Question for the 31' owners

[MadMoney]

Which area do you use as your primary sleeping area and why - the aft berth or the forward berth?

Looking forward to your responses!

Anthony

[amber jj]

Aft is our primary.It easy to make the bed in the morning .We don't have to reassemble the cushions and table,plus Val may stay up later than myself and use the computer and such.I guess if you do not use the table it doesn't matter which.We also have our TV mounted in the bow which we can watch from the aft or sitting at the table.Bob & Val

[irishwake]

Same as above.

[Pitou]

Ditto on the above as well.

Having a permanent berth set-up and ready to go is super convenient and not having to rearrange with the dinette going up and the dinette going down every time. Doing that for an occasional overnight or weekend wouldn't be so bad, but take a 7 plus day trip or shorter and that process gets old fast. It's rather nice having the aft berth at the ready for an afternoon nap as well.

There is a 31TE in the For Sale section that offers a custom pilothouse dining option while leaving the forward berth made up as the permanent berth.
viewtopic.php?f=13&t=9679

Here are a couple of pictures from the ad:

31TE FWD Berth.JPG

IMG_0716.JPG

[sharffj]

Any idea where they got the support pedestal or did they have it custom made

[Jeremyvmd]

while I settled on a 28, we had looked at the 31. Our intent with either boat was to use the rear berth as the primary and leave the table. On the 28 we did that the first few times, but have since started using the v-berth as the primary. When im just going down to take a nap while running (with someone else driving of course) I use the rear berth as its just easier to deal with

[Pitou]

Any idea where they got the support pedestal or did they have it custom made

I've researched this project pretty well and it's on my list .. for 2018. I think that it would be nice to have a removable table topside in the pilot house.

Taco Marine: Removable Side Mount Table Pedestal System / it's a 4 piece system and I plan to have a stainless backing plate made up as well.

http://tacomarine.com/category/side_mou ... tal-System

Here's a link to the table:
https://www.marineteak.co.uk/folding--s ... eak-tables

[Jeremyvmd]

thank you for those links! I was gonna figure out a way of doing that in the cockpit of my 28...much easier than researching it myself...lol

[MadMoney]

Thanks everyone for your replies! Getting away from converting the dinette table to the main sleeping area is one of the items on my short list for the next boat. I would prefer an island berth for ease of access but I guess we'll just draw straws on who sleeps on the inside (and we all know how that will go over ).

Pitou - I've seen the 31' listed and reached out to the owner (thanks for the reply Cheryll!). That's a great looking ride with some really cool unique upgrades. Unfortunately I'm not prepared to pull the trigger just yet - still in research mode.

Other items on my short list include:
Freezer and or Ice maker
Livewell
Prefer a pilothouse vs. open express with canvas
Twin diesels with a cruise speed of at least 22kts without really pushing the boat too hard
Generator
Shower stall vs wet head

Every boat has it's compromises but the 31' checks most of these boxes. It's a slow time of year for boating so hopefully many join into the conversation; especially owners who've upgraded to the 31' from the 28 TE.

[irishwake]

Just a point of interest. I have an ice maker on my 31 and have only used it once. They are noisy, you have to be on shore power or the generator to use it and they don't hold a lot of ice. When I can buy 20 lbs of ice for $1.25 from the machine it becomes an easy decision not to use it. So I don't think that should be a big factor in purchasing a boat. Just my opinion !

[sharffj]

Mad Money,
My 31 has pretty much everything you're looking for. Boat is in Hammond in the summer so if you're in Ilwaco you are welcome to stop by.

[MadMoney]

Irishwake - you make a great point... I'll definitely keep that in mind.

Jeff - Hope to see you this summer on the Columbia if not sooner.

Anthony

[kowal_53]

We use the V-birth, and leave it set up for our trips. We added a memory foam topper last year, and it was much improved over the standard cushions. Lots of places to eat upstairs. I have thought about getting a small folding table for the cabin. Perhaps 2 TV tables. What ever I do I want to be able to stow it.

I tend to use the rear bunk for storage. We did have one of these on a previous boat, and we used in lieu of the v-birth. Now is is harder for us to get up from the smaller birth in the back, which is very close to the floor. It is also hard for the person in the back to climb over the other. I suspect all of this can be mediated if you sleep well, and limit how many times you get up at night.

We also have the TV in the v-birth on the front wall. It works, and we can swing it out when viewing from bed. Of course we have to be on one side then. We have also watch in bed looking forward. I would not all these ideal locations, but you can get by. There does not seem to be a good alternative for the TV that might be want to change the location.

[Pitou]

I agree that the rear berth takes a bit of "athleticism", but for us the convenience of having the dinette set-up at all times is worth it. From what I've seen, one would need to go to 35 feet plus in order to gain a forward island berth and room for a permanent dining are in the pilot house. All boats have some sort of compromise no matter the size. We did add a memory foam topper as well and it makes a huge difference. For $2,000 a custom mattress can be made ... now that would be nice .