A soft solution to a hard-edged cockpit
Issue 107 : Mar/Apr 2016
I’ve seen better cockpits. When Sparkman & Stephens designed the cockpit of our Fuji 40 in the late 1970s, I think the focus was on maximizing interior space and giving the helmsman access to the traveler. The results are low coamings, narrow benches, and overall less-than-comfortable seating. We put lots of cushions out there, but we still craved something larger and moldable with which we could make even an awkward spot a good place to be. We tried the all-weather beanbags that West Marine sells, but they’re much too large to use in our cockpit.
Two years ago, my wife, Windy, had an idea. At a big-box store, she bought a kid-sized beanbag. It’s the perfect size, and the vinyl outer shell and the Styrofoam pellets are waterproof. All-weather it is not, however. It isn’t durable in terms of chafe and exposure to UV radiation.
Windy stuck the whole beanbag inside an old unused sailbag. Just like that, we had a very comfortable, inexpensive, all-weather cushion. It’s been a good solution for us. From Alaska to Mexico to French Polynesia, everyone’s been happy to hang out in the cockpit — especially if they’re the first to reach for the sailbag beanbag.
Michael Robertson and his wife, Windy, bought a cruising sailboat in Mexico, sold their Washington, D.C., home, and dropped out of their high-pressure lives in 2011 to voyage with their two daughters, Eleanor (12), above, and Frances (9). They’re currently aboard their Fuji 40, Del Viento, in Tonga. Michael is a coauthor with Behan Gifford and Sara Johnson of Voyaging with Kids (L&L Pardey Publications). Catch up with the Robertsons at www.logofdelviento.blogspot.com.
Thank you to Sailrite Enterprises, Inc., for providing free access to back issues of Good Old Boat through intellectual property rights. Sailrite.com
