Port birth/bunk

Sorry, I can't find the thread but I think Frosty or someone was saying that a boat should have a its berth to port.....why? That's been bugging me as most are V berths or centered aft cabins....I believe it was about a small seaworthy cruiser.....selecting an inexpensive boat (I know there is no such thing...LOL) Why to port?

I didn't have my coffee, not giving birth in the berth....

 

Because most people are right handed.

 

Dating back to at least the Hanseatic times, boats were traditionally, perhaps obligatorily, tied port side to the dock. Most of those old boats had side mounted rudders, obviously placed on the offside. The rudders were called steer boards. Thus scandalized to become starboard. This is said, in legend, to be the origin of the descriptive words port side starboard side. The historicity of port side berths is beyond the scope of my feeble knowledge.

Maybe Frosty will chime in and explain why the berth should be on the port side when tied to the dock.

 

Bcs galley is on the starboard..

 

?? when underway in your port berth you've selected a starboard tack to gain right of way ??

 

Seems if you fell out you'd catch yourself with your left hand

I can see falling asleep in the cockpit while underway, but not down below. I have seen only half the boats tied to port...:?:

Where is Frosty?

He certainly knows his stuff that's why I had to ask...

 

You have to ask yourself, port or starboard tack, how solo sailors catch their z's. Yes, we have radar and other gadgets nowadays to beep us awake, but it wasn't always so, and radar is not infallible today. My CSY 37 had a giant port berth. Great sleeping some 200 miles out in the Pacific ...

 

Thanks Bliss, that makes sence now, have a line tied to your toe

Seems an aft cabin might be better, any thoughts on that? Oh, always need to clarify, 32/30' and smaller, as the question I beleive came out of a thread about an economical cruiser, so along those lines?

 

In that size, IMO, there's not many good choices. Sea berths in the salon behind the seatings or if it's too narrow then only one. For a cruiser <32' it's shorthanded crew anyway and there's no need for more than two berths while under way. For a single handed sailor a single berth by the side of companionway is an option too.
What is the need for separate cabins on a hook or marina is another matter but too many cabins in smallish cruiser isn't very clever. In the end they become storage holds so why just not design it for that purpose in the first place.

 

Quarter berths are the safest at sea. They keep you in place even in the case of a knockdown or rollover.

 

Sorry --not me I don't know why a berth should be to port.

I use a 4 poster king size with a rope tied to each limb

 

LOL, well ok. Maybe the best thing is to use a hammock and strap yourself in Frosty!