is a bloodsucker many times smaller than a mosquito, but with a bite inversely more painful. The sting causes a large welt that can irritate the skin for several days, causing severe itching. It is tiny enough to pass through window screens, making it a nuisance to people and pets.

The scientific name for the no see um is Ceratopogonidae, but it has accumulated many common names. These include the sand flea, sand fly, biting midge and punkie or punky. Common to beaches, wetlands, creek and lakebeds, the insect purportedly stays within 350 feet (107 meters) of its breeding ground. Therefore, if people find themselves under attack at a camping site, on a picnic, or at the beach, moving a short distance can provide relief.

The no see um lays its eggs in standing water, where larvae hatch to feed on dead vegetation. Within a few days, the larva becomes a pupa, then an adult, leaving the nesting grounds in search of food. The bug is most active at dawn and dusk, and people who are unlucky enough to pass through a dark swarm of these insects might get them flying into their eyes, ears, nose, or mouth.

Marty K.

[tmw]

Interesting discussion.  I've added a fly swatter to my list of required materials.

[hinmo]

In New Jersey, they have what we call "no see-ums". You can't see them and they come out just as the sun sets and take chunks out of your body!

From wiseGEEK:

Many people don't know what a no see um looks like because of its tiny size, but if one bites, it's hard to miss. The insect is a bloodsucker many times smaller than a mosquito, but with a bite inversely more painful. The sting causes a large welt that can irritate the skin for several days, causing severe itching. It is tiny enough to pass through window screens, making it a nuisance to people and pets.

The scientific name for the no see um is Ceratopogonidae, but it has accumulated many common names. These include the sand flea, sand fly, biting midge and punkie or punky. Common to beaches, wetlands, creek and lakebeds, the insect purportedly stays within 350 feet (107 meters) of its breeding ground. Therefore, if people find themselves under attack at a camping site, on a picnic, or at the beach, moving a short distance can provide relief.

The no see um lays its eggs in standing water, where larvae hatch to feed on dead vegetation. Within a few days, the larva becomes a pupa, then an adult, leaving the nesting grounds in search of food. The bug is most active at dawn and dusk, and people who are unlucky enough to pass through a dark swarm of these insects might get them flying into their eyes, ears, nose, or mouth.

Marty K.

Probably not the same, we get these small, (no-seeums?) bugs here in the NE during summer at low tide....presumed they were/are sandfleas, but believe me, they make it out to the middle of the harbor when the conditions are right....they seem to favor me over the admiral for some reason. Hurt and leave small welts...seem to subside in their itchiness within an hour or so

[JBC]

So, as an owner of a 16, I think I can summarize this thread (drift) thusly:  sitting or sleeping in a stock 16 is not done smoothly without ingenious contraptions added.  Moreover, certain bug critters, typically indifferent to the size of the yacht or wealth of its owners, can probably penetrate whatever defenses said owners throw up to try to defeat them. 

Conclusion: reminds me why I wind up daysailing my CP 16, preferably in a strong breeze in the middle of the day, most of the time, and then retreat to home, motel or bar for the rest of the wonderful experience.

Jett

[NateD]

sitting or sleeping in a stock 16 is not done smoothly without ingenious contraptions added

That's not really true. While it is like sleeping in a coffin, there is nothing special that needs to be added to overnight. Keep the lights off/minimal, and keep the hatches closed or screens in place and you'll limit the bugs. If I'm day sailing, I don't usually have a reason to sit in the cabin. When I'm cruising I have a bunch of gear sitting in the v-shaped area. I can sit on a bunk and lean back against the gear without needing a chair/sport-a-seat/other ingenious contraption. I'm not a small guy (6', 200lbs), but the cabin is usable for sitting and sleeping.

[MKBLK]

Hey, Jett - Isn't acquiring/accumulating contraptions part of the CP16 experience!
As long as she'll float, heck, we can load her up with all kinds of goodies.
Great for the economy!

Marty K.

[JBC]

Marty, you have a convincing argument, though I always thought I was helping the economy all these years by buying another old boat to fix up!  Alas, I'm now down to two and feeling a bit deprived, but I know just what my newest one needs....

Jett