Every time you say “boat”, most people will get the image of a small dinghy in their minds. Well, boats come in many sizes. The bigger boats sometimes have sleeping spaces, and that’s where v-berth bedding comes in.
V-berths are the most common spaces for making a resting corner. The space depends on the boat, and the bedding depends on the space.
If you don’t want fully traditional bedding or want to look for more sustainable options, here are a few alternatives you can consider.
Alternatives To V-berth Bedding
I have 3 such substitutes:
- Closed Cell Foam Mattress
- Regular Foam Mattress
- Futon
So, the above options you can consider for your v-berth bedding grievance. These alternatives are, of course, for a scenario where custom mattresses (or other bedding materials) aren’t an option. Let’s check these out one by one.
- Closed Cell Foam Mattress
If you don’t want a fully customized mattress for your boat but still want a good fit, this is a nice option.
Most stores will offer you this if you say no to full custom.
A big advantage of closed-cell foam mattresses is that they usually come in common v-berth shapes.
You’ll just have to ask the store and they’ll show you the options you can use.
But that’s not all, closed cell foams have another option up their sleeves.
If you’re not sure about a full mattress, you can go for foam sheets. These are much smaller and you’ll need multiple to cover your v-berth.
The advantage here is that you can fit them however you want. Cut them, and overlap them- you have a much bigger window for flexibility with the foam sheets.
On the flip side, putting covers and bed sheets on them will be trickier. If you go for a full pre-made closed-cell foam mattress then you can easily find sheets, but you’ll have to improvise if you get the foam sheets.
Closed-cell foam mattresses are known for good support, so that’s a plus you’re going to get.
- Regular Foam Mattress
Before you raise your brows, no they don’t come in a pre-made v-berth shape.
You’ll have to do a little DIY to get them going but this is probably the most convenient alternative you’ll get.
Foam mattresses are the most commonly used alternative for v-berth bedding. There is a good reason for that.
Regular foam mattresses are much cheaper than anything else. So if you’re penny-pinching a little, you know what to go for.
The downside of a regular foam mattress is that you won’t find it in your convenient shape. You’ll have to go and whip out some interesting tools to get it down to shape. The most popular way of cutting the foam down is the turkey cutter saws.
The two inches of electric saw people use to cut turkey on thanksgiving usually does a pretty nice job of cutting through the foam. But the process can get a little messy sometimes depending on the foam. So you’ll have to give it a test run first.
Another way you can size the foam mattress is with a hot knife. Some of them are specifically made for cutting foam so they’re much safer and more precise. Cut, sew, and then throw a sheet over the whole thing and you’re done.
If you get the right size mattress, you won’t have to cut much but it is better to have a little more wiggle room.
- Futon
Futons for v-berth bedding work pretty much like regular mattresses.
You’ll have to get one and then cut it down to the berth shape. The plus side of futons is that they’re easier to cut through.
Another plus is the fold option. You can keep them laid out permanently but you can also switch the schedule up.
That way you can optimize the v-berth space better. You can sleep on them at the night and then you can roll them up to use the space for something else in the morning.
The only problem with that is it will take a lot of work to fold them up and open them back up again. But futons are probably the easiest option here to work with.
Is V-Berth Bedding Worth It?
One thing about v-berth is that the space can be pretty diverse.
That’s why you’ll see lots of bedding options in different sizes.
You’ve probably already used some variation of v-berth bedding unless you’re building a boat from the scratch.
That wouldn’t be enough either, you’ll have to be a total newbie to not know anything about v-berth bedding.
If you’ve been using some kind of bedding so far, you probably already have some ideas about possible bedding alternatives. And if you’re still a newbie, no worries.
Assuming you already know pretty much everything v-berth bedding by now, the answer would be yes. V-berth bedding is worth it if you know how to pick the right options.
V-berth bedding is more of a free-styling game. You have tricky spaces so you can go however you want to make the best use of it. Plus it makes a pretty nice captain’s corner.
You can keep it lowkey if you don’t stay on your boat for a long time, or go for a makeshift cabin with it.
V-berth beddings are necessary if you tend to be out on the water overnight. That way you’ll have a proper place to sleep. Even if you don’t stay out overnight, v-berth bedding is a good option for relaxing.
Also Read: Differences Between Marine Mat And SeaDek Decking.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
It is hard to cover everything in a single article so if you have some more questions, that’s understandable.
Here are a bunch of questions people usually ask about alternative v-berth bedding options. Hopefully, these can help you out more.
A sleeping corner on the front side of a boat. Generally, any place you sleep on is called a berth. If it is under the cockpit then you call it a quarter berth, or settee berth if it is in your main cabin. It is a pilot berth if it is in the outboard and V-berth if it is in the front part of your boat.
A marine mattress is a structure you use for durability. These are called mattresses but they aren’t for your bed. Marine mattresses are made from highly durable polymer materials.
They’re used to prevent structural damage like corrosion and other degradation, so they’re always used around marine structures.
Aft berth is a sleeping accommodation in the back of a boat. Aft means the rearmost part of a boat’s inside, and berth is something you sleep on. So the aft berth is your sleeping corner if it is in the backside. Usually, aft berths are behind the steering cockpit area in both sailboats and power boats.
It is the same as the v-birth. So this is just a sleeping corner on the front side of a boat. Since front sleeping corners are called v-berths, this is a v-berth too.
Final Verdict
There are plenty of v-berth bedding alternatives available. No matter why you want to switch to something different, you can always find something that will fit the bill. That’s the fun of v-births.
If you’re just trying to maximize the space, go for multi-purpose alternatives. And if you’re leaning towards sustainability, make sure to check the labels on everything.
Either way, just remember to have fun with what you’re building and you’ll be fine.
