Custom Boat Mattress

The V-berth is not a rectangle — measure the berth, not the old mattress

No boat builder ever built a berth to a mattress catalog. The forward berth narrows to a point at the bow, the aft cabin pinches around the rudder post, hatches and storage lids cut straight through the sleeping deck — and every one of those shapes is normal to us. A store mattress on a boat either gaps at the hull or rides up the taper, which is why slept-on boat mattresses are almost always replacements of an awkward handmade original that already died.

We cut boat mattresses straight from your berth measurements — V-berth halves, aft-cabin doubles, quarter-berth singles, hinged two-piece sets over storage lids — in one slab of high-density foam, 6″ or 8″ thick, in the marine fabric you pick. Straight berths go in as three numbers; V-shapes, tapers and hatch cutouts go in as paper templates laid on the berth itself. The old mattress is the worst witness in the boat — foam takes a set, spreads at the seams and shrinks an inch over a decade of damp. The berth is the only trustworthy source.

Open the Customizer — Berth Piece 60 × 30 × 6″ Preselected →

Pricing — published up front

A rectangular berth piece starts at $445 (60 × 30 × 6″ in 50D); a typical aft-cabin double 72 × 48″ runs $813 in the same spec. The formula is the one that prices every piece we cut: a $45 make-base plus the mattress top area at a rate fixed by foam density and thickness — fabric included, every fabric one price. The customizer quotes your exact berth live, so you can check this math before you order.

Foam density	Rate, 6″ thick*	Rate, 8″ thick*	Aft double 72 × 48″ — 6″ / 8″
35D	$30.59 / sq ft	$32.75 / sq ft	$779 / $831
50D — what liveaboards usually order	$31.99 / sq ft	$35.48 / sq ft	$813 / $897
60D	$34.09 / sq ft	$38.00 / sq ft	$863 / $957
65D	$36.38 / sq ft	$41.15 / sq ft	$918 / $1,033

The berths we cut

Every production boat has the same four problems, and each one is a shape we cut weekly:

• V-berth halves — two tapered pieces meeting at the centerline, each cut to the hull’s curve with a straight factory edge where they join. Ordered as a pair so both halves match.
• Hinged two-piece sets — a berth over a storage lid cut in two, split on the hinge line so the lid still opens. The hinge gap is designed in, not discovered later.
• Aft and quarter-berths — rectangles and near-rectangles under the cockpit, often with one angled end where the rudder post or hull pinches. Singles from 60 × 30″, doubles to 72 × 48″.
• Hatch and bulkhead cutouts — notches where a hatch corner, grab rail or bulkhead step crosses the berth. These go in as template shapes, never as guesswork.

Pieces over 120″ long or 72″ wide don’t exist on boats — but if your berth is wilder than the configurator’s 11 shapes, the template route quotes anything.

How to measure a berth

Three numbers for a rectangle, four for each V-berth half, one template for anything else.

• Rectangular berth — length and width at the surface the mattress sits on, plus the clearance above (cabin side, shelf, hatch) that decides 6″ or 8″.
• V-berth half — front width (at the bow end), back width (at the opening), length along the hull side. Order both halves together with the same numbers so the pair matches.
• Anything with a notch, curve or hinge — kraft paper on the berth, crease along every edge, cut, label bow and port/starboard, photograph it flat or mail it. The template beats numbers every time the hull gets a vote.

Nothing is cut until your numbers are confirmed: dimensions are re-verified against the order, and odd numbers get a phone call, not a guess. The trapezoid measuring method — front width, back width, depth — is walked through in our trapezoid measuring guide.

Foam & fabric for a boat that stays damp

A boat mattress fails from the bottom up, so the spec is written for moisture first. Every mattress is cut in high-density polyurethane — 50D as the standard, 60D for heavier sleepers and liveaboards — at 6″ or 8″. Density is the lifespan spec: a low-density slab dishes where you lie within a season of humid nights, while 50D carries a nightly load for years.

The cover is where marine life actually happens. Our waterproof Tech Fabric is the boat default — condensation off the hull, wet swimwear, spray through an open hatch: shake it out, stand the mattress on edge, wipe it down. Cotton Linen, Velvet, Chenille and PET weave price identically if the berth lives in a dry, finished cabin — but on any boat that sails in weather, the order desk will steer you to Tech Fabric and has never been wrong to.

Boat mattress or boat cushions?

Same boat, different layers. Boat cushions are the daytime layer — cockpit and settee seating, dinette pads, helm seats — cut in 3–5″ foam that takes sit-cycles and gets flipped and shaken out. This page is the night layer: the 6–8″ sleeping mattress for the V-berth and cabin berths, cut for lying loads and years of them. If the whole interior is being redone, order both in one build — cushion sets and mattresses ship together from the same table.

Frequently asked questions

What is a V-berth mattress?

The mattress for the forward berth, where the hull narrows to a V at the bow. It is almost always two tapered halves that meet at the centerline, each cut to follow the hull’s angle. Because every builder’s V is a different angle, there is no standard size — each half is cut from its own three measurements (front width, back width, length) or a paper template.

What thickness should a boat mattress be?

6″ is the standard berth mattress and what most cabin clearances are designed around; 8″ is for sleepers who want full home-bed depth and have the overhead room for it. The deciding number is the clearance above your berth — measure from the sleeping surface to the lowest point of the cabin side, shelf or hatch before choosing 8″.

Can you split the mattress over a storage lid or hinge?

Yes — a two-piece set cut on the hinge line is a weekly order here. Each piece is cut to size so the split sits where the lid opens, and both pieces are ordered together so they match. Tell the order desk where the hinge line runs and the split is built into the cut.

What fabric should a boat mattress use?

Waterproof Tech Fabric for any berth that sees humidity, condensation or wet gear — which on a real boat means all of them. It prices the same as every other fabric we carry (cotton linen, velvet, chenille, PET), so there is no cost reason to gamble on a dry-cabin fabric. Free swatch cards ship before you commit.

How do I measure a V-berth for a custom mattress?

Measure each half separately: width at the bow end, width at the opening, and length along the hull side — at the surface the mattress sits on, not the old mattress, which has spread and shrunk over the years. Angled or notched edges go in as a kraft-paper template creased along every edge. Our trapezoid measuring guide walks through the method with diagrams.

How long does a custom boat mattress take?

Standard production is 4–7 business days to cut and sew, then direct shipping — typical US custom shops quote 3 to 6 weeks door to door; rush production (3–5 business days) is available on request.

The honest limits

What we don’t do, so you know before you order: no tufted or quilted tops, no pillow-top layers, no piping or welting, no corner rounding, no built-in straps, ties or non-slip backings — every mattress is a plain cut foam slab in a fitted flat-seam cover, because that is what fits a berth and what we can guarantee. We don’t sell innerspring, latex or memory-foam blends, and we don’t market mystery marine foams — high-density polyurethane plus a waterproof cover is the honest spec. Berths wilder than the configurator’s 11 shapes are welcome through the order desk as a template quote.

Made and shipped by the same hands

Every mattress is cut in our own workshop by the crew that measures, sews and packs it — no drop-ship middle layer, no third-party factory you can’t reach. The rate you see above is the rate the customizer quotes, and the person who answers your email is the person who can walk to the cutting table. Boats keep us honest: there is no catalog to hide behind when the berth is your own V.

Shipping & Delivery

• 4–7 business days to cut and sew, then shipped direct — typical US custom shops quote 3 to 6 weeks; rush production (3–5 business days) is available on request.
• Shipping is a single flat rate per order with tracking; every order can be cancelled free within 24 hours of placement.
• Mattresses ship vacuum-compressed — flat is normal, and the foam lofts back to its cut dimensions after unwrapping (24-hour recovery standard).
• A real person from the workshop answers within one business day.

Custom boat mattresses from $445 — your berth’s numbers, cut to the hull, no catalog.

Build My Boat Mattress →

Related pages

• Custom Boat Cushions — the daytime layer: cockpit, settee and dinette seating
• Custom Camper Van Mattresses — the same cutting for van platforms
• Trapezoid Cushion Measurement: Front Width, Back Width, Depth
• HD Foam vs Dry-Fast Foam: The Outdoor Cushion Guide
• How to Choose Foam Density: 35D vs 50D vs 60D vs 65D

The V-berth, fitted like it grew there

Two halves mitered to the bow angle, fitted edge to edge with no gaps at the hull. That is what a measured V-berth mattress looks like installed – squared corners, flat panels, a clean night’s sleep forward.