How much do you use your cuddy for sleeping?

Hi, I'm looking at a couple boats right now and while I like the idea of a cuddy cabin I'm not sure if it is worth the space. Is it a place to store junk?

Considering all the time spent on the boat having fun in the sun vs. sleeping would an open bow be a better idea?

How much do you use your cuddy for sleeping?

Re: How much do you use your cuddy for sleeping?

I sleep on my boat every weekend & sometimes for 2 weeks at a time.

This coming summer I'm living full time on it. I love sleeping on the water.

Re: How much do you use your cuddy for sleeping?

I do not know about a cuddy, I prefer the comforts of home and some room to stretch my arms.

I have a nice cabin below in which I can spend a weekend on even if it was raining a lot.

If you are planning on weekends on the water, get a cabin you can stand up in and maybe some comforts of home.

Re: How much do you use your cuddy for sleeping?

Comoxsam said:

Hi, I'm looking at a couple boats right now and while I like the idea of a cuddy cabin I'm not sure if it is worth the space. Is it a place to store junk?

Considering all the time spent on the boat having fun in the sun vs. sleeping would an open bow be a better idea?

How much do you use your cuddy for sleeping?

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My boat is in my signature and avatar. The cuddy sleeps myself, my wife, and two sons (3&7), comfortably. Remove the two center cusions and there's a portapotty with plenty of room/legroom for even a very large person. In the area in front of the portapotty, we keep an 18 gallon rubbermaid storage container full of emergency items/supplies including shelf stable food items. There's still plenty of room for my large tool kit and more. All of this is hidden under the cushions. Inside the cuddy we keep a double sleeping bag and two single sleeping bags. We keep two sets of spare clothing for each of us, as well as various other "kid stuff" and every day miscilanious things. Everything fits neatly on the wrap around shelf, along with the several spare PFD's we keep at all times. We'd love to have a larger boat with full cabin and at least an additional berth or stateroom; but we love what we have. The kids love the boat. They really love being able to go on overnight and multiple night adventures. There's no doubt in their minds that they have the coolest parents in the world... What's better than that? Fun in the sun is great. It's what it's all about, right? Now add the joy of having that fun all day and kicking back, relaxing, grilling on the boat, and later going to sleep and waking up to another day on the boat having never even left it behind.. That may have been a little more than just my .02, but I hope it helps. Good luck with your decision and future purchase.

PS: No... It's not a place to store junk.

Safe and happy boating always!!!

Re: How much do you use your cuddy for sleeping?

I'm not sure if it is worth the space. Is it a place to store junk?

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1st, i don't have a cuddy. i got a hardtop speedboat that becomes full enclosed with an aft curtain deployed. back to back seats that fold into beds. imho, it depends on if yer gonna use yer cuddy for it's intended purpose.
the previous posters have the idea. they sleep on their boats, taking advantage of the amenity's.
if yer gonna be out watersking, sun tanning, going in before dark, no intentions of being on the water for more than a day in the sun. then i'd go br.
while my boat ain't a cuddy i sure try to use it that way. i sleep 2. i boat in the rain, hail, high winds, colder days. i boat at night. i sleep on my boat weekly. i eat sparse, i don't have a porta potty, but i do have a folgers bailing bucket. i use my boat like if i had a cuddy or criser. i'm sure a candidate for a cuddy or a cruiser cause that's the type of boating i wanna do. i slow cruise, i float across the whole lake or down river for miles. i'm a pleasure boater. a cuddy would work great for that type of boating..
as for storing junk. i can't believe what i can store on my 'speedboat' most of it out of sight out of mind too. it's a matter of using what little space ya got to the best advantage...

Re: How much do you use your cuddy for sleeping?

You've got to define your mission. Do you WANT to sleep on your boat? Or is watersports more important?

I have a 1984 21' Sea Ray cuddy. It is mostly used by my daughter on Kentucky Lake. She loves to spend the night on it. But she can and does use it for water sports, but that's not its strong suit.

A buddy and I trailered it to Pittsburgh and cruised 600 miles back to Louisville over 4 1/2 days back in September. We stayed in marinas that had showers and nearby restaurants. We slept on the boat but not in the cuddy. The boat has back-to-back lounger seats in the cockpit that fold flat and we slept there. They are surprisingly comfortable. We put up the convertible top and slept under that.

I also also have a Four Winns 214 deckboat. That boat is great for carrying lots of people and spending the day on the water. It is not well-suited for staying overnight. There just isn't a good spot for people to stretch out.

Re: How much do you use your cuddy for sleeping?

I bought my cuddy specifically because I wanted to cruise to the Baltimore Inner Harbor. The cuddy is where I locked my expensive electronics and other stuff so it didn't "walk" while I was enjoying the attractions. "Trust everyone but lock all your doors."

However, I do nap in the cuddy and camp on the boat too.

NO, it is not a storage place for junk. But I do have my anchor line, porta-potti, and several PFDs stored there. And yes, sometimes it can get a bit disorganized. Space on a 21 footer is at a premium.

With a 140 outboard, I can deepwater and slalom ski adequately and drag a tube fast enough to spill people out of it so it is a good general purpose boat.---for me---

Re: How much do you use your cuddy for sleeping?

I had a 20 foot Aquasport walk around and it had an insert for the Vee berth that made it quite large and comfortable to sleep in. My daughters often napped down below and I slept aboard on occasion and it was great, more like camping than sleeping aboard a larger boat.

A few times I sneaked out to the boat when it was stored on the trailer in the yard and took a nap in the cabin. It was great since nobody knew where I was and could disturb me

Re: How much do you use your cuddy for sleeping?

Well, I plan to sleep about 99 nights on mine next summer!
Right now tho, looking at it in the backyard under a 1/2 acre tarp, that seems like a loooong time away.....
sniff sniff

Re: How much do you use your cuddy for sleeping?

I had a '96 Trophy W/A cuddy. I mainly used the boat for fishing/fun and the wife/son went with me. The cuddy had a table top that dropped down and a separate cushion to transform the two single side cushions to a larger V berth. We could easily sleep 3 down there. We didn't use it primarily for sleeping, but the kids played there, and when the afternoon Florida storms came up, it was a great place to go to get out of the 15 minnute heavy shower. A couple of 12v fans made it very comfortable.

Re: How much do you use your cuddy for sleeping?

I think it's a matter of personal preference. A cuddy is a GOOD place to store "junk". That isn't necessarily a bad thing (the "junk" stays dry and out of foot traffic). My girlfriend and I do not have kids, we enjoy camping, sunning, water sports-- and for us the bow tent on my bow rider is a GREAT thing (the boat has a bow fill in cushions so it's like a double bed). I had debated about a camping cover for the aft section but decided against it. However we have access to land on the water (or crash at the marina) so rest rooms, grill, ect. are taken care of. For US the bow tent is GREAT (a cuddy would be more "private" or "secluded" but as I said we enjoy the camping experience). We have owned a cuddy cabin before but didn't enjoy it as much.

All we use it for is sleeping (well.......maybe not ALL we use it for), so we don't need amenities (stove, standing height, ect.)-----just a dry place to sleep. The bow rider does have a porta-potty under a seat but to this day it's never been used (to easy to go to land for business such as that). It all depends on what you enjoy.

Re: How much do you use your cuddy for sleeping?

I have my Baylinner for two years and have not sleep in her yet. She is just a cuddy not a full cuddy cabin. I have the grand babies ride in the shade with the vent up. I store extra oil, power steering fluid, dist points, a coil, wire,and tools there. Yea I don't want stuck out on the lake. I carry three batteries in the back. Never needed any of it but what the hey. I just bought a 25 foot Century that I will leave docked. Plans include air and tv she already has a head fridge and sink. We plan to spend may nights on her. The Baylinner will be for running the lake and water sports. I love the look of a cuddy but she is hard to board and wastes a lot of area for seating. Fun is about friends right? Decide what the intended use is and buy a boat that fits, or buy two to fit your needs. Maybe three Boating is a disease if you have one you will want five

Re: How much do you use your cuddy for sleeping?

I sleep on my cuddy as much as I can. While we use our boat for watersports my wife really doesn't mind when I take off for acouple of days. I really like the options that the cuddy offers me (us.) First I use it for sleeping...but I also like the security factor of having an enclosed bow...recently on a trip down the Ohio I put up the front have of the camper canvas...enclosing 60% of the boat during an extended rain squall....it really was neat. I cruise with my two sons and we sleep on the boat....I have never used the porta-potti but have it....I do cook on the boat....this year I'm planning a week long trip across Canada and will spend every night on the boat....I do take it on the big lakes....it offers me lots of flexibility. Hope my experiences help. Up Anchor!

Re: How much do you use your cuddy for sleeping?

As others have said, it is all about what you want to use your boat for. Once you figure out your priorities, then you can figure out what style best fits your activities.

I started out a year ago with a bow rider - it came along at a good price and I didn't know what style of boating I wanted to do. Once on the water I quickly figured out a few things:

- speed wasn't important to me - I am a tourist, a sightseer
- having some sort of "facilities" was important, at least a convenient port-a-potty
- being able to change, nap or cook without having to rearrange everything in the boat was important
- being able to sleep aboard conveniently for 2 or more nights mattered

So the bow rider only lasted about 6 weeks on the water before I was looking for (and found) a full cabin cruiser. The bow rider will go up for sale in the spring and I will make a few dollars on it but the cabin cruiser fits my needs and desires much better.

Re: How much do you use your cuddy for sleeping?

Having a boat with a stove & micro & fridge & head /shower does make life nicer.

I know the ladies DON'T like pi$$ing in a bucket. . So keep that in mind.

Try both kind of boats out.

Re: How much do you use your cuddy for sleeping?

Ummm.... Cuddy for sleeping? Ummmmmmmmm.... If the boats a-rockn' Dont bother knockin"!!!!

Re: How much do you use your cuddy for sleeping?

two summers ago i had a 23' cuddy with a porta potty. i spent a few nights alone on her and had a bunch of "dates" with the wife. she said it was to cramped to spend the night and wasn't all that thrilled with the porta potty either. it had enough head room to sit but not to stand. now this past summer there was a HUGE difference. i stepped up to a 27' cruiser. still the same 8.5 beam and single engine. just as easy to handle and dock, but man i have a floating apartment now. stand up private head with a real toilet and sink with corian countertops. fridge, micro. another sink and two burner stove top. forward berth area that doubles as a wrap around couch with a table. oh and the small aft cabin perfect for storage and a spot for the dog. i slept on her a few times at anchor and lots of times just docked at the marina. i work 3 PM to 12 AM so at midnight id get outa work and head to the boat. food, beverage, music and wifi for my laptop. spend the night and go home in the morning. it was my "mancave" all summer.

Re: How much do you use your cuddy for sleeping?

As it's been stated above, it depends on what you and the people you boat with want to do with the boat. Keeping in mind, I don't necessarily buy a boat that my friends want, I buy the boat that I want. I really mean the boat the 'wife/family' wants.

For example, I originally wanted a fishing boat. I made a list of the things that I wanted to do on the boat and the admiral made a list of things she wanted to do. This included a list of features and ammenities. We then compared the lists. We rearranged our lists to put needs and wants in order of importance. It turned out that we both wanted to cruise and overnight on the boat.

We ended up buying a 28 ft. express cruiser. Once we realized we really wanted a cruiser, we decided we wanted a fridge, stove, sink, running water, enclosed head that flushes with a holding tank, room to live on it for the weekends and week long vacations, and we didn't want to keep breaking down the settee to sleep at night.

Here is what I'd be asking myself:

1) What do I want to do on teh boat?
2) What does my wife/family want to do on the boat?
3) Where do we want to boat?
4) Do I want to trailer or store it in a slip?

Re: How much do you use your cuddy for sleeping?

I've slept in mine once this year. Its a 22' performance boat and the cuddy is real long, but not deep. I can crawl in and sit up in it, but thats about it (no room for a porta potty or to stand up). I am 6' 4" tall and can lay down with plenty of room.

Spending the night on it wasn't bad at all. We stayed at a marina that had showers and restrooms. My wife and I had plenty of room for the night and it was surprisingly comfortable. Kind of like camping without the tent.

I had a bow rider before and won't go back, I love my "stabbin cabin"...

The only problem I see with a cuddy is, not being able to get in and out of it easily at the beach without swimming around to the back of the boat or using a step stool on the front. I normally fill an empty can with water, jump on the bow, rinse the sand off my feet and climb in over the windscreen.

Re: How much do you use your cuddy for sleeping?

I've spent many nights on board my Dad's various boats when I was young. I'm grown now and into my 3rd season on my 3rd boat. It is now time to move up to a cabin for the sole purpose of staying over night.