sitting headroom

[Duckie]

There isn't much that disappoints me about my 16, but probably the biggest thing is the lack of sitting headroom in the cabin.  I have cruising sailboats with cabins because I like to go inside into a snug dry solid space when the weather turns bad.  I can't sit up in my Weekender cabin, and I have accepted that, though I wish it was different.  The Com-Pac however is just a tiny bit too small even with the much larger cabin.  And that bugs me.  I may have discovered a solution though.  A couple years ago my son bought me an Alite backpacker's chair.  This little unit folds up to about the size of a loaf of bread and weighs less than that.  It is basically a mini hammock on a tubular aluminum frame.  I just tried it out in my 16 and found that I can recline in absolute comfort inside the cabin with the hatches closed.  There is only room for one to do this, but for all you single handers out there, it is the best.  The particular model of chair is the Alite Monarch which is the cheapest of the models and the only one that sits on two plastic balls which allows one to rock back and forth a bit.  Because it rocks, it acts as a recliner.  I have taken very restful naps in my chair by leaning back against a tree.  For reading or drinking coffee out of the wind and rain, I expect I should be able to spend quite a bit of time inside the 16's cabin reclining with my bad back fully supported.  If you are interested, they sell them at REI and other better camping outlets.  They are a little spendy at seventy dollars, but in my estimation they are worth every penny.

Al 

[MKBLK]

Duckie - Looks like a good birthday present for my 73 year old 6'2" frame. I assume you center it in the cabin. Which way do you face and how do you support your head?

Marty K.
81 CP16 Pegasus

[ChuckD]

One particular color at REI.com is $49!

[Duckie]

I set it up on the cabin floor and leaned back towards the companionway.  One of the great things about these chairs is using them on dry land too.  If you don't mind being close to the ground, they are some fine sleeping. 

In my seemingly endless search for something to do last winter I also made a take apart plywood recliner that hooks to the edge of the shelf ahead of the bunks.  I have it in the cabin right now.  It is a proof of concept, so it isn't shaped just right, but I can sit with plenty of room and quite comfortably on it.  I made it out of 1/2 inch ply and cut it so that it tab and slots together.  I have been collecting these green cushions for tree stands to use on my cruising boats so I made the recliner to fit them.  The whole unit knocks down to two sides and four slats.  I plan to store it in the anchor well.  It will also fit beneath the seats, but I already have enough junk in there. 

Just recently I bought an inflatable lounge pillow off Amazon for about fifteen bucks.  It is a wedge shaped pillow with a plastic mat that extends out from the front to sit on.  When I tried it in the Com-Pac, it worked wonderfully.  I placed it on the shelf ahead of the bunks like my plywood seat, and let the plastic sheet extend down the bunk.  It was about as comfortable as the plywood seat but much simpler and lighter.  I don't know if the plastic sheet will hold up, but I will deal with that later.  I originally ordered it for the cabin of my weekender.  For six years now I have been wanting to sit up in that tiny space, and now I can, sort of.  For very small boats, I think this might be the answer.  Anyway for fifteen bucks it doesn't hurt too bad to try. 

Al

[Seadub]

Al, I put a pair of folding sand chairs in Wren. 9.99 each at Academy Sports. My wife and I can sit comfortably, they fold down so I can throw gear in the cabin, I can shove 'em down the berth canal, or throw 'em in the cockpit (if we're sleeping in the cabin) when it's lights out.

Clint

[Duckie]

There ya go.   Even cheaper than my set up.  It is my firm conviction that there is no reason to have a cabin on a cruising boat if you can't hang around in it and be totally comfortable.  That system should be just right for that. 

Al

[ChuckO]

Ahoy .....

I use a Crazy Creek Hex  .... a kayak, boat, back packing camp chair which gives me some comfort and back support in the CP16 cabin, cockpit or on the beach. Similar to a stadium seat, but less weight and rolls up for storage.  Check 'em out at Crazycreek.com, REI, Campmor, et al.

ChuckO'
CP16/2 Carpe Diem
Charleston, SC

[Duckie]

Over the past 25 years I have logged many many hours in my crazy creek.  It has been a necessary part of my canoe camping kit.  Unfortunately, it doesn't provide the stability and lower back support that I need to be truly comfortable.  For me the Alite backpacker chair is head and shoulders above the crazy creek for comfort.  It is not as versatile as the crazy creek for camping, but for comfort I haven't found better yet. 

I haven't spent a night on my CP yet.  I plan to spend as many nights on the water in it this summer as I  can.  Until I do that I won't know for sure how to be comfortable.  Over the last six years I have figured out how to make myself comfortable on my weekender which is arguably a much more daunting task.  One of the things that worries me is being able to stay comfortable and dry during nasty weather.  A warm snug cabin is a must for me if I am going to cruise for more than a couple days.  I figure that if I don't have that, I might as well go canoe camping.  I expect to learn quite a bit about camping on my CP this year and if I learn anything useful, I will surely mention it here.

Al

[hinmo]

slightly OT....do people sleep in the open air cockpit (with or without a mast tent)? if so, I presume they bridge the cockpit "benches" with some sort of plywood sheet or something? Seems like the only way I will ever sleep in my CP (6"2, 250+). where or how would you carry the wood as it would have to be a rather large piece of plywood....?

[MKBLK]

hinmo - Yep! I've slept in the cockpit of my CP16 and it was great! Rigged up a boom tent to fight off condensation. I have a cockpit grate that I can raise to be flush with the seats with three supports. An air mattress covers the entire cockpit. Plenty of room for two. One caveat: When fully inflated, during a decent blow, you could easily roll right off the boat! My solution was to let enough air out to sink into the mattress a bit. Slept like a log!

Marty K.
81 CP16 Pegasus

P.S. An added benefit: Unlimited sitting (or standing) headroom!

[hinmo]

Thanks Marty - thats the ticket! Did you construct the grating yourself or purchase?

[Citroen/Dave]

Ditto on boom tent and extended bridge deck. I use the mattresses from the bunks on either side and "square" throw cushions in the middle.  Most storage items are below the extended bridge deck in water tight plastic boxes that otherwise would reside below aft on the bunks attached to pull cords.  If I have to bail out in the middle of the night due to bad weather, we and the mattresses go below to the empty bunks. The storage items remain below the extended bridge deck, water tight.

I also noted that I can sleep solo below with everything stored below by pulling the two "square" throw cushions off the porta pot otherwise stored beneath the short bridge deck and placing them in the foot well of the cabin.  I can comfortable sleeping sideways with my head and shoulders on one bunk and my feet on the other with my butt supported by the cushions over the foot well.

[MKBLK]

hinmo - Yes, I constructed the grating myself. Was the first project I did when I got Pegasus. My daughter was dumping an old Ikea wood mattress support and I recycled it with a bunch of brass screws and polyurethane. If you'd like to see pictures of it, please pm me 'cause I still am ignorant on posting to the forum.

Dave - I hadn't thought of sleeping sideways in the cabin. I've been worried about getting leg cramps while in the bunk with legs under the cockpit seats. Not funny!

Marty K.

Further details on my grate project:

The Ikea "planks" are about 2-1/2" wide by 3/4" thick by 38" long of sturdy Swedish pine (I think!). To be long enough, I added 12" for a total length of 50" (6 planks total). I laid out 5 staggered supports (beam-wise) of 19-1/2". The long pieces are separated by little 2-1/2" x 3/4" x 3/4" spacers (25 of them). Then I glued the whole lot together and screwed them with a zillion brass screws. Looks and works great! Took a couple of hours to make. Total cost was about $5.00! I made 3 supports of the same planking with 90 degree steel angles (you could use bra$$) that I wrapped with duck tape to protect the cockpit seats.

Just lift up the grate, slip the 3 supports in place and inflate your mattress!

One thing I would have done differently is to urethane all the separate pieces before gluing and screwing for a neater job. Oh, don't skimp on the screws. Every little spacer needs one too. I originally tried to not screw them in place and rely on the glue - wrong! A single screw in each spacer is sufficient. Also, I cut out a small section at either end to allow clearance to the scupper drains.

[Citroen/Dave]

Moving below and repacking stuff for a solo bunk in the middle of the night because of rain is no fun.  Sleeping sideways while you are still groggy is much better than fully waking up.

If I am motoring, my sail bags are in one bunk's foot space and my plastic storage containers are mostly on the other side.  Solo sideways sleeping is easier/better than repacking.


hinmo,

I have four rectangles of thin plywood to make the extended bridge deck.  They rest on two wood strips bolted below the edge of the bench seats in the cockpit, in use.  Measure the compacted height of the bunk cushions on the benches and lower the strips to accept those rectangular throw cushions to the same height so the center match the edges for your new queen size bunk under the tent.

The plywood rectangles store in the seating area of both bunks below deck. A  1/8 inch height addition to the shoulder area of the bunks is not a problem.

[Duckie]

You guys must not have mosquitos where you live.  There will  be no sleeping in the cockpit for me until late fall.  I suppose I could rig a mosquito net over the whole cockpit, but I shudder to think how I would accomplish that.  Last winter I made a folding bug screen for the companionway of the CP.  I used the two piece drop board as a pattern and cut out a frame that fit the opening exactly.  I then cut out an opening as large as I could get away with and added a second frame to fit that.  I then sandwiched mosquito netting between the two frames.  The whole thing is made to fold top and bottom.  I left a little slack in the netting to account for the thickness of the frame pieces and added a nylon strap to support the joint.  It fits into a ditty bag I had laying around and I can stow it in the bunk space under the cockpit.  I made it out of luan plywood so it looks mostly like teak with a nice varnish finish.  The forward hatch also has a bug screen on it so that I should be able to get decent ventilation.   

That not withstanding, I agree that being chased below by a change in the weather would be troublesome.  Also, some of the best sailing occurs when it could easily be kinda chilly first thing in the morning.  For me, one of the best things about cruising is being able to wake up and take my time dressing before going out in the weather. 

All this leads back to being comfortable in the cabin.  I can sleep in the stock bunks because I always sleep on my side on account of my bad back.  With that, I can lay my head on the shelf at the top of the bunk and keep most of my legs out of the seat well.  It had a plywood filler for the foot well when I bought the boat, but I did away with it when I figured out that the bunks were so good. 

Anyway, I will have to spend a good bit of time figuring out systems and protocols for living in a CP 16 cabin this year.  I am really looking forward to that.

Al