Table Manners

Issue 134: Sept/Oct 2020

Installed in Fulmar’s cockpit, the Lagun Table System supports a 36-inch folding teak table, providing a lovely space for dining.

Fulmar, our 1982 Pacific Seacraft 37, came to us without a dining table—not in the saloon, not in the cockpit. The charm of balancing plates on laps soon wore off. The cabin layout doesn’t lend itself to a bulkhead-mounted table, and installing a pedestal table didn’t appeal, given their bulk and expense. Our boat is tiller-steered, so there isn’t a binnacle on which to mount a table in the cockpit. We found the solution aboard a friend’s boat.

The table is lowered, folded, and swung next to the galley to act as a coffee table or a place to put a laptop when watching movies.

The Lagun Table System is used more commonly in RVs than on boats, but being made of anodized aluminum, it would work in the marine environment. The system comprises two pieces: the table leg (a table support attached to a pivoting arm and leg) and a mounting bracket from which the table leg can be easily removed. We installed one mounting bracket for the table leg below and one mounting bracket in the cockpit. With two mounting brackets permanently installed, we can move the table leg between the cabin and cockpit at will.

Installation was simple. The mounting bracket attaches to a surface using four bolts, and it comes with its own backing plate. We installed the first bracket in the saloon, on a vertical surface below the settee (this surface is perpendicular to the waterline; the kit came with two shims for mounting to a surface that is not plumb). We installed the second bracket in the cockpit, also on a vertical surface, beneath the cockpit seating.

Below, the table system is mounted to the vertical settee surface. The leg moves up and down in the mount, and the arm rotates 360 degrees on two points, around the leg and at the interface with the table itself.

We could have built our own tabletop to attach to the table leg but opted instead for a teak folding table from Marine Teak. When it arrived, we applied three coats of clear satin polyurethane (sanding with 220-grit paper between coats) and used screws to attach it to the table leg.

The system allows the table leg to move up and down in the mounting bracket and to rotate 360 degrees on two points—the arm swings around the leg, and the table swings around its joint as well. This allows the table to raise and lower, slide back and forth, and spin. We can fold it out to accommodate guests, lock it in place when dinner begins, and swing it out of the way when we get up from the settee.

Lagun advertises that the system can support up to 50 pounds. We remove the table and stow it when sailing, as we don’t think it would stand up to pounding. Otherwise, it’s a versatile solution to two problems.

Janet Gannon is a sailor, scientist, and writer who sails out of Brunswick, Georgia, with her husband. Her father bought a Sea Snark (made of styrofoam!) when she was just a tot, and she’s been a sailor ever since. She is a true East Coast boater, having been on the water from the Bay of Fundy to Key West. Janet is also the founder and administrator of the Facebook group Cruisers Who Care About Climate.