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Old 24-11-2017, 06:04   #1
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Liveaboard mono with no v-berth?

Hi all, I'm looking for my first boat and want to liveaboard. One boat I'm interested in is the Aloha 32. Two layouts were offered one had a v-berth and the other has a sail locker, tool storage area. There is a pretty well taken care of example with some good cruising kit for a good price but it doesn't have a v-berth.

I'm a 35 yo male that would like to find a female partner to sail/liveaboard with. This boat would have two settees and a large quarter berth only. Is it worth considering?

Overall my budget is around $25k. 32' to 35'. Just looking for a Caribbean boat/coastal cruiser.

Thanks
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Old 24-11-2017, 06:34   #2
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Re: Liveaboard mono with no v-berth?

Had a series of conversations of late and it would appear that there are more than a few couples who don't sleep together in the V berth. Why? well first off you will be spending all night playing footsie because there isn't enough room at the sharp end for 4 feet and also getting in and out a bit of a palarver. Instead most seem to use v berth and quarter berths to get a good nights sleep. Twin sofas would do the same.

A workshop you say, well now we are talking ....

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Old 24-11-2017, 06:38   #3
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Re: Liveaboard mono with no v-berth?

To me, where to bunk in smaller boat has always been one of the biggest issues. Even if designed for sleeping and not as a sail locker the v-berth in small boat still often ends up as sail storage and in fact storage for all sorts of stuff. Also, at sea, especially on the wind, sleeping in the bow can be a bit bumpy.

The alternative, sleeping on a convertible in the main cabin was always a bit of a pain due to the need to assemble a bed every night before you can sleep. Also many of these fill up the cabin and make access to the head or deck awkward.

That's the main reason most of my boats have been center cockpit / aft cabin designs. There aren't many in in the sub 40' range and most tend to look a little boxy but having a cabin that is an actual bedroom sure is nice.
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Old 24-11-2017, 06:43   #4
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Re: Liveaboard mono with no v-berth?

We sleep almost exclusively in the vberth. Our boat is 32’ long, but with the anchor locker ahead of the berth there is plenty of room for four feet.

Quarter berths to me are terrible at anchor, ventilation sucks back there, and some of them are quite claustrophobic.
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Old 24-11-2017, 08:32   #5
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Re: Liveaboard mono with no v-berth?

Totally agree with Pete, give me a quarter berth any day also try getting into a V berth when you're 75 (as we are, and still do, but It's not easy and we have resorted to separate bedding in the V berth)
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Had a series of conversations of late and it would appear that there are more than a few couples who don't sleep together in the V berth. Why? well first off you will be spending all night playing footsie because there isn't enough room at the sharp end for 4 feet and also getting in and out a bit of a palarver. Instead most seem to use v berth and quarter berths to get a good nights sleep. Twin sofas would do the same.

A workshop you say, well now we are talking ....

Pete
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Old 24-11-2017, 08:32   #6
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Re: Liveaboard mono with no v-berth?

there are quite few, but on occasion Nonsuch catboats come within your budget
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Old 24-11-2017, 08:35   #7
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Re: Liveaboard mono with no v-berth?

4 of us (2 couples) cruised the Caribbean on a Nonsuch 30 in comfort and relative privacy
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there are quite few, but on occasion Nonsuch catboats come within your budget
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Old 24-11-2017, 08:40   #8
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Re: Liveaboard mono with no v-berth?

Morgan 33 Out Island- rope locker forward of V-birth, plenty of room for two. Don't underestimate the importance of head room as well.
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Old 24-11-2017, 08:50   #9
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Re: Liveaboard mono with no v-berth?

Do a yachtworld search for "Pullman"...
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Old 24-11-2017, 08:55   #10
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Re: Liveaboard mono with no v-berth?

I prefer the V berth.
-In warm weather there is no better berth for a restful night. The breeze comes right thru the hatch.
-It's really no worse to get in and out of than other popular berths. (with the exception of large "yachts" with a big island berth!)
-In a V berth you can monitor what's gong on at night readily. Hear the chain dragging around or the anchor roller clicking? Pop your hear out the hatch and give a look to see the wind shift or whatever.
-I have had two boats with Pullman berths and will never have that again; hot, cramped, and much harder to get in and out of with a partner The worst of the 3 most common options.
-If you select a boat with a good V berth there is plenty of foot room.
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Old 24-11-2017, 08:57   #11
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Re: Liveaboard mono with no v-berth?

Our IP 38 is a Pullman berth, I like it more than a V berth.
It is not a large bed however and whoever is outside will have to climb over who is inside, or you both get out.
Too much movement in the bow for me, especially when underway.
Berth in a small boat will always be a compromise.
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Old 24-11-2017, 09:10   #12
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Re: Liveaboard mono with no v-berth?

Thanks for the comments so far.

Mark Ellis designed both the Nonsuch 30 and the Aloha 32. Not looking for a cat boat though.

To Dave22q's point, I am 6'3 so looking for a boat with 6'4 headroom as well. I don't want to turn this into another "what boat should I buy thread."

Just wondering how important having a v-berth is for a youngish couple. After you know each other a while you can sleep separate. If you want to invite someone into your life, and boat, the accommodation might be more important even if it doesnt get used later on.
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Old 24-11-2017, 09:15   #13
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Re: Liveaboard mono with no v-berth?

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Originally Posted by LLCoolDave View Post
Thanks for the comments so far.

Mark Ellis designed both the Nonsuch 30 and the Aloha 32. Not looking for a cat boat though.

To Dave22q's point, I am 6'3 so looking for a boat with 6'4 headroom as well. I don't want to turn this into another "what boat should I buy thread."

Just wondering how important having a v-berth is for a youngish couple. After you know each other a while you can sleep separate. If you want to invite someone into your life, the accommodation might be more important even if it doesnt get used later on.
A Pearson 365 has 6'3" headroom

you wont get tired of how she looks, shes big enough to have few compromises, small enough to single hand, she has an easy motion, a standing shower, yes a v berth, a pilot berth and you can rig a double in the saloon. Some come with quarter berths

get a haircut ...
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Old 24-11-2017, 09:17   #14
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Re: Liveaboard mono with no v-berth?

[QUOTE=LLCoolDave;2524138]Hi all, I'm looking for my first boat and want to liveaboard. One boat I'm interested in is the Aloha 32. Two layouts were offered one had a v-berth and the other has a sail locker, tool storage area. There is a pretty well taken care of example with some good cruising kit for a good price but it doesn't have a v-berth.

I'm a 35 yo male that would like to find a female partner to sail/liveaboard with. This boat would have two settees and a large quarter berth only. Is it worth considering?

Overall my budget is around $25k. 32' to 35'. Just looking for a Caribbean boat/coastal cruiser.

My wife and I live in a 30' Ericson. I have turned the v-berth into a storage locker and closet. As the v-berth is raised. there is insufficient room between the ceiling and the the bed for me to feel "comfortable". There is more than ample leg and body room with the anchor locker being forward and enclosed but it still does not work. We have decided to put our clothes in bins (off season is stored below the berth in the holds beneath). The wife's bin goes to the port side and mine to the starboard. We have run an expandable pole rack from the sides (used a locking truck bed pole and tighten it to the top moldings - great for hanging clothes). We also made a shoe locker from the below the mid ship v-berth cushion that drops to seat level when not being used for sleeping (for us this is not a permanent placement as it makes a nice dressing room seat).
We really like the arrangement but found the separation of quarters for sleeping was not what we wanted. Just because we are in our seventies does not mean we do not enjoy cuddling or just the closeness of sharing the same sleeping quarters. Presently, I am working on a sliding style futon (offset slats that slide out to give the additional support. Our dinette lowers into a bed but provides just 25" width by 75" long as I designed (at the Ms suggestion) cupboards and cubbies from the backside of the previous set up. (As always, hind sight is 20/20 -should have built it over the settee and kept the queen sized bed on the table side). Yeah. yeah, you can have your cake and eat it too but I like the new table and cupboard arrangement and believe the slide out with proper cushions to fit and a queen size air mattress to go atop will give us a splendid sleeping arrangement. It is also quickly convertible which, to our chosen life style (we are planning for The Great Loop and will often travel a minimum of 40 miles per day starting at day break), needs to be done in 5 minutes or less with all returning to a state of normal.
If you are just weekend or even occasionally camping on a boat, sleeping in a v-berth might be okay (or even sleeping in the quarter berth and settee or salon lay down berths). But living aboard needs to provide some standard of comfort that is acceptable to all involved. If you do not sleep well, life tends to become a struggle and, personally, we choose to enjoy it, not endure it. You, too, can use your imagination, go where others have gone or create something that suits your fancy. In the long haul, making a 32' or less boat suit your needs is more a matter of creating something that is long term acceptable to the both of you. Good luck with your efforts.
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Old 24-11-2017, 10:41   #15
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Re: Liveaboard mono with no v-berth?

Quote:
Originally Posted by LLCoolDave View Post
Thanks for the comments so far.

Mark Ellis designed both the Nonsuch 30 and the Aloha 32. Not looking for a cat boat though.

To Dave22q's point, I am 6'3 so looking for a boat with 6'4 headroom as well. I don't want to turn this into another "what boat should I buy thread."

Just wondering how important having a v-berth is for a youngish couple. After you know each other a while you can sleep separate. If you want to invite someone into your life, and boat, the accommodation might be more important even if it doesnt get used later on.
A vee is not as comfortable as the same square footage of a more rectangular bed for a couple, that being a prime objective of yours.

You might look into one of the S2 center cockpit boats; any aft cockpit will be quarter or very short-height aft cabins, with nearly no ventilation by comparison to an aft berth on a center cockpit boat.

Your budget is a bit daunting, unless you are going to sail bare bones (which in the Caribbean you certainly can do, as no trip needs to be out of sight of land, and some guide books would substitute adequately for more detailed charting). All of them offer an opportunity to reprovision, so refrigeration might be unneeded (the biggest typical draw in a live-aboard, at-sea, boat); some of our dearest friends are half-year cruisers, in remote areas, and have no refrigeration; our dinners aboard have not suffered...

You don't even, really, at that size, need an engine; sculling suffices for circumstances where no-wind propulsion is mandatory.

Good luck in your search!

L8R

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