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A berth is a bed or sleeping accommodation on vehicles. Space accommodations have contributed to certain common design elements of berths.
;Pilot berth: A narrow berth high up in the side of the cabin, usually above and behind the back of the settee and right up under the deck. Sometimes the side of this bunk is "walled in" up to the sleeper's chest; there may even be small shelves or lockers on the partition so that the bed is "behind the furniture". The pilot berth is so called because originally they were so small and uncomfortable that nobody slept in them most of the time; only the pilot, if he had to spend a night on board, would be offered it.
;Quarter berth: A single bunk tucked under the cockpit. Usually found in smaller boats where there is not room for a cabin in this location.
;Lee cloths: Are sheets of canvas or other fabric attached to the open side of the bunk (very few are open all round) and usually tucked under the mattress during the day or when sleeping in harbour. The lee cloth keeps the sleeping person in the bunk from falling out when the boat heels during sailing or rough weather.
The berths clustered in compartments contrasted with the berths in the open sections of Pullman cars in the United States, common until the 1950s. In these cars passengers faced each other in facing seats during the day.
A berth is a bed or sleeping accommodation on vehicles. Space accommodations have contributed to certain common design elements of berths.
Beds in boats or ships
While beds on largeship
A ship is a large watercraft that travels the world's oceans and other sufficiently deep waterways, carrying cargo or passengers, or in support of specialized missions, such as defense, research, and fishing. Ships are generally distinguished ...
s are little different from those on shore, the lack of space on smaller yacht
A yacht is a sailing or power vessel used for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a , as opposed to a , such a pleasu ...
s means that bunks must be fit in wherever possible. Some of these berths have specific names:
;V-berth: Frequently yachts have a bed in the extreme forward end of the hull (usually in a separate cabin called the forepeak). Because of the shape of the hull this bed is basically triangular, though most also have a triangular notch cut out of the middle of the aft end, splitting it partially into two separate beds and making it more of a V shape, hence the name. This notch can usually be filled in with a detachable board and cushion, creating something more like a double bed (though with drastically reduced space for the feet; 12" wide is typical). The term "V-berth" is not widely used in the UK, instead the cabin as a whole (the forepeak) is usually referred to.
;Settee berth: The archetypal layout for a small yacht has seats running down both sides of the cabin, with a table in the middle. At night, these seats can usually be used as beds. Because the ideal ergonomic
Human factors and ergonomics (commonly referred to as human factors) is the application of psychological and physiological principles to the engineering and design of products, processes, and systems. Four primary goals of human factors learnin ...
distance between a seat-back and its front edge (back of the knee) makes for a rather narrow bed, good settee berths will have a system for moving the back of the settee out of the way; this can reveal a surprisingly wide bunk, often running right out to the hull side underneath the lockers. If they are to be used at sea, settee berths must have lee-cloths to prevent the user falling out of bed. Sometimes the settee forms part of a double bed for use in harbour, often using detachable pieces of the table and extra cushions. Such beds are not usually referred to as settee berths.
;Pilot berth: A narrow berth high up in the side of the cabin, usually above and behind the back of the settee and right up under the deck. Sometimes the side of this bunk is "walled in" up to the sleeper's chest; there may even be small shelves or lockers on the partition so that the bed is "behind the furniture". The pilot berth is so called because originally they were so small and uncomfortable that nobody slept in them most of the time; only the pilot, if he had to spend a night on board, would be offered it.
;Quarter berth: A single bunk tucked under the cockpit. Usually found in smaller boats where there is not room for a cabin in this location.
;Lee cloths: Are sheets of canvas or other fabric attached to the open side of the bunk (very few are open all round) and usually tucked under the mattress during the day or when sleeping in harbour. The lee cloth keeps the sleeping person in the bunk from falling out when the boat heels during sailing or rough weather.
Berths in trains
Long-distance trains running at night usually have sleeping compartments with sleeping berths. In the case of compartments with two berths, one is on top of the other in a double-bunk arrangement. These beds (the lower bed in a double-bunk arrangement) are usually designed in conjunction with seats which occupy the same space, and each can be folded away when the other is in use. Sleeper trains are very common especially in Europe, India and China. Sleeper trains usually consist of single or double-berth compartments as well ascouchette
A couchette car is a railway carriage conveying non or semi-private sleeping accommodation.
Overview
The car is divided into a number of compartments (typically 8 to 10) accessed from the side corridor of the car, which in daytime are configu ...
which have 4 or 6 berths (consisting of a bottom, middle and top bunk on each side of the compartment).
Open section berths
The berths clustered in compartments contrasted with the berths in the open sections of Pullman cars in the United States, common until the 1950s. In these cars passengers faced each other in facing seats during the day. Porters Porters may refer to:
* Porters, Virginia, an unincorporated community in Virginia, United States
* Porters, Wisconsin, an unincorporated community in Wisconsin, United States
* Porters Ski Area, a ski resort in New Zealand
* ''Porters'' (TV ser ...
pulled down the upper berth, and brought the lower seats together to create the lower berth. All of these berths faced the aisle running down the center of the sleeping car. Each berth had a curtain for privacy away from the aisle.
Berths in long-distance trucks
Long-haul truckers sleep in berths known as sleeper cabs contained within their trucks. The sleeper-berth's size and location is typically regulated.See also
*Couchette car
A couchette car is a railway carriage conveying non or semi-private sleeping accommodation.
Overview
The car is divided into a number of compartments (typically 8 to 10) accessed from the side corridor of the car, which in daytime are configu ...
*Pullman car
In the United States, Pullman was used to refer to railroad sleeping cars that were built and operated on most U.S. railroads by the Pullman Company (founded by George Pullman) from 1867 to December 31, 1968.
Other uses
Pullman also refers to ra ...
References
{{reflist Beds Nautical terminology Passenger rail transport Ship compartments