A bespoke table for those who like to sit in steerage
Issue 109 : Jul/Aug 2016
Whenever I sense an opportunity to improve comfort aboard our Islander 36 or to enhance our experience while cruising, I don’t hesitate to organize a project.
In most weather conditions, we prefer to take our meals aboard Trillium in the cockpit, as it’s the best place to relax and enjoy the fresh air and the scenery. Our cockpit table unfolds up and forward from the binnacle. It’s relatively large and will accommodate four full-size dinner plates, but I was always looking for a way to get more elbow room and an opportunity to spread out. There are times, too, when we have more than four people in the cockpit for drinks after a day’s activity. On those occasions, we always need more space than is available around the cockpit table.
The seating behind the steering wheel is comfortable for one or two people, but its use is limited if there is no place for a plate of food, a drink, an iPad, or a book. I set out to find a practical way to take advantage of this space and came up with a small, lightweight table that could be quickly attached and removed from a wheel that is locked in place. This turned out to be the ideal solution.
I cut the table to fit around our Raymarine autopilot that’s attached to the wheel spokes. Two slots in the back of the table slip over, and keep the table firmly attached to, the two lower wheel spokes that slope downward at 30-degrees. A slot in the center gives the table support and, as the table tips down into the level position, the vertical center spoke contacts the end of the center slot and will not allow the table to tip past level. The backs of the two outside slots and the front of the center slot give the table a solid three-point suspension.
When the table is first installed, a block on the underside of the center slot can be adjusted forward and aft to get the table exactly level. This adjustment is necessary to compensate for any errors made when cutting the center slot, and it keeps the table stable and level in any cockpit.
To put this table away, we simply lift it so the outside slots clear the wheel spokes and pull it away from the wheel. It takes up very little storage space.
While developing this table, I experimented with plywood, StarBoard, and teak (my favorite for our boat). Each of these materials has given good results. The backs of the outside slots have proven to be strong enough to support the table for normal use.
The wheel table was easy to build and can be a great addition to any cruising boat.
Jack Wolf is a retired global marketing product manager for an international company. He and his wife, Anneke, have been sailing together since the early 1970s. He holds a USCG Master’s license and has lived and sailed extensively throughout Northern Europe and North America. Today, Jack and Anneke sail the Great Lakes out of Muskegon, Michigan, on their Islander 36, Trillium. They graciously hosted Tom and Sandy Wells aboard Trillium so Tom could review her for the March 2014 issue of Good Old Boat.
Thank you to Sailrite Enterprises, Inc., for providing free access to back issues of Good Old Boat through intellectual property rights. Sailrite.com
