Boat Bedding - Help!

Discussions General Mattresses Questions
1

Well this should be interesting. My wife and I are full-time liveaboards and need to make our boat bed more comfortable. Currently it is 3" of medium firm poly foam over an inch layer of breathable mat to prevent mold under the mattress.

Our problem: We are both side sleepers, and the foam is not allowing adequate compression, causing shoulder pain for both of us. I am about 275#, She is 180#.

We would like to get a topper to improve the comfort, and have it give a bit more, but are trying to avoid buying a whole new mattress. The issue is multi-faceted, though. The topper needs to meet the following:

  1. Be as thin as reasonably possible (3" max, 2" is better) as any higher will cause problems opening adjacent lockers.
  2. Sleep cool. We are taking the boat to the tropics in a little over a year.
  3. Be somewhat mold resistant.

I was thinking a medium or soft latex, but am unsure… Can anyone give me some guidance?

If it helps, we previously had a custom mattress, 6" of firm latex for a base, with a 3" sensus memory foam top on it, and a 1" separation foam layer to keep it cooler. The most comfortable bed we ever slept on.

2

Hi excalibur5,

Welcome to the Mattress Forum! :slight_smile:

For all of the reasons you’ve listed, latex is a popular choice with boat mattress builders. It does have inherent mold-resistant properties (but is not mold proof), is quite breathable (Talalay more so than Dunlop) and it also has a high compression modulus (firms up as more weight is applied). Dunlop will have a higher compression modulus than a similar softness (ILD) of Talalay latex.

One issue you have is the very limited thickness (2” – 3”), and at 275 lb. you’ll tend to sink “though” thinner layers, so whatever you choose you’ll probably want something in the “medium-firm” to “firm” range, and Dunlop may offer you a bit more of a “supportive” feel with your limited clearance. Ideally, you’d want to sample a piece of whatever you’re considering before making a decision, as you’ll be on your boat and won’t be able to make an exchange.

If you’re in a coastal area of a decent population, there should be some options for boat upholstery shops or mattress shops where they create custom mattresses for boats, and it would be common for them to have latex available.

Also, you may wish to consider something like this to improve breathability under your mattress to assist with avoiding mold formation.

Phoenix

3

Thank you.

My thinking was to use a 2-3" latex topper on top of my medium-firm 3" poly-foam mattress, which is why I was thinking of soft to medium soft, as it would be backed up by firmer foam below.

Unfortunately, I’m in Alaska, so anything I get needs to be shipped regardless, so I was looking at a DIY solution…

The under-bed material I am using is actually pond filter, nearly identical to hypervent. It does work great.

4

Hi excalibur5,

Thank you for the clarification on your set up. I read it as you only had a total space available of 2”-3” for your mattress, as opposed to 5”-6”. :S

Hopefully your polyfoam piece is of a higher density (2 lb or above would be nice) and a firmer ILD (mid 30s or above), but I’m guessing you may not have that information at hand. Regardless, I know you are thinking of keeping that as your base layer, which can be a good idea if it provides you with adequate support.

At your mass, I would recommend 3” of topper material, and I would avoid going “too plush” for the latex (teens-low 20s). You’d probably be best served with something in the more “medium” range of plushness (mid 20s ILD or so) on top of a firmer piece of polyfoam being 275 lbs. Of course, everyone has their own individual comfort preference, but my concern would be choosing something “too plush” and “feeling through” that to the layer of polyfoam.

There are some different vendors in the component post here who supply latex as well in case you hadn’t already found that post.

Excellent choice!

Phoenix

5

Hi Phoenix,

We also have a boat bedding question!

We plan to live aboard our sailboat during a 6 month cruise to Mexico (from San Francisco where we currently live). We would like to replace the V-Berth high density foam (too hard and too moldy) with Latex. The max mattress height is restricted to 6" or we start to run out of headroom when sitting up. I am at loss at what would be a good latex solution for us. Here are somethings to know:

  1. We love the Soft option in the Nest Latex Hybrid and All Latex (non-organic) styles. I am a lover of plush beds. My husband was fine with Medium Soft. Would love to be able to create the same feel if possible.

  2. We are both around 150 - 160 lb, 5’5" and 5’7". We are side sleeper who wake up on their backs. We tend to shift positions at night.

The mattress will be supported on a flat plywood base and covered in a stretch knit cover my husband will sew. We will probably use a layer of hyper vent material under to help with ventilation.

Here is what we are considering:

  1. A single 6" 19 ILD Dunlop core? (will it not be supportive enough?)

  2. Combine 2 3" toppers into a customized layer.

For example, a 14 ILD Talalay over a 20-something ILD dunlop for a plushier feel. (Is this too soft? Not supportive enough for our weight?)

Should we do a 19 ILD Dunlop over a 20-something ILD Dunlop?

Or maybe 15 ILD Dunlop over a 28 - 33 ILD Dunlop would be more similar to the Nest bedding version? (even tho theirs have nearly 6" of soft on top and 6" of firm on bottom")

What combination should we consider if we want to create a plush feel that won’t hurt our shoulders but still supply enough firmness to keep us aligned? There are so many options, we are feeling a little lost. We would really appreciate your expert opinion here. Thank you so much!

S/V La Baleine

6

Hi S/V_La_Baleine,

Welcome to the Mattress Forum! :).

Wow, sounds like an exciting trip or adventure!!!

I am sure we can help, and although there are so many options you have done a good job outlining a few good options.

[quote]Here is what we are considering:

  1. A single 6" 19 ILD Dunlop core? (will it not be supportive enough?)

  2. Combine 2 3" toppers into a customized layer.

For example, a 14 ILD Talalay over a 20-something ILD dunlop for a plushier feel. (Is this too soft? Not supportive enough for our weight?)

Should we do a 19 ILD Dunlop over a 20-something ILD Dunlop?

Or maybe 15 ILD Dunlop over a 28 - 33 ILD Dunlop would be more similar to the Nest bedding version? (even tho theirs have nearly 6" of soft on top and 6" of firm on bottom")[/quote]

I can definitely give you a good recommendation, and for a little background, I think using two 3" layers is important, a 4" and 2" is also feasible, but buying 4" pieces is harder to purchase. See this overview link about putting the layers together. We are using a differential construction explained in more detail here.

Also, please see our trusted member list as several of our members can sell you the latex foam in raw topper form.

Another thing to keep in mind is that the great beds at Nest Bedding, are fully finished closed, with layers laminated together so it firms up the mattress this way. Using two 3" layers covered by yourselves will be much softer feeling than when they are used in a finished mattress. One other thing is a 14 ild Dunlop does not feel the same as a 14ild Talalay. You can read more about this in this latex article.

The top 3" I would recommend you use a 19 or 24ILD Talalay. Don’t think the 24 is too firm as it will feel much softer as a separate layer. The bottom 3" can be either Dunlop or Talalay and I would use a 32 ILD. I do not think you should go to a 14ILD Talalay as its too soft and you are only working with 6" to do the work of the whole mattress.

If for some reason, maybe for convenience sake, you needed to get ONE 6" core and the layers were too complicated to work with, then I would say 28ILD Talalay.

Will this exactly match the “soft” version at Nest…no not exactly as this is really impossible to do, but it will give you some guidance to get very close.

Good luck on your trip, and please don’t hesitate to message back if you have any other questions. I am looking forward to hearing how it all works out.

Thanks,
Sensei

7

Thank you so much Sensei. What excellent and timely answer. We truly appreciate it. We will try your suggestion. Quick question… Instead of Talalay, do you think a 3" 19 ild dunlop + 3" 30 ild dunlop would work as well?

We have a 3" 19 ild dunlop for our normal bed and it’s very soft. Not sure if we want to go much less than that.

Thank you!

8

Hi S/V_La_Baleine,

You are very welcome. That 19ild Dunlop will definitely work, plus you are familiar with it, so that’s even better. Perfect really.

Sounds good over the 30ILD Dunlop. Good luck with it, and keep us posted someday.

Thanks,
Sensei