According to the brokerage where I bought my boat cross beds are becoming very popular.  If you buy a reverse layout boat, with the bedroom in the bow it will lessen the need to lift and remake every day.  My bed is 5ft wide.  Length is obviously restricted by the width of the boat.

Hi guys

I too have been looking at the matter of beds as I’m 6’5” and a good nights sleep is an important part of life.

At home we have a 5′ by 7′ water bed which is lovely and comfortable and whilst I’d love to keep it, it’s not very practical on a narrowboat for many reasons.

I have looked at many different options for beds and they all seem to have their own problems for me. Pull out beds and cross beds inevitably mean a sectional mattress which involves joins which can always be felt when lying on them and worse can pull apart during the night leaving a hole. They also mean they have to be made up every night and dismantled every morning.

Whereas standard beds set along the length of the boat are restricted in width to 4′ or at best 4′ 6”so as to allow people to get past.

I think I’ve found the solution for us which will allow us to have our usual 5′ by 7′ bed (albeit with a normal mattress).

I first saw this system on a prototype boat at Crick last year and have subsequently found ways to achieve the same results either DIY or as part of a boat build.

There are several pictures of the system here, http://www.wall-beds.co.uk/wal…..y-bed.html however most of them show the bed in a headmounted setup. A sidemounted bed would be needed in a narrowboat.

The benefit of these beds is that when you put them away in the morning, the bedding is simply strapped down with a couple of straps and then the bed is simply folded away with the gas struts helping with the weight. At night you just pull it back down and undo the straps and you’re good to go.

The system also means that the bedroom floor is accessible when the bed is in its stored position so perfect for boats where the engine is under the floor.

If you are on a budget there are other websites where the gas ram strut kits can be bought and the bed frame can be built up separately thus allowing almost any bed size to be created. Do take into account commonly available bedding sizes if you make a non standard bed, as if you get into needing bespoke sheets, the price of bedding goes up exponentially.

John

I am 6’4″ and find my cross bed fine – 6’3″ I think.  The mattress was tailor made so fits exactly  – join not felt and does not pull apart.  Remember the join is at about knee level.

You will struggle to get a 7′ bed in a narrowboat unless you are getting a build and the height will restrict  where you can go.