Hot Racking
A berthing arrangement aboard submarines and other crowded vessels where two or three sailors share the same bunk, sleeping in shifts so the bed is never cold.
Hot racking is the practice of assigning multiple sailors to the same sleeping berth, with each person using the bunk during their off-duty period while the other is on watch. The term comes from the fact that the mattress is still warm from the previous occupant when the next sailor climbs in. On submarines, where every cubic foot of space is at a premium, hot racking has historically been a standard practice, particularly on older boats with fewer bunks than crew members.
On early nuclear submarines, three sailors might share a single bunk on an eight-hour rotation. As submarine designs have evolved, the ratio has improved. The Virginia-class attack submarine provides enough bunks for its crew of approximately 135, though hot racking may still occur when additional personnel, special operations forces, intelligence specialists, or riders, embark for specific missions.
Hot racking is widely disliked by submariners for obvious reasons of comfort and hygiene, and the Navy has worked to eliminate it where possible. The Columbia-class ballistic missile submarine is designed with sufficient berths for its crew to avoid hot racking entirely, reflecting the recognition that crew quality of life directly affects retention and operational effectiveness during long deployments.
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