Original convertible couch

[Barking Sands]

This old teak Tung Hwa Senator has some neat options. I posted the original brochure in the Taiwanese forum and in looking through it it had a hand drawn outline of an expandable couch. I went to the boat yesterday and looked at the couch base as I had 20 times before and didn't see it. I don't think anyone ever had in 37 years. I few taps with a mallet, some vacuuming and lubing the slats with paraffin and wouldn't you know this dang thing pulls out to nearly a double bed.
The only issue is there must have been supports along the inboard rail and those seem to be long gone. Anyone ever see this before and if so how was the inboard edge supported (Right side of picture)?

I am a good mechanic but a terrible carpenter. Any good ideas to easily make a support system that stows easily and is easy to set up?

 

[janice142]

What a cool find. I've seen similar in Van Conversions. Yours is definitely a find. We are always learning new things about our boats, eh?

 

[OldDan1943]

I have something similar on my AT. It is for us, an emergency berth. This berth is supported one end by resting on the rail of the of the short side of the L settee and the other end, there is a socket on the berth, where a 2 inch dow fits and rest on the floor.
In your case, it looks like your unit will need 2 or 3 wood dow supports.
I have carpet so the removable wood dow hang on tight to the floor when you get the vertical.

We also have and rather use an air mattress blown up by plugging the hose at the 'other end' of the wet/dry vacuum. It is larger and more comfortable. Blown up at night, deflated and folded up each morning. It lays on the saloon floor, tuck partway under the cabinet edge.
Takes about the same amount of time to prepare either.

 

[Comodave]

You could put a stanchion base on the bottom of the slide out section on each end and the middle. Then cut a short piece of either aluminum or S/S tubing to stick into the stanchion base and go to the floor. Then put a vinyl cap on the end of the tube that sits on the deck. Put a S/S fender washer into the vinyl cap before putting it on the tubes so the tube doesn’t cut through the cap. Easy to remove the tubes when you put the berth away and the tubes will store easily. The stanchion bases stay screwed to the bottom of the pull out section.

 

[Barking Sands]

Thanks for the replies Janice and Dan. I was hoping for some ingenious carpenter trick set up with legs that drop out. But I am sure a more run of the mill set of legs that are manually put in place will work fine. Dave good tip on the washer. Had that happen many times. Thanks a bunch.

 

[Comodave]

I use the washers in my deck chairs too.

 

[Marco Flamingo]

Amazing how many little and not so little changes these boats went through. I saw that expandable settee when you posted the brochure. The Tung Hwa 30 brochure that I have seen didn't have that feature, nor does my 1981 Tung Hwa. My settee has an angled back that flips up and is supported by jamming in two teak supports that angle back at 45 degrees, one at each end of the flipped up berth. That makes a skinny lower bed and a really skinny upper bunk (about 36 inches off the cabin floor). We have removed the cushion from the "upper bunk" and it makes a handy work bench/junk area.

I would guess that your original supports were teak (like everything else) and stored behind the settee back cushion. I found ours by lifting up the hinged back. But your prior owners may have found them and had no idea the purpose. If your extension uses the same design concept, they would have been two (or more) teak 2x2s about 24" with both ends cut to a point (about 45 degree angle). The extension is pulled out and the supports are placed against the lower cabinet and up under the bottom lip on the extension. The fit is tight enough to keep them in place unless and until somebody lifts up the extension. Nothing to stub a toe on or mar the floor. Maybe a close examination up under the extension would show evidence of use, if it was ever used.

 

[Barking Sands]

Marco...now I have to go look at the settee back. It may lift up. I put a hand on it and it somewhat seemed like it might move but I was afraid to force it. Much like the pull out. Maybe there will be legs behind it that hold up the lift up back AND the pull out. Pretty darn neat. Thanks a bunch for the reply.

 

[OldDan1943]

Marco...now I have to go look at the settee back. It may lift up. I put a hand on it and it somewhat seemed like it might move but I was afraid to force it. Much like the pull out. Maybe there will be legs behind it that hold up the lift up back AND the pull out. Pretty darn neat. Thanks a bunch for the reply.

Gotta laugh because my lady and I slept on it for a month. The owner's stateroom, I gave up to Yen's parents.
The back cushion will slide down and be the outboard cushion of the berth, the inboard cushion will be the inboard cushion of the berth. You may very discover find more valuable storage too. The legs may well be there too.
Personally, I'd rather sleep on the air mattress or maybe a roll up piece of 3 or 4 inch foam. Anything other than that 'emergency berth'. Of course if it someone you really dont want to stay, it's a great berth.

 

[Barking Sands]

Dan..I wish I had open space for a blow up mattress. Actually if I can find or make the legs and also find a not too thick blow up mattress for this emergency berth it may work out very well. We will see. This is a small boat at 31' with a 11.5 beam. The V berth can sleep 2 fairly well. The dinette drops down to make something like a short twin size berth but this emergency berth would be by far the widest and longest sleep area if I can get it to work. 99% of the time its just me and the wife and 2 dogs.

 

[OldDan1943]

Dan..I wish I had open space for a blow up mattress. Actually if I can find or make the legs and also find a not too thick blow up mattress for this emergency berth it may work out very well. We will see. This is a small boat at 31' with a 11.5 beam. The V berth can sleep 2 fairly well. The dinette drops down to make something like a short twin size berth but this emergency berth would be by far the widest and longest sleep area if I can get it to work. 99% of the time its just me and the wife and 2 dogs.

On my AT34, the dinette table can be lowered to provide support for the 'emergency berth'. With the railing support and the dow at the foot of the berth.
When I have the air mattress inflated, I have very little floor space left. For me and Yen, the air mattress is far more comfortable than the 'emergency berth'.

 

[Marco Flamingo]

We've been sleeping on the dinette as our bed of choice. It is up high so that we can look out 360 degrees in the morning while having coffee in bed. The only down side is raising and lowering the dinette table. Actually, just raising it back up in the morning. We have two pedestals and it's very difficult to get fingers around and lift. I keep forgetting to make a post asking whether anybody has a method for easily lifting the table back into position. I was even thinking about a block and tackle from the cabin overhead beam. Raising our table back up is more complex than getting the dingy aboard.

 

[Marco Flamingo]

Here are pictures of my berth system that I was trying to describe and might be similar to how yours works. My supports fit in to a bit of a socket, but I still wouldn't want to sleep on an 18" wide berth 40" off the floor on a boat. Much better as a work bench.

Also a picture of our 6" under-dinette "bump up." The seats are raised to accommodate the bump and it makes quite a difference in the visibility while eating or sitting in bed reading. The bump up even has a little trap door to allow storage in the whole area. It is full of flat storage parts bins for nuts, bolts, screws, impellers, snaps, diesel heater parts, etc. Wife calls it the doodad locker and she's right.

 

[Barking Sands]

Thanks Marco. I was at the boat today and double checked. No such luck. My backrest is definitely attached. I wish mine did what yours does because it looks like a great work bench.

 

[Marco Flamingo]

My dream modification would be to find a "salvage" lower berth cabinet and stack it on top of the existing one. It would create a huge amount of new storage (without having to get on my knees) and make a wider work bench at a better height. I've seen some photos where people have removed a standard settee berth and put in recliners. Recliner vs. workbench, not a contest for me.

Next person removing a settee: call me.