Where Does a Family of 6 Sleep on a 46ft Sailboat? (Leopard 46 Catamaran Tour)

Ever wondered how we actually manage to comfortably fit our whole family on the boat? Well, no more wondering! Shall we go on a tour and see which bed everyone gets?

Boat Details

First of all, some quick boat specs so you can get a rough idea of what the boat is like. By the way, the easiest way to do this would be to check out our boat tour video here. 

But here are some key details: Happy Days is a Leopard 46 catamaran. She was built in 2012 and was, in our very biased opinion, one of the best boats Leopard has ever made.

There is something called an owner's version. This is where one hull is totally reserved for the owners/parents, while the other hull still has two cabins like normal. We don't have this version because we need as much room as possible! But they are pretty luxurious if you have less people.

Instead, our setup includes four cabins and a forepeak. I’ll explain more about the forepeak in a moment (hint: Archie loves it).

First, shall we start in the port hull?

Mum & Dad (Kris & Shona)

Let’s start with us, huh?

We have what’s called the port-aft cabin. This is also known as the left-back room... make sense? Hopefully.

Boat beds are a little different from normal land beds. They have thinner mattresses, random shapes, and rock at night. But we’ve come to find this completely normal and actually love it.

Believe it or not, both Kris and I fit on the one bed together, and it works just fine.

Pippi

Yep, our youngest princess gets the port-forward cabin (for those getting their lefts and ports mixed up, that’s the left-forward room).

She has the whole queen-ish-sized bed to herself and somehow sleeps through absolutely everything the weather can throw at us. Maybe that's the joy of spending more of her life on the ocean.

Archie

Remember the forepeak I mentioned? Well, we’re here!

On our virtual tour, if you're standing in Pip’s room and look over her bed, you'll see a small square door leading through to Archie’s room.

The triangle-shaped section at the front left of the boat is all his, and as soon as he saw it, he claimed it. He absolutely loves to keep everything tidy, in its place, and untouched by others.

He also somehow fits in there, which is something the oldest two would struggle to do. Anyway, he’s still stoked about it, and until he grows out of it, we’re good.

Finn

Alright, let’s head over to the starboard (right) side of the vessel and into the starboard-aft cabin. I’m hoping you can now figure out which one that is on your own now.

This is Finn’s room.

Now, there is one rule you should know about: Finn can have the biggest room (of the kids), but if any guests come aboard, he has to give it up and find somewhere else to sleep while they’re on board.

He doesn’t mind this, though, because most of the time he has it all to himself.

Bella

In the same hull, you’ll find Bella in the starboard-forward cabin.

She’s made the whole space her own and, thankfully, has a good appreciation for décor. It’s almost as tidy as Archie’s too, I might add.

The only issue with the forward cabins is that if you're sailing into the wind, they can get pretty bumpy. The kids often come up in the morning trading stories about holding onto pillows and being tossed around through the night. (Yes, we’re always telling them to just have a sleepover in the aft cabins.)

Anyway, because we spend most of our time at anchor, this is hardly ever an issue.

Funny Things About Boat Beds

Want to know a few random things you probably don’t think about when it comes to sleeping on a sailboat?

Sheet Sizes Are Tricky

Some boats actually have fitted sheets, but after a few years, we realised this was ridiculous. We eventually figured out that queen-size bedspreads fit all of our beds.

Voilà. Problem solved.

Still, it’s a surprisingly random process to go through.

Hatches Replace Windows

You don’t really have windows; you have hatches.

And anytime it rains... well, you’d better wake up and close your hatch!

It’s hilarious. Every other night, we’ll all have been asleep for several hours when one of us wakes up with wet feet, scrambles to reach up and close their hatch, while simultaneously yelling, "Hatches!" to wake everyone else up to do the same.

The Bed Moves

Maybe this was an obvious one, but you actually do move, even in a flat anchorage.

It’s something you totally get used to. But anytime we stay on land for a few days and then come back, it takes us a night for our bodies to remember:

"Oh yeah, that's right... this bed moves."

Summary

There you go! That’s how we manage to comfortably have six people sleeping on our 46ft sailboat.

It’s not particularly complicated, but it’s definitely something I always wondered about before we started living this lifestyle.

If you'd like more than just a written tour, head over to YouTube and check out our boat tour from a few years ago, and other onboard videos where you can see exactly where everyone sleeps.

Have questions, or are you still wondering about something? Let me know in the comments!