Forepeak suite years in the making

[john english]

Coastie has the over/under configuration.
I started with a 36"x36" Lewmar hatch (NLA). Inspired by the large hatch on the Frers 58 "Swiftsure" as it made sail handling (setting and dousing) much easier. On our boat it more like an atrium.
The ceiling strips are Eastern hard rock maple.
A ledger on the port side to supports multiple 1x6 poplar bunk boards to bridge the gap. Easy to remove and store.
For comfort there are 3-pieces of 5" foam cushions. Later on I added a 3" foam topper also in 3-pieces. Then another 1" layer just because.
The sleeping area starts at 84" wide due to the height of the upper bunk. Beaucoup elbow room.
A leak destroyed the overhead liner. The new overhead is 1/8" pre painted eucalyptus hardboard (Eucatex) cut into 6 smaller pieces. Now dotted with glow in the dark stars! I have successfully used this product elsewhere to replace other overhead sections.
A small Perko fold down step on the head wall gets our 78-year-old life forms up and in.
LED lighting from Amazon is dimmable and has a blue night light feature. Separate USB ports P&S

 

[terry_thatcher]

Wonderful job. I may look for the eucalyptus, although I guess I may not find it out of California. My college campus in S.Cal was covered with them. I assume you glued in some ribs to attach the hull ceiling strips to. How did you do that? That seems like the hardest part of adding ceiling strips to the hull

 

[john english]

the existing overhead was secured to bonded plywood strips. I followed the screw line and used these to secure the teak battens that supports the smaller pieces. The Eucatex finish is fragile, that’s where the glow in the dark stars help. I added more of course.