Vee-Berth Blues....

[Jim_ME]

...i don't think anyone in this group would suspect you of intentionally malicious content. You're among friends here

Oh I do know that!  :D

Okay, I was thinking about suggesting that if nothing else works out, maybe one last-ditch option, since you have that free healthcare up there in Canada, would be to try to get height-reduction treatment. You might be able to make the case that being so much taller than normal is really cramping your cruising lifestyle (and it is not much of an advantage for hockey). You might even offer to be an excess height donor for those who have, through no fault of their own, been stricken and disadvantaged by being born short  ;)

[CharlieJ]

:D :D :D

Ya doesn't have to worry about Charlie- I'm way thicker skinned than that!!

:D :D :D
And you have made some quite good suggestion- some things to thing about

[Jim_ME]

Thank you, Charlie.  :)

[Jim_ME]

I totally agree with you on the galley to the aft. During Carita's mystery refit someone made a significant investment in a long teak galley along the starboard side. Its comfortable enough to sit on the port bench and cook, although standing in the companionway would be much more sensible, and having opposing settees that i could drop an infill between for a big rectangular bed would be fantastic.

I was still looking at the layout drawing (below) with the settee berth, "folding stove" and sink to starboard, and the dinette/quarter berth to port.

I had a nice extending berth on my Contest 30 where the settee pulled/slid out to make a generous berth and the back cushion moved down and filled in the extended area between the settee cushion. It even had a built-in teak leeboard that was hinged that could be unfolded (from under the cushion) inboard and held by diagonal lines at each end.

I think that you could build a similar berth extension that would convert it into a double berth. Maybe had some legs that folded down to support the extension?

Yes, I think that having some standing headroom even if only under the sliding hatch, to stand at the galley, at the chart table/nav area, to put on and take off foulies, would still be a good thing, even if you don't have it throughout the main cabin.

I'm also wondering whether at some headroom height, say 6'-2" (even the Watkins 27 reportedly has that), you would have standing headroom while heeled under sail, since your height would be relatively diagonal within the cabin?

[Jim_ME]

Darren, I'll post this here since it is specifically for you and relates to the headroom issue...

I had been thinking about this sailboat design (by bill Tripp who also designed the Hinkley Bermuda 40) since I had seen ads in the past for them and remembered that the boat had extraordinarily high headroom. You had mentioned in an earlier post needing to go up in size to a 34-foot boat to find ample headroom , so maybe you were thinking of this same one.

Anyway, I just saw this post for a Columbia MKII 34 - FREE - located in Charles Town, WV.
http://smd.craigslist.org/boa/4374256522.html

Found this webpage on the boat...
http://www.columbia-yachts.com/c-34m2.html
which says...

Headroom -  Salon: 7' ; Forward Cabin:   6'4"

CL ad says that "Needs work but appears intact. No mast", but hey, it's free and might be one way to get a boat that would best accommodate you long-term...
Maybe use your current boat during the interim, while finding a mast, etc., ...?

Edit: Also found this ad with photos for a sister-boat for sale...
http://norfolk.craigslist.org/boa/4391593867.html

[Steve Bean]

       I'm referring back to the first post re: getting up at night. Maybe with some practice, the use of a small container could eliminate some trips and reduce disturbance to one's berth-mate.
       I'm interested in the bulkhead-sawing ideas also; in my boat there's barely room to get a 5-gallon bucket between the mast compression-post and starboard-side bulkhead.