Morgan 384, 1985

[spowellmorgan38]

<div>We have put a deposit on a beautiful 1985 Morgan 384. Pending the survey it looks as if this beautiful boat will be ours.
We are planning to live aboard this boat and cruise the intercoastal waterway, down to Florida and possibly to the Bahamas. My primary concern has been the vee berth space It feels a little cramped up there as far as having to get on the bed to shut the door. Since we are going to be living on this boat I would like to hear from others who have this boat and possibly live on them what is it like? We are hoping friends and family will come to visit. If you have this situation does this pose any problems.
My second question is about the laundry chute in the Head. I've been on two of these boats and they seem to use waist baskets in this hole in the countertop. My thoughts are to cover this hole with some type of cabinet door or opening and string a mesh bag in this space so that dirty clothes that are damp will not get mildew. Anybody out there done anything with this area? Thanks we are pleased to join the family of Morgan owners. All that I've read shows me that you all truly love and care for these boats.Linda
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[bobclark]

<div>Linda,
Congratulations.
I am 6.1 and my wife 5.10. We do not live aboard. We do spend a lot of time cruising and have stayed aboard for 3 straight weeks. We always anchor out. We find the forward cabin OK. There are times that I think to myself, if only I could have this exact boat in 42 or 43 feet, with 3 feet extra in the forward cabin. I believe I would have the same thoughts about any boat after living aboard for a period of time. Every boat is a compromise but, a M38 is hardly a compromise at all.
You have an excellent idea for the dirty wash.
Enjoy your M38, treat her well, she will never let you down.
Larry
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[aurora2]

<div>We live aboard, but never close the door. If you must, you can by removing the veeberth insert and stand there to close the door. I would not replace the linen hamper with a mesh bag. If dirty clothes are in a mesh bag they will be exposed to the smells from thebilge. I replaced my lid with a water-tight hatch from west marine. Clothes don't mildew here in northern california or in mexico heat and humidity.
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[jvierra]

We live aboard our M382 in Portland, Maine, and it has been very comfortable this winter. But then again, it has been mild. The split berth setup has been converted to a V-berth and we had a custom mattress made. The only problem is that the mattress is 5 1/2" thick not leaving a lot of space for moving about. It's just one of those things that you adapt to. Never have closed the door. Guest sleep in the salon. Everyone is comfortable. We feel it's a great boat. Looking forward to sailing her south in August for a year or so.

 

[doc]

Congratulations,
You are buying a great boat. My wife and I have lived aboard our 384 here in Mobile for about 1 1/2 years. I'm 6' 4" and on the hefty side. Sometimes we wish we had a little more room but we find the foward cabin is just fine. We had the door removed for a while but put it back on. Great to have the door when someone would like to sleep in a little longer in the morning. Would recomend installing a couple of Hella turbo fans for air circulation as the forepeak can get a little stuffy.
We have a cabinet door mounted over the laundry bag opening. We use a mesh bag and have had no problems with smell fron the bilge or mildew on the clothes in the laundry bag. Not to say that we havn't had mildew in other parts of the boat, but again that is part of boat living.
Good luck with your Morgan!

 

[bschnur]

Congratulations!
Not to worry about closing the door to the forward cabin. When my wife and I moved aboard last year, we soon discovered that we only think about closing the door when we don't want guests to see our sometimes un-tidy cabin or when one of us is sleeping in. We did try living without the door for a while, but we quickly put it back. With regard to the hamper, the waterproof or teak door in the counter top is a definite improvement. I was wondering how to improve on the plastic "trash can" look and I should have known that someone in the Morgan group had already answered this question.
Good luck and fair winds....