A hammock is the cheapest comfort upgrade most boats will ever get. No cushions to store, no frame to bolt down, and it packs back into its own bag when you're done.
The only real question is where to hang it. Boats are full of things that look strong and aren't, so this is a guide to the fittings that will take your weight and the ones that will quietly bend while you nap on them.
Start with the hardware you already have
Once you start looking at a boat as a set of hang points, they show up everywhere. The good ones are structural, welded or through-bolted, and tied into the hull or the frame rather than screwed to a panel.
- Powerboats and cruisers. The radar arch is usually the best point on the boat. It is built to carry antennas, lights and a dinghy davit through a chop, so a person swinging gently underneath it is a light day.
- Sailboats. The mast and the chainplate ends of the shrouds are structural by definition. So is the base of a hard dodger frame.
- Pontoons. The bimini uprights and the ski tow bar are the usual pair, and the deck rail frame works where it is welded rather than clipped.
- At the dock. Pilings and boathouse posts are the easiest hang on the water, and you get the view without giving up a seat on the boat.
What to leave alone: lifelines, stanchions, bimini fabric, canvas snaps, cleats you have never load-tested, and anything fastened into a cored deck panel with short screws. A cleat that holds a dock line in a steady pull is not the same as a cleat taking a shock load when someone flops in.
The rule of thumb we give people: if you would trust it to hold the boat against a current, it will hold you. If you have to talk yourself into it, pick something else. Our full hammock safety guide covers the rest.
Hang it low, and let it sag
On land people hang hammocks too tight and too high. On a boat both mistakes get worse, because everything under you is hard and some of it is wet.
Set it so the lowest point sits about chair height off the deck. Getting in becomes a sit-down instead of a hop, and getting out at anchor in the dark stops being an event.
Let the line sag. A deep curve gives you the flat diagonal lay that makes a hammock comfortable, and it puts far less strain on whatever you tied to. A drum-tight hammock is both less comfortable and harder on your hardware. We go into the geometry in how to hang a hammock and the physics of the hammock angle.
Two more boat-specific things. Leave clear space to swing without hitting a winch, and never hang across a path someone needs at speed, which usually means keeping it off the side decks and out of the helm's line of sight.
Straps beat rope on a boat
Rope bites into powder-coated arches and gelcoat. Wide webbing straps spread the load and do not chew up your finish, which is the same reason they are kinder to trees.
They also adjust without knots. On a boat you are rarely tying to two points at the same height, so being able to shorten one side by a loop is the difference between a level hang and a slow slide into the rail.
The seasickness trick sailors swear by
Hammocks have been standard issue on ships for centuries, and the reason was not just storage. A hung hammock stays roughly level while the hull rolls underneath it, so your body gets a much quieter ride than the deck does.
We are not going to make a medical claim about it. What we can tell you is that sailors have been using that trick for a very long time, and the people who write to us about it are usually the ones who found out the hard way that the cockpit bench is not the place to ride out a swell.
Karen's boat, the At Ease
Karen H. of Warwick, Rhode Island sent us a photo of her husband's setup and a note we have kept ever since. She wrote that he calls it "the best gift he has ever received" and that "he absolutely loves it and it fits on the radar arch perfectly!"
She also pointed out that the boat is named the At Ease, which is the kind of detail you cannot improve on.
Sailboat owners write in the same way. "Hammock is awesome! We hung it on the deck of our sailboat and it has worked out perfectly." (Christopher L., verified review)
And the dock crowd gets there by a slightly different route. "I had my eye on this nice double hammock for a while now; first I thought about lounging in it across the inside of the boathouse, then I thought about tying it up on the boat dock." (lynn e, verified review)
Take it down when you're moving
A hammock at anchor or at the dock is a hammock. A hammock under way is loose fabric near a prop, a boom, and anyone trying to move fast. Ours stuffs back into its own bag faster than it takes to coil a dock line, so there is no excuse for leaving it up.
Salt water is fine, by the way. Rinse it with fresh water when you get the chance and let it dry before it goes back in the bag, same as everything else on board.
The stranger uses
Over the years customers have told us about hammocks pressed into service as a makeshift sail on a small craft, and as a drag anchor to slow a drift. We would not call either an intended use, and we would not recommend planning around them. But it says something about the people who buy these that the first instinct in a pinch is to reach for the hammock.
Boat hammock FAQ
Where can you hang a hammock on a boat?
The best points are structural and load-bearing: a radar arch, the mast and shroud chainplates on a sailboat, bimini uprights or the ski tow bar on a pontoon, and pilings or posts at the dock. Avoid lifelines, stanchions, canvas fittings, and anything screwed into a thin deck panel.
Can you hang a hammock on a pontoon boat?
Yes. Most pontoons have two usable points in the bimini frame uprights and the ski tow bar. Hang it low over the deck and keep it out of the driver's sightline.
How high should a boat hammock be?
Lower than you would hang it between trees. Aim for the lowest point of the hammock to sit around chair height off the deck, with a deep sag in the line, so getting in and out is a sit rather than a climb.
Do hammocks help with seasickness?
Sailors have used hammocks that way for centuries, on the logic that the hammock stays comparatively still while the hull rolls around it. We are not making a medical claim, so treat it as an old trick worth trying rather than a remedy.
Is salt water bad for a hammock?
No. Rinse it with fresh water when you can and let it dry fully before packing it away.
Every hammock we make plants a tree through our 1-for-1 Giveback, and all of it is backed by our Lifetime Happiness Guarantee.
Got a good photo of your Trek Light hammock on the water? Send it in so we can show it off.
