TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums British Virgin Islands Catamaran forepeak v-berth question

We're planning to use a forepeak v-berth cabin in a 42' or 44' catamaran for a child that's 4'5" tall. Just wondering if he'll really fit comfortably in there.

If the boat is Sea Tiger with TMM, then yes it should be fine.

Head will likely be in other hull

It depends on the boat, but you might want to consider having them sleep in the salon.

Have you been on this boat before? Is the forepeak access from the cabin or the deck?

As mentioned by others it depends on the boat. Nonetheless, at 4’5” it’s doubtful the child’s head will “be in other hull“. The forepeak berth on a Lagoon 42 has more than 6’6” of length and is wide enough for comfort.

....I am pretty sure they meant the “head”.......as in bathroom.....but I could be wrong...LOL...

In some of them, there is no AC in the “coffin” berths so I would check on that as well.

The berths are big enough for a adult. The majority of boats don’t have AC in the coffin berths which is the big issue if it’s the off season. Even in the winter if you get rain showers at night they heat up very fast with the hatch closed. Not much air volume.
G

Thanks, one of the boats we are considering is a 2021 42' FP Astrea. We were thinking we could leave the pass through open from the forward cabin and the vhull so it would have AC. Do you think this would work, we'll be there in late July.

Yeah....we did a captained charter on a Lagoon 62 in the Abacos last summer and we always woke up to the crew in the salon — their coffin berths were broiling in the heat....

We just completed a charter last month on a Helia 44', with kids in both forepeak cabins. We did exactly as you suggest, and left the interior pass throughs open. With the cabin fans on, there was plenty of air moving into the forepeak cabins, and the kids slept comfortably.

If the boat has access from the forward cabin it will work fine if you bring a small portable fan to move some air up there. Even a little battery powered fan will do the trick. There is however a loss of privacy.
G

Depends on the boat (as already mentioned). Can be a little claustrophobic for some. Be careful that the forepeak (coffin berth) is stated as such, some are simply dirty storage bins.

We typically reserve the forepeak berth for misbehaving children, including teenagers (and sometimes adults). :-)

Seriously tho, when we don't have enough cabin space, the kids would stow their stuff in the v-berth but would usually sleep outside on deck or on the tramp....they would end up on the saloon floor if the weather was wet.

I think you're probably correct that "they meant the head ... as in bathroom", but most charter cats do have heads in both hulls.

On our Lagoon 42, the kids love the forepeak berth. We do as suggested above, leave the pass through open and turn on the fans. When the AC is running the forepeak stays about as cool as the other cabins.

Oh that is very good to know - thanks for sharing!

As others have said, make sure it’s accessible from the forward berth and not the deck only. You probably don’t want a child to only have deck access at night. Same goes for a/c, Should be fine if access left open. A child would love their own little room.

Ahoy Captains,

'Smile Maker', the 2017 Leopard 45, has a fully finished 6' single berth with AirCon to Port, and a private head to Starboard, and of course 4 Queen Beds and 4 Baths, for the '20/'21 season for 7 nights for $7000.

Fair Winds, Brent at the Captains Compass.

We chartered a FP Helia that had a/c in one coffin berth, but not the other. One of the kids claimed the a/c coffin berth and loved it. My daughter used the non a/c coffin berth when she got cold, but she prefers to sleep on deck otherwise. Without a/c the coffin beth was stifling.

Cheers, RickG

I have done about 80 charters in my life in all kinds of configurations, kids, including my son, from age of 3 to 20, etc... I am also a certified captain. I can say with certainty that I would NEVER let a kid sleep in the forepeak, IF the access is from the deck only.
Depends on his/her age of course, but consider this scenario: It's 2 AM, the kid wakes up, wants to go to the bathroom, climbs the ladder to the deck, is half asleep, stumbles and falls in the water while everyone else is asleep? Then what?

You all may say that I am extremely pessimistic, but I am a complete safety freak, especially when it comes to kids. Besides, i have seen too many freak accidents. But that's just me...

I completely agree, the forepeak has a pass-through to the forward cabin, which his brother will be in.