This is my design for a sleeping platform for my Navigator I really like how these turned out and how well they work. My son and I slept on these for a week during the Salish-100 cruise and they worked perfectly, so I’m excited to share them with you.
The platform occupies virtually no space when stored away and provides a sleeping area for one or two people when in use.
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| Stored position |
The photo above shows the platform in its stored position. The two panels store flush on the cockpit sole. Note how the panels fit up against the keel batten, the seat fronts and the aft end of the centerboard case. This locks them securely in place so they cannot move at all when you walk on them.
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| Sleeping position |
This next photo above shows the panels in the sleeping position. One or both can be used. The panels are strong. You can sit, lay, and even walk on them without breaking them. Note there is a gap between them but it does not adversely affect their use. In fact, it provides access to drop or retrieve small items into the footwell. But be mindful not to allow them to slide together because they would lose the support provided along their outboard edges.
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| Underside |
Here is a peek at the underside of one of the panels. They are made from two pieces of plywood. The underside piece of plywood is 1/2” thick and the topside piece of plywood is 1/4”. The combined total thickness of 3/4” matches the thickness of the keel batten, making it lie flush when stored which eliminates any tripping hazard. The dark strip along the edges is just a piece of felt that I glued on to protect my seat tops from scratches.
Construction
To make these all you’ll need is some ¼” and some ½” plywood. The upper ¼” thick piece is cut to size and shape so it fits on the cockpit sole right up to the keel batten, right up to the seat fronts, and right up to the aft end of the centerboard case (see the first photo).
The lower ½” thick piece of plywood is cut to fit inside the footwell at seat-top level. In other words, right up to the front, back, and side of the seat top footwell opening.
The upper piece will be larger than the lower piece, assuming your seat-tops overhang the footwell. If they don’t overhang, this entire project probably won’t work.
Attach the two pieces of plywood with glue and screws, but when you do you will want to bend them to a curve to match the contour of the cockpit sole. You can see the curvature in this photo
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| Contour to match cockpit sole |
A little bit of sanding and painting later and you'll be ready for some comfortable overnighters.
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Tim Ingersoll from Superior Wisconsin recently completed his sleeping platform for his beautiful Navigator Freidlor
Said Tim:
"They really took very little time to put together, when I put my mind to it. I oversize rough cut the 1/2" ply and simply placed that on top of the seats, then reached underneath to trace the curve of the seat edge. Once that was cut to shape, the 1/4" ply simply needed to be cut to fit in the sole of the boat, which was easy to measure out. Simple and fast."
"I didn't use felt to protect the seat tops, but am trying the rubberized paint under the lip and on top of the 1/4" (which will be the floorboard). I'm hoping that gives me a little grip under my feet and helps keep it in place when placed as sleeping platform. I do hate to recommend until I've had a chance to see how it holds up...but we'll see."
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| Tim's Navigator "Freidlor" |
Here's wishing you many comfortable overnight adventures, Tim!
