Looking for a better v-berth mattresss!

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therobesons's picture
therobesons
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Looking for a better v-berth mattresss!

We are not live a board’s, but do spend a lot of nights on the boat and would like a really good mattress/topper that will allow for a good 65nights sleep.

In the past, at boat shows, I have seen custom mattresses for boats.

Does anyone recommend or know of one?

What about a good topper? A good high quality memory foam type topper may work.

What not to get, like are the all foam any good or do they attract moisture etc?

Thanks

Bob, LaRainne and McKenzie Robeson

1985 Std Rig C-36, Hull #374

San Pedro, Cal

Sailing the So Cal Islands and coastal ports from San Pedro south to San Diego.

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mutualfun
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Try going back and doing a search on this topic in here, there has been a lot of info already given out.
Randy

Randy Sherwood
Mutualfun 1990 # 1057
T/R W/K M35a
Home. Charlotte, Mi.
Boat. St Augustine,Fl.

fwa
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There are a number of options available, including a custom mattress from Catalina, I believe.

A few years ago, we had a Handcraft inner-spring mattress made for our V-berth. A guy came to the boat and created a paper template, then the mattress was delivered to our house a couple weeks later. Perfect fit.

I never liked sleeping in the V-berth with the hole in the middle (always felt like I was about to fall off a cliff :-)), so I did some teak work in my v-berth to make a solid platform where the insert used to go, then had the mattress made as one triangular piece. It makes for a bed that is as long and wide as a king (other than being a triangle) at the expense of making the top drawer underneath a little hard to get into. If I was doing it over, I would have it made in two halves lengthwise so I could get it in and out of the boat - the one we have is in there for the duration until we have to replace it.

Fred Aylstock
S/V Neptune's Court #1023
Washington - Puget Sound
1989 C36

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Nimue
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We are pondering the same thing - Nimue came with no V-berth cushions. What kind of prices are you guys seeing for the custom ones? I think I saw somewhere on this site about $600 for one from Catalina?

Jason V
Vancouver, BC, Canada

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LCBrandt
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Posts: 1282

It will be more than $1k from Catalina for a new V-berth mattress. We purchased one from them a couple years ago. It's the same style mattress that is standard on their newer boats, and it's super. Very comfortable.

Shipping costs are way up there also, in the hundreds, due to the awkward size of the thing. When we purchased ours I drove (!) from Portland to LA to pick it up in my VW Golf. I removed the copilot seat for this trip, but later discovered - as we remove the mattresses every winter - that I didn't need to do that.

As you're cruising southern California, you're in optimum location to make a quick and easy, and wonderful upgrade. With the new head AND a new mattress, you won't want to leave the boat. Call Catalina.

Larry Brandt
S/V High Flight #2109
Pacific Northwest, PDX-based
2002 C-36 mkII SR/FK M35B
 

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Ciscocat
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Posts: 244

Hi,
i purchased a mattress from riverside mattress company and it is very comfortable. the price with sheets was around 800 dollars including shipping. they can complete the work in about 2 weeks once you get the pattern to them. You might want to be aware that catalina may not build a mattress for a mark I although i didn't check. the price from above is with a pillow top which is a very nice addition.
Mike
s/v ciscocat #226

Mike Hogan
s/v Ciscocat #226
Mark I XP25, std rig

jmontani
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Posts: 143

We went with Tuffted Topper on Solstice and have been happy with it. Better than the V - Berth cushions but I am sure not as good as a mattress.

When we looked at a mattress our local Catalina dealer offered to have it shipped inside a new boat (free ride) comming to the marina.

Given the state of things you may have to wait a while to go that route but it may be worth considering.

Jack
Solstice
Hull #1598
1996 MKII/TR/FK - M35AC - 3 Blade MaxProp
Lake Texoma

www.texomasailing.org

nelson
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Posts: 89

I looked at every post on this topic on the old message board, the C34 message board and on the sailnet message boards, and all i can say is that there is a lot of opinion out there!

Given the minimal amount of time spent sleeping on our boat, I could not justify the expense of purchasing and shipping a real mattress. The foam in the mattress is our V-berth (this is a 1991 boat) was, however, hard, real hard. I ended up having a foam shop in the San Francisco area (Albany) replace the old foam. It made a huge difference. The cost was about $300, including replacing the zippers in the cushions that were frozen. It still ain't great, but it is sleepable. The next step will probably be the Tufted Topper, when the kitty will allow it.

--Nelson

Nelson Lee, "Stella," 2002 C36, hull 2069, Universal M35BC, berthed Sausalito, CA

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bboggs
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I'm thinking I might try the Froli system for our V-berth. I find its pretty comfortable already but there are some pressure points. I think the Froli system might be just the ticket, but I wonder about how difficult access to the storage area beneath the berth and how to deal with the insert.

Its one of the things we'll be thinking about pretty hard at the Annapolis Boat show this year.

Bill Boggs
s/v Palmetto Moon
1991 C36, Hull 1128
Herrington Harbor South
Chesapeake Bay

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stu jackson c34
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[QUOTE=nelson;2375] I ended up having a foam shop in the San Francisco area (Albany) replace the old foam. It made a huge difference. The cost was about $300, including replacing the zippers in the cushions that were frozen. It still ain't great, but it is sleepable. [/QUOTE]

Nelson, can you be more specific about the source, name, address, telephone, website?

Stu Jackson, C34IA Secretary, C34 #224, 1986, SR/FK, M25 engine, Rocna 10 (22#)

nelson
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Posts: 89

Stu:

The store is Foam Creations, located at 1120 Solano Ave. in Albany. 510-526-7186. I don't believe they have a website, but in googling them I noticed they had some good reviews on Yelp and Yahoo.

They seemed knowedgeable, and have done a lot of boat cushions. They were able to walk me through the different foam options. The work was done quickly and competently. Unfortuately, my zippers were shot, and they could not do the replacement. I had a canvas shop in Sausalito replace the zippers once the foam was installed.

--Nelson

Nelson Lee, "Stella," 2002 C36, hull 2069, Universal M35BC, berthed Sausalito, CA

caprice 1050
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Nelson
There are many types of foam used for matresses. Do you know the type/name of the foam you used? Was it Memory Foam? Yers ago I bought a foam matress for an old boat I had and found it was much to soft. Some foam absorbs dampness from the air and will stink after a while.

__/)__/)__/)__Capt Mike__/)__/)__/)__
Punta Gorda Florida
1990 Std WK M35 Hull #1050

dwarburton
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Posts: 107

If you are not ready to invest in new cushions you may want to try this.
I purchased a queen sized roll of egg crate memory foam from a local deep-discount store (Building 19) for about $45, and it made a big improvement. It is only an inch thick, but it covers the seams in the stock cushions, and it made the V-beth much more comfortable. We laid if over the cushions, and covered it with a fitted queen sized sheet.

Dave
Ballena 1995 Mk II #1445

nelson
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Posts: 89

I did not use memory foam. I used a good grade of foam, but not the top of the line. I actually laid down on several samples, and made a choice based on that.

There are a ton of posts about memory foam of sailnet. As I recall, a popular option is putting a layer of memory foam on top of a layer of traditional foam. I wanted to keep my original cushions for the v-berth, so I had to stick with whatever would fit in there, and I couldnt' get too exotic.

-Nelson

Nelson Lee, "Stella," 2002 C36, hull 2069, Universal M35BC, berthed Sausalito, CA

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therobesons
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Well we went with a 3" Comfort" breathing memory foam topper from Walmart.

We got the king size, cut to fit the v-berth and it is great.

It was about $175.

We feel it was about the best compromise we could come up with that still gave us a good place to sleep.

Bob

Bob, LaRainne and McKenzie Robeson

1985 Std Rig C-36, Hull #374

San Pedro, Cal

Sailing the So Cal Islands and coastal ports from San Pedro south to San Diego.

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Jimmy
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They were pretty much a pain in the neck. I would recommend buying from Catalina. Make sure you have a credit card with an arm and a leg limit!

Jimmy,
Secondwind
Hull No. 2058

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ProfDruhot
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The Admiral and I have decided to invest in a good high quality memory foam type topper to place on our v berth mattress. It works just fine and the total price was something like $120 at Kohls.

Glenn Druhot
Carpe Diem
New Bern, NC
35* 6' 10" N / 77* 2' 30" W
2001 C36, Hull #1965
Std Rig; Wing Keel; M35B

john hough
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I bought the innerspring advertised in the mags . Its great . Folds in the middle to the forward end of the v birth hatch, then a second solid piece to fill in the rest. I put one piece of wood to cover the opening all the way to the aft end of first cushions. This lets me to lift up and access under bunk fast and not disturb the bed . You lose the small filler piece altogether. Another vertical wood piece at the end completes the look. Some sort of hook to the overhead holds up the board while I'm under there.

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Jimmy
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[QUOTE=ProfDruhot;2613]The Admiral and I have decided to invest in a good high quality memory foam type topper to place on our v berth mattress. It works just fine and the total price was something like $120 at Kohls.[/QUOTE]

Let me know how you like them.

Jimmy,
Secondwind
Hull No. 2058

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richie30
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Posts: 158

Memory foam for 100.00 at Walmart has given us better sleeps than our 2000.00 home mattress.

Rich

Richard & Joan Bain
PAZZO Hull#1670
1997 Catalina 36 MK11
Bayfield, Ontario

My Day Job Below
www.richardbain.com
www.bineapress.com

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Jimmy
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[QUOTE=richie30;2778]Memory foam for 100.00 at Walmart has given us better sleeps than our 2000.00 home mattress.[/QUOTE]

Will last one year maybe two before it falls apart. Try this and it is a waste of money!

Jimmy,
Secondwind
Hull No. 2058

BudStreet
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Posts: 1127

Our boat has a custom made V berth mattress (two pieces actually), it is about 8" thick of foam, quilted top. It needs to be cleaned there are some water marks on it (on the sides, not the top, it's not what you think it is) but it seems to be in good shape other than that. Once we have it cleaned we will sell it, we use the V-berth for storage only.

If anyone is interested let me know, I can send pictures.

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tgrover
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Posts: 131

Hi Bud:

Please check your "Private Messages". I would be interested in some pictures of your mattress. Thanks very much.

Tom & Janis Grover

C36 #0949
SR/WK, M25XP
Midland, ON

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