Could someone tell me what the floor width is on the Southwester dory? It looks too narrow for sleeping for sure. I am wondering for comfort sitting and if a Chase sliding seat rail system would work.
Thank you
It depends on what you consider comfortable I suppose. I am 5’ 11" 160lbs and laying on the floor of my under-construction Southwester (sans motor well) is quite accommodating. While I am fairly thin, I do have wide shoulders. I’m not wedged in and can easily roll over as I would in a light backpacking tent.
But, the idea with the Southwester is to span the cockpit with slats and sleep on top. The plan/kit includes support for this method (modified Northeaster Dory from the CLC site):
Thank you. What is the actual width in the footwell? I have bad knees and I am concerned with comfort sitting as well. I thought I could make a mock up and see if I could be comfortable. I’m not as young as I used to be in a Force 5 years ago.
24" between the seats. As well as bed slats, you can use a moveable thwart anywhere along the cockpit if you want to sit facing forward. You could probably use a seat with a backrest on it if you rigged one up. The Norwegian tiller doesn’t need to sweep the cockpit to come about. I haven’t tried any of this, but maybe someone else can confirm.