a v-berth remodel

[notaclue]

ok tuggernaughts, although i'm early into the project, thought i would send up a flag and see who salutes .. after 10 plus nites in our bunk sleeping in the san juans, i realized i prefer to sleep feet facing the stern. much easier to get to the head at 2am.. anyone pushing 60 knows how how important that is.. my new bunk height will be the shelf provided by the hull plus4 inches give or take ..support for the new 3/4 inch t @g platform will be turned teak posts coming up from the appropriate fiberglass bearring [sp] spots beneath. the pluses [most important] 12+ inches of shoulder width for myself and my bride with our feet facing the stearn. ... 2ndly, the ability to exit the berth without doing a rotating 180 on my ass and not kicking said bride in the head while doing so....the downside,, don't sit up real fast in the middle of the nite or you smack your head on the ceiling forpeak... and the is no lighting at that end of the boat..... right now i have every thing mocked up for patterns before my install. i forgot to mention that all that space that was only accessible by tearing the bunk apart is now an easy arm's reach away. i will then install a long sliding drawer that will pull out into the cockpit for clothing... as soon as i can figure out how to post pictures on the site, i will. the new mattress will be 4 inch memory foam from costco. this entire diatribe will make a lot more sense with the pics. stay tuned....skipper steve...i have...notaclue

 

[captd]

For sure I would like to see what you have in mind. Can not visualize it at all. Your size and mine must be different. We won't mention wives.
captd

 

[CaptMac]

Am looking forward to seeing how your project comes out. We've tried putting pillows/cushions under the rear part of the V-berth cushion to elevate it slightly - but it would be really great to have enough room to put your head forward and feet back. I hope you plan to come cruising in the Pacific Northwest soon after you finish the project so we can check it out personally.

Mac

 

[j&lgray]

Interesting idea. Laurie and I just finished spending 90 days and nights on the Laurie Ann as we did a 1,600 mile trip down the Mississippi and Tennessee and Tenn-Tom Waterway to Mobile Alabama. I took us a few days to adapt to the "Master Berth" but we liked nearly as much as our bed at home. What really made the bed work was adding a 4 inch memory foam that we cut to fit the berth. Get a queen size foam from Overstock.com and save a bundle!

We needed all the shoulder room that the V-berth could get with our feet to the bow. Without seeing your photos or drawings, are you going to have access to the storage units on each side? What about the forward storage area in the bow? That is where we kept our second anchoring rig.

Like Mac said, if you come up to Seattle, I would like to see what you have done on your Ranger.

 

[rupunzal]

re: time and distance

How long did it take from the time you entered the Tenn-Tom from the Tennessee River to reach Mobile? How many stops, average cruising speed, days and approx hours per day on the water, etc. We are planning the trip in the future and would be interested in your answers.

Rupunzal

 

[norbhat]

I notice that Laurie Ann has not yet posted a response to your query about the Tenn-Tom. We did the Loop in 2005-2006. We left our boat, 44' Tollycraft, at Aqua Yacht Harbor Marina for some hull work while we went home for Thanksgiving. Aqua is where the Tenn-Tom meets the Tennessee River so this covers the entire Tenn-Tom.
Dec. 5 - Aqua to Midway
Dec. 6 - Midway to Columbus, MS (frost on the boat, lines stiff)
Dec. 7 - Columbus to Aliceville, AL
Dec. 8 - Weathered in (Aliceville doesn't have much to offer but a WWII German POW museum, which is worthwhile; and a good visitor center at the lock)
Dec. 9 - Still weathered in
Dec. 10 - Left in fog. With radar and lockmaster talking us in, we made it into the lock without event. Not recommended)
Aliceville to Demopolis.
Dec. 11 - Demopolis to Bobby's Fish Camp
Dec. 12 - Bobby's Fish Camp to Tensaw River anchorage
Dec. 13 - Tensaw to Dog River (Mobile, AL)

Our normal cruising speed was 10 mph. Best info for the Tenn-Tom is Fred Myers, "The Tenn-Tom Nitty-Gritty Cruise Guide." Fred Myers on the "Tennessee River" is a must, too. Both are now out of print but available here and there.

Norb

 

[j&lgray]

Sorry everyone, the Laurie Ann answered the questions about the Tenn-Tom trip by private message. But if you are waiting for the information, we are talking about a 450 mile trip from the junction of the Tenn-Tom Waterway and the Tennessee River that is in the corner where Mississippi and Tennessee meet and extends south crossing the Alabama/Mississippi border and ending at Mobile Bay at the Gulf of Mexico. We did the 450 miles in 10 days, splitting the nights between marinas and anchoring. The Ranger 25 gave us anchoring and docking options that the big boats did not have.

I highly recommend the inland river trip to all of you. It is the tamest boating that we have ever done and met the nicest people ever and the scenery was great!

John and Laurie