Don't bother putting extra wood around those 50×50 draw sections ! Use your router to rebate around the inside top to the depth of your ply you intend to use about 1/2 wide and sit top ply on the rebate flush with the CLS simple's. Save a lot of faf cutting, piloting, glueing and screw's ;-)
Fit wooden slats to the top of the bed like a normal bed . It’ll let air circulate and also be easy to remove and re fit rather than have full boards Or another idea fit slats but fix them on a frame so they can then be hinged on air shocks like already said from a car but still allow circulation
When I fitted out my narrowboat I put a 5ft radiator flat on the floor under the bed & put grid wire sheeting as drawer bottoms, & slats under the mattress & it kept cloths & mattress dry.
On the part of the bed that you said you hadnt planned anything , the end next to the wall,. why dont you make that a wardrobe? Build a box the can be fixed to the wall that is the width of the bed .(think of the way a yacht is fitted with furniture) so you have as much storage as possible. instead of having the wardrobe starting at the height of the base meaning that you couldnt open the door , have an open box like shelf then atop that start the wardrobe .
@@TheNarrowboatThatJamesBuilt I tell you why i suggested this ., in the study ( which is where i am now writing after watching you .) i designed and had built everything in here that could comfortably allow 2 guests to sleep . I have a sofa bed with surrounding units that contain a wardrobe ( slim ) with push pop openers, a shelf with LED lights and panelled doors square shaped for more storage of linens etc .my desk has the lighting cables all hidden and the printer and pc is again all hidden .I think your bed is fantastic and the idea of storage under it is brilliant for exactly what you say , deep drawers .
DONT HAVE DRAWS UNDER THE BED we have hired a lot of boats and they never run smooth and you end up getting a crick in your back trying to tug them out ,have plastic boxes much easier and water proof
Under the bed consider adding a diagonal, or triangular, support block screwed to your center posts. The deep notch in your cross bed supports weakened this quite a bit. These supports would not interfere with your plan to add drawers.
We used HyPUR -FLO under our mattress on our boat. ithe mattress was on fiberglass and fiberglass r glass surround, if that makes any sense. Never had any mold etc. We lived on it 11 years on Columbia River. N.W. USA. check it out . There another brand Air flow-hypervent mattress condensation. Dont know what its like. Ours looked plastic spaghetti pressed into a mold at. 1" thick
Have a mooch around the yard, I'm sure they'll have a short length of scaffolding tube. It won't be the best fit but at least it'll give you the comfortable leverage needed... and gives you an excuse to go boating again... obviously purely for testing purposes you understand 😁
I find freeze gel £1 from Poundland a great reliever for the pain of aching muscles. Would it have been better to panel the wall before fixing bed frame.
About your bed base mate might be worth looking at IKEA where you can buy bed slats kits probably would be cheaper than the I made a bed recently and use them I worked well you can buy online
@@TheNarrowboatThatJamesBuilt ikea has kits of slats for ten euros, not sure how much less pricy you want it. These are, mind you, just slats held together by a piece of nylon strap, not whole bed bottoms with a wooden frame.
I'd fit slats on the top of bed as others have said for ventilation. I'd have then running across the boat, so if ever you need to extend the bed, you can easily add a pull-out extension that slides in between the slats and slides out into the walkway. So you can easily widen the bed if you ever have need to. ;-)
Good vid. Thanks for sharing. It's 6'10" external dimensions but after insulation and wall covering what's the internal dimensions of the bedroom? Looking forward to further vids.
Where your mattress touches the sides of the boat and bulk heads you WILL trap your body moisture and moisture from within the boat. AND WORSE your body moisture will trap underneath the mattress and be damp. Solutions make >>> Air holes in the base required and spacers on sides and bulk heads One thing I did which worked well was stick carpet tiles onto the side that meets the boat hull.
Hi James,the decompression levers are really only there if you don’t have electric start otherwise you would really struggle to start it by hand using a crank handle getting the engine over compression,we have the same engine as you,we only ever decompress the engine if it’s really cold like -5,it’s a minor inconvenience because we have to lift the engine bay door but on your boat you have great access to the engine,just make sure you have a good heavy duty starter battery and you’ll be good.
I Was as anxious as you were on your first trip reminded me of when I took VIPs out on the new diving boat so anxious not to stuff up. A tiller extension will bring you further forward so don't move the gear lever to soon. Just an idea why not mount a cable operated lever on the gear lever down to the decompressor.
The long throw of the gear lever may be less of an issue when you have deck boards and a tiller extension as you will be driving from a more forward position. Alternatively, did you say that there are two forward gear positions at opposite ends of the throw of the lever?
Nice practical job that, things are really moving on. While everything is still open, it'd be a good idea to chamfer the corners from the CLS around the edges of the bed frame to 'soften' them a bit..makes it a bit less abrasive when making the bed and moving the matress.
May I suggest plastic/polythene storage boxes with lids for sliding under the bed. They have the advantage of stopping stored content becoming damp as air circulates around them. Also the storage boxes can be labelled so you can see what is stored within. They can be swapped around as required, so winter stuff at the back can be brought forward as the seasons change. Easy to clean the floor under the bed. Just a thought.
Have a thought of maybe putting in what we call 'stadium seating' on the back rail of the boat. Weld a middle rung across the back rail and use it to attach a seat that hangs out over the back rail where you were sitting on it to pilot, with a swing out foot rest/brace. It'll give you a better view.
Don’t know how tall you are but could you not have put the bed sideways instead, like they do in vans. If you check out Vancity Vanlife from 5 months ago, you can see how well his space is being used. You’ll probably have to get something to put between the mattress and wood frame, it’s made for boats, or campers, unfortunately I can’t remember what it’s called. It keeps the wood from getting damp and mouldy and you much healthier. You could make the bed higher for more under bed storage and it will put you above the gunnels.
My two pennyworth - slats for the bed to improve ventilation, and don't anchor them down and instead of drawers, have removable slats and store in plastic boxes. Much more flexible and air/humidity-tight to prevent mould on your best summer shorts in the depths of winter!
Decompression levers: I think given how cold it's been and how recently the engine hasn't been run, you might find that starting will improve. If not, I suggest a spring to hold the lever in the run position and a bowden cable (like a car choke of old) that you can pull and twist to hold the lever open against the spring. As it starts to catch, a quick twist of the knob and the spring with pull the levers closed. Gear lever: It's such a nasty solution. There's Morse controls on ebay for around 100 quid, plus cables, but you'll not regret that cost from the ease that you'll get. Loving the channel.
Great suggest for the decompression lever. A morse control would need such engineering to replace the existing throttle. I think I’ll leave the throttle. It’s the gear lever which needs some work
@@TheNarrowboatThatJamesBuilt traditionally the throttle would be a wheel and the gear control would be a Morse cable operated control, I think that's what is being suggested James.
@@TheNarrowboatThatJamesBuilt a Morse control could be an all in one, but you can leave the existing throttle and add a second lever (Morse or similar) just to do the gear selection. The throw of the lever on the gearbox is tiny and doesn't need that massive stick you have to use. I reckon you could make a gear lever out of ally tube adjacent to the throttle. A clutch cable from a car is stout enough to operate the gearbox end. My parent's boat in the 70s had the same engine (Lister SR2 I think) and PRM 'box.
Great start to the bedroom James .All you ideas for storage sounds good .I didn't know air circulation was a thing under the bed on a boat so that gives me something to think about.
@@TheNarrowboatThatJamesBuilt That must have been very well sealed!! I have something very similar (blackwater tank under) to what you're creating on my boat (I cc too) - 6# 1.5" holes down the long side is all I have, no issues at all
James why don't you use struts, hinge the bed on one side to access all the storage under your bed in stead of using draws? Just a thought, also fit the expansion tank in the up right position.
For the gear lever I assume you’d want some sort of linkage - a bell crank down there that turns the throw of the lever into an up/down motion and then another bell crank up top that turns it back into a much smaller rotation?
That bed looks like it is going to be so comfy and is going to be just what you need after a day of yanking !! I'm sure Paul in the boatyard can cobble together a solution for the throttle and gear levers but the cable idea already mentioned is going to be the way to go as you will need the controls up somewhere near the tiller in case of emergency.
Have you sized that bed frame with a specific mattress size in mind? I made mine to fit the ‘small double’ standard size which I think was 120cm wide from memory
I can definitely recommend Custom Made Mattressee, you can find them on Facebook. They did one for my boat, very surprised at the cost (in a good way!)
Evening James, Regarding your gear change... Have you watched the videos of when I built the Electric Drive boat... Our gear lever on that boat is the same style as yours - as in direct from the box, no cables etc. I set it up so the lever off the box exits horizontally, so the lever off that - which is what we use to operate it - moves vertically... pull that lever up we go forward, push it down and we go backwards and the central position is neutral. Not sure if that explains it very well, but watch the video where we got her moving and you will see what I mean. In essence it removes the need for moving from front to back on the stern as the lever is always at the point in the deck boards - it just moves up and down, operating at a 90 degree angle to the lever out of the box... Confused? yep, so am I - and I know what I mean! ;)
I don’t think I’ve ever been more confused 🤣🤣🤣🤣 I better watch your vid again and pay attention - I may pick your brains about this !! Cheers pal - glad to see yours is coming along nicely -
@@TheNarrowboatThatJamesBuilt hahaha! Maybe this wasn't my finest moment in explanation! What's the phrase - a picture speaks a thousand words? Maybe watch the video as we get her going and see if you get how I did it. Or if I get a few mins tomorrow I can get the camera out at nuts n volts and show you what I mean... To be honest it's very basic - and easy - which is what we all need!
@@TheNarrowboatThatJamesBuilt If you click on my playlist for the electric drive boat, go to video number 6 and skip to about 4.40 into it. You will see I push the gear lever on the box down to engage forward, If I lift it up it goes into reverse. so I use the pivot point on the end of that lever with a rod that comes through the stern boards. Push that rod down and it engages forward, pull it up engages reverse. That can be seen in operation on episode 7. Hope that explains it better? If not message me and i will set it up and film it to send to you. It saves running back and forth down the stern deck....
Sounds like it's persisting down... Does the engine have a cranking handle? Looks like the bed frame could survive a bomb blast, never mind small children. All the best, mate. Sleep tight.
I question the removal of the 1 1/4" of material from the cross members to allow the long 2x4 to fit down the middle. This would seem to reduce the structural strength of the cross members significantly. You might improve it by adding glue to all sides and then the screws. My concern would be if you flop down in the middle of the outside area the whole thing could fail. I would do the allowable load calculations for you if I could get to my structural textbooks from 60 years ago. good luck
Don't bother putting extra wood around those 50×50 draw sections ! Use your router to rebate around the inside top to the depth of your ply you intend to use about 1/2 wide and sit top ply on the rebate flush with the CLS simple's. Save a lot of faf cutting, piloting, glueing and screw's ;-)
Fit wooden slats to the top of the bed like a normal bed . It’ll let air circulate and also be easy to remove and re fit rather than have full boards
Or another idea fit slats but fix them on a frame so they can then be hinged on air shocks like already said from a car but still allow circulation
When I fitted out my narrowboat I put a 5ft radiator flat on the floor under the bed & put grid wire sheeting as drawer bottoms, & slats under the mattress & it kept cloths & mattress dry.
for the top of the bed, why don't you hinge two boards along the wall side so you can lift them up and access storage etc underneath ??
The hideous Ikea have sprung bed slats, which are bought separately - They are ideal as they support and give some movement. Not terribly dear.
On the part of the bed that you said you hadnt planned anything , the end next to the wall,. why dont you make that a wardrobe? Build a box the can be fixed to the wall that is the width of the bed .(think of the way a yacht is fitted with furniture) so you have as much storage as possible. instead of having the wardrobe starting at the height of the base meaning that you couldnt open the door , have an open box like shelf then atop that start the wardrobe .
That’s a neat idea 👍🏼
@@TheNarrowboatThatJamesBuilt I tell you why i suggested this ., in the study ( which is where i am now writing after watching you .) i designed and had built everything in here that could comfortably allow 2 guests to sleep . I have a sofa bed with surrounding units that contain a wardrobe ( slim ) with push pop openers, a shelf with LED lights and panelled doors square shaped for more storage of linens etc .my desk has the lighting cables all hidden and the printer and pc is again all hidden .I think your bed is fantastic and the idea of storage under it is brilliant for exactly what you say , deep drawers .
Ikea bed slatts are ideal James... Could also be hinged for access.. You've made a good strong bed though... Looking good...
DONT HAVE DRAWS UNDER THE BED we have hired a lot of boats and they never run smooth and you end up getting a crick in your back trying to tug them out ,have plastic boxes much easier and water proof
Under the bed consider adding a diagonal, or triangular, support block screwed to your center posts. The deep notch in your cross bed supports weakened this quite a bit. These supports would not interfere with your plan to add drawers.
We used HyPUR -FLO under our mattress on our boat. ithe mattress was on fiberglass and fiberglass r glass surround, if that makes any sense. Never had any mold etc. We lived on it 11 years on Columbia River. N.W. USA. check it out . There another brand
Air flow-hypervent mattress condensation. Dont know what its like. Ours looked plastic spaghetti pressed into a mold at. 1" thick
I would try and get some insulation on the water tank James, I bet there a lot of condensation on it in wintertime especially 👍👍, getting there mate
Your arms aching from yanking the tiller too much haha 😆 🤣
Is that a euphemism ?
Haha! Not whatsoever - it was the tiny tiller !
@@TheNarrowboatThatJamesBuilt James just admitted that he has a tiny tiller. A new channel name, now he's on the water? ;o)
Have a mooch around the yard, I'm sure they'll have a short length of scaffolding tube. It won't be the best fit but at least it'll give you the comfortable leverage needed... and gives you an excuse to go boating again... obviously purely for testing purposes you understand 😁
@@TheNarrowboatThatJamesBuilt Made me laugh 😅🤣 had to pause the video .. all that yanking is not good for you 🤣🤣🤣
@@TheNarrowboatThatJamesBuilt I'd say "it's not the size that matters - but in this case I think you'll find some extra length will improve handling!"
Every time I watch one of your videos I get the song The Pot & Kettle by the rumjacks in my head...lol. great videos always enjoy them.
Too much tiller tugging can affect your eyesight as well apparently.
It was genuinely using the tiller !!!!!!!!!!!!’n
Helps if you change hands on a regular basis ✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨
@@sandygall8651 stop it silly !!!
yanking the tiller makes my arm ache too.
I find freeze gel £1 from Poundland a great reliever for the pain of aching muscles.
Would it have been better to panel the wall before fixing bed frame.
Tugging the tiler ..... is that a euphemism ?
The sound of the rain on the metal roof at the start is amazing, the sound of the rain is one of the few things that helps me sleep 👍
About your bed base mate might be worth looking at IKEA where you can buy bed slats kits probably would be cheaper than the I made a bed recently and use them I worked well you can buy online
Yeah I’ve been looking at those - pricey though aren’t they
@@TheNarrowboatThatJamesBuilt ikea has kits of slats for ten euros, not sure how much less pricy you want it. These are, mind you, just slats held together by a piece of nylon strap, not whole bed bottoms with a wooden frame.
@@TheNarrowboatThatJamesBuilt the Ikea slats also make the bed more comfortable and not so hard if you're using a solid board
I'd fit slats on the top of bed as others have said for ventilation. I'd have then running across the boat, so if ever you need to extend the bed, you can easily add a pull-out extension that slides in between the slats and slides out into the walkway. So you can easily widen the bed if you ever have need to. ;-)
Good vid. Thanks for sharing. It's 6'10" external dimensions but after insulation and wall covering what's the internal dimensions of the bedroom? Looking forward to further vids.
After all that I have about a foot and half to live in !!
Like everyone says ventilate your mattress or you'll be able to watch the mold grow in front of your eyes.
Where your mattress touches the sides of the boat and bulk heads you WILL trap your body moisture and moisture from within the boat.
AND WORSE your body moisture will trap underneath the mattress and be damp.
Solutions make >>>
Air holes in the base required and spacers on sides and bulk heads
One thing I did which worked well was stick carpet tiles onto the side that meets the boat hull.
Oh now that’s a great idea mate !!!
Hi James,the decompression levers are really only there if you don’t have electric start otherwise you would really struggle to start it by hand using a crank handle getting the engine over compression,we have the same engine as you,we only ever decompress the engine if it’s really cold like -5,it’s a minor inconvenience because we have to lift the engine bay door but on your boat you have great access to the engine,just make sure you have a good heavy duty starter battery and you’ll be good.
Wow don't know how you find hours in the day to up load great videos. Work on the boat and get materials and eat. lol
M8 looking good 👍 👌
I Was as anxious as you were on your first trip reminded me of when I took VIPs out on the new diving boat so anxious not to stuff up. A tiller extension will bring you further forward so don't move the gear lever to soon. Just an idea why not mount a cable operated lever on the gear lever down to the decompressor.
The long throw of the gear lever may be less of an issue when you have deck boards and a tiller extension as you will be driving from a more forward position. Alternatively, did you say that there are two forward gear positions at opposite ends of the throw of the lever?
Yes there are 2 forwards but I shouldn’t be using the back one as it will heavily wear the engine
Nice practical job that, things are really moving on. While everything is still open, it'd be a good idea to chamfer the corners from the CLS around the edges of the bed frame to 'soften' them a bit..makes it a bit less abrasive when making the bed and moving the matress.
what about bed top in one bit and then using car boot struts to lift and then stay up?
I might nick them out of the merc ! Good call
The guitar must be Happy!
James, ice your shoulder 20 minutes on, an hour off, repeat 5x's a day and you'll be right at ready mate. Cheers!
Be a comfy bed that James plenty big enough.👌👍
May I suggest plastic/polythene storage boxes with lids for sliding under the bed.
They have the advantage of stopping stored content becoming damp as air circulates around them.
Also the storage boxes can be labelled so you can see what is stored within.
They can be swapped around as required, so winter stuff at the back can be brought forward as the seasons change.
Easy to clean the floor under the bed.
Just a thought.
I was thinking they would be a good solution if I can get the right size
@@TheNarrowboatThatJamesBuilt look on ebay, you can get almost any size.
We are about to attempt the same, glad I watched this first, thanks for posting this.
Have a thought of maybe putting in what we call 'stadium seating' on the back rail of the boat. Weld a middle rung across the back rail and use it to attach a seat that hangs out over the back rail where you were sitting on it to pilot, with a swing out foot rest/brace. It'll give you a better view.
Don’t know how tall you are but could you not have put the bed sideways instead, like they do in vans. If you check out Vancity Vanlife from 5 months ago, you can see how well his space is being used. You’ll probably have to get something to put between the mattress and wood frame, it’s made for boats, or campers, unfortunately I can’t remember what it’s called. It keeps the wood from getting damp and mouldy and you much healthier. You could make the bed higher for more under bed storage and it will put you above the gunnels.
My two pennyworth - slats for the bed to improve ventilation, and don't anchor them down and instead of drawers, have removable slats and store in plastic boxes. Much more flexible and air/humidity-tight to prevent mould on your best summer shorts in the depths of winter!
Blowing air thought you water tank will increase humidity I expect as you'll be dragging air across condensation.
Decompression levers: I think given how cold it's been and how recently the engine hasn't been run, you might find that starting will improve. If not, I suggest a spring to hold the lever in the run position and a bowden cable (like a car choke of old) that you can pull and twist to hold the lever open against the spring. As it starts to catch, a quick twist of the knob and the spring with pull the levers closed.
Gear lever: It's such a nasty solution. There's Morse controls on ebay for around 100 quid, plus cables, but you'll not regret that cost from the ease that you'll get.
Loving the channel.
Great suggest for the decompression lever.
A morse control would need such engineering to replace the existing throttle. I think I’ll leave the throttle. It’s the gear lever which needs some work
@@TheNarrowboatThatJamesBuilt traditionally the throttle would be a wheel and the gear control would be a Morse cable operated control, I think that's what is being suggested James.
@@TheNarrowboatThatJamesBuilt a Morse control could be an all in one, but you can leave the existing throttle and add a second lever (Morse or similar) just to do the gear selection. The throw of the lever on the gearbox is tiny and doesn't need that massive stick you have to use. I reckon you could make a gear lever out of ally tube adjacent to the throttle. A clutch cable from a car is stout enough to operate the gearbox end. My parent's boat in the 70s had the same engine (Lister SR2 I think) and PRM 'box.
Well done James you are doing a fantastic job, making us smile along the way. Good luck and keep up the great work.
Still lots of challenges to getting properly mobile, but building a bedroom is a good stride toward essential creature comforts. Real progress!
Great start to the bedroom James .All you ideas for storage sounds good .I didn't know air circulation was a thing under the bed on a boat so that gives me something to think about.
It’s a massive issue. I’ve heard of pools of water under Narrowboat beds where 2 people sleep!!!
@@TheNarrowboatThatJamesBuilt That must have been very well sealed!! I have something very similar (blackwater tank under) to what you're creating on my boat (I cc too) - 6# 1.5" holes down the long side is all I have, no issues at all
James why don't you use struts, hinge the bed on one side to access all the storage under your bed in stead of using draws?
Just a thought, also fit the expansion tank in the up right position.
There is a rubbery mesh fabric that goes between the mattress and platform in order to provide an air gap to improve circulation
For the gear lever I assume you’d want some sort of linkage - a bell crank down there that turns the throw of the lever into an up/down motion and then another bell crank up top that turns it back into a much smaller rotation?
Coming along nicely. Good job my man!
Top Chippying Young James :-)
Had a right good giggle over the lumber delivery you did yesterday 🤣 good mates cheering you on lol
That bed looks like it is going to be so comfy and is going to be just what you need after a day of yanking !!
I'm sure Paul in the boatyard can cobble together a solution for the throttle and gear levers but the cable idea already mentioned is going to be the way to go as you will need the controls up somewhere near the tiller in case of emergency.
No I need the controls near the key - this is my problem mate !!
I would have thought your floor could be your square level
It provided the square at the base
IKEA. Bed slats are ideal for the bed base
Don't you just love the word "moist"
Not when describing a bed !!
Better than the Ritz!
Love the sound of rain on the roof.
Getting there bud.
Have you sized that bed frame with a specific mattress size in mind? I made mine to fit the ‘small double’ standard size which I think was 120cm wide from memory
Made to fit mattress is the way to go !
I can definitely recommend Custom Made Mattressee, you can find them on Facebook. They did one for my boat, very surprised at the cost (in a good way!)
More good progress. Turned out very laid back. Cheers.
I am now playing your videos at 2x speed what an improvement.
Great, thanks for the suggestion just tried it🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉
10 likes and only posted a minute ago- wow
Evening James,
Regarding your gear change...
Have you watched the videos of when I built the Electric Drive boat... Our gear lever on that boat is the same style as yours - as in direct from the box, no cables etc.
I set it up so the lever off the box exits horizontally, so the lever off that - which is what we use to operate it - moves vertically... pull that lever up we go forward, push it down and we go backwards and the central position is neutral.
Not sure if that explains it very well, but watch the video where we got her moving and you will see what I mean.
In essence it removes the need for moving from front to back on the stern as the lever is always at the point in the deck boards - it just moves up and down, operating at a 90 degree angle to the lever out of the box...
Confused? yep, so am I - and I know what I mean! ;)
I don’t think I’ve ever been more confused 🤣🤣🤣🤣
I better watch your vid again and pay attention - I may pick your brains about this !!
Cheers pal - glad to see yours is coming along nicely -
@@TheNarrowboatThatJamesBuilt hahaha! Maybe this wasn't my finest moment in explanation!
What's the phrase - a picture speaks a thousand words?
Maybe watch the video as we get her going and see if you get how I did it. Or if I get a few mins tomorrow I can get the camera out at nuts n volts and show you what I mean...
To be honest it's very basic - and easy - which is what we all need!
@@WingingItBoatingonaBudget basic and easy is music to my ears. I’ll watch and let you know. Thanks Pete
@@TheNarrowboatThatJamesBuilt If you click on my playlist for the electric drive boat, go to video number 6 and skip to about 4.40 into it. You will see I push the gear lever on the box down to engage forward, If I lift it up it goes into reverse. so I use the pivot point on the end of that lever with a rod that comes through the stern boards. Push that rod down and it engages forward, pull it up engages reverse.
That can be seen in operation on episode 7.
Hope that explains it better? If not message me and i will set it up and film it to send to you. It saves running back and forth down the stern deck....
@@WingingItBoatingonaBudget yeah that sounds like it would work nicely.
👍👌🇨🇦❤
Excellent.. you have thought of everything with the bed design .... rest that right arm 💪😁 stay safe 🙏
Sounds like it's persisting down...
Does the engine have a cranking handle?
Looks like the bed frame could survive a bomb blast, never mind small children.
All the best, mate. Sleep tight.
hey !
no it doesn’t have a cranking handle. we will need to do a bit of work but I’ll have to live with a quirky set up I reckon. cheers pal
I question the removal of the 1 1/4" of material from the cross members to allow the long 2x4 to fit down the middle. This would seem to reduce the structural strength of the cross members significantly. You might improve it by adding glue to all sides and then the screws. My concern would be if you flop down in the middle of the outside area the whole thing could fail. I would do the allowable load calculations for you if I could get to my structural textbooks from 60 years ago. good luck
If my weight under normal circumstances breaks that bed, then I’ve got a major problem !!!