I have an '86 and it seems quite a challenge to move the aft mattress to allow access to the rear hull area(under mattress) where the engine battery is located. Any tips on how to make this any easier? Thanks
The boat originally came with a 2 piece mattress, remove one half, then the other. Many POs replace the skinny foam with a one piece innerspring mattress. They got it in, you will probably just have to man handle it out. Or prop it up enough to remove the access boards to get at the battery/stuffing box/trans.
I am not sure if I understand your question, but I will give it a shot. My aft cabin contains two cushions and I just take them out and put them in the salon to access the stuffing box etc. Perhaps you have a solid single cushion that is more difficult to deal with. If so I can imagine that would be difficult, but if someone put it in there it has to come back out. :cry4`
My boat came with spring mattresses back there (and in the v-berth). Great for sleeping on but for moving around not so much. Even split in two in the aft cabin they are no fun to wrestle with. But they do come out. Good luck
Guys : The OEM equipment of the MK I (which Mark has ) are two cushions split twartship in the aft cabin. Just lift one up to get tho the cutout to access the engine rear/packing gland.
A number of us have completely removed those aft cabin cushions and use it as the attic/garage.
If a previous owner installed a real mattress, I surely hope it was split/hinged into two sections.
Hope this helps.
We have the standard cushions that came with our boat. I rarely take them out. For maintenance underneath, I simply lift up the starboard cushion, slide the hatch cover piece as far to port as I can, and do my checking from there. I've redone the stuffing box, and keep replacing the flange bolts that way. When we redid the exhaust riser we removed the cushions and stuck 'em up forward. If you have the standard cushions they're easy to get out. If someone stuck a full sized or even split mattress back there, then Joe's right, it'll be bear. Without actually going on someone's boat, I have no idea what they really have unless they tell me. We might pretty accurately guess what the boat might have come with, but there's no way to know what has happened since.
The only reason I mentioned that we removed our cushions is for two reasons:
It's easier to move things around on the fiberglass.
It's easier for me to get at the packing gland/transmission/heat exchanger/rear of the engine with the cushions out. Don't have anything to lift up.
If we expect company and need the "attic" as an aft cabin, the cushions come back on board.
I know of a couple of other C34s that removed the aft cabin cushions and installed a piece of precut carpet. They even have the carpet edged. Just a few ideas!!