Cockpit table ideas?

Stu Jackson · Jun 30, 2013

There has been an almost obsessive compulsive fixation about cockpit tables, for either tiller or wheel steered boats, ever since they invented plates & knives & forks.

Having been boating since I was five years old, I still have no blinkin' idea why.

We boat on San Francisco Bay. It's usually too COLD to eat in the cockpit. :cussing:

From my readings on this and other boating forums, it seems that it's usually too HOT and/or BUGGY to do so "back east" and in the Great Lakes.

I went to summer camp in Western Massachusetts when I was a kid and understand lake sailing, too.

So? What is it with this whole cockpit table issue?

Pat · Jun 30, 2013

We bought a beautiful teak cockpit table from a vendor at the Newport boat show maybe 4 years ago...Keeping it looking good is a bit of work. We use it whenever we anchor
out whether for a few hours, an evening or overnight....it does provide a nice area to eat or serve appetizers to guests. It fits under our pedestal cover and so mostly out of the Kansas sun when not in use. Good luck finding what you are looking for. Pat

All U Get · Jun 30, 2013

Stu Jackson said:
So? What is it with this whole cockpit table issue?

Ah Stu,

While we were traveling south and back the other boys were single-handing and living on canned beans. We would invite them over for the evening meal after anchors down. It began with two boats and grew to six by Thanksgiving and the table would be set. Kinda like the Waltons two or three times a week. When I'd say "Don't set the table tonight we can just eat on our laps, I'd go below and the table would be set by the time I come back up. Like Roger says "We're just traveling with a good group of people".

All U Get

Rodd mine is custom made attached to the binnacle (?), I think it's too big but what do I know.

weinie · Jun 30, 2013

I just redid my folding, murphy bed like, dinette table after the original formica table came loose from the wall and crashed through my teak floorboard. :cussing:

I used a nice sheet of 3/4" maple plywood (about $50). You can cut any shape you need with a sabre saw. Birch wood is another option. The quality is much much better than traditional construction plywood. Even the sides, when sanded look very nice.
Sanded, stained, and polyurethaned -- looks great!
You can use any shade of minwax stain to come pretty close to whatever teak color you have on the rest of your boat.
Right now, I am about to start redoing the floor board with the same wood. In order to duplicated the teak/holley striping, I am going to tape off sections at a time and use light and dark stains to mimic the original pattern. It's cheaper than buying teak/holley 8x4 sheets for $300! If it doesnt come out good, I'll just re-do it in a single color.

weinie · Jun 30, 2013

Rodd said:
Thanks all, and Weinie that's exactly the info I was looking for! I will go to the lumber yard tomorrow and check out those woods. I have no problem cutting out a shape with a sabre saw and routing the edges. I like the idea of staining and then varnishing. This is the direction I am headed! Was the $50 for a 4x8 sheet?

Yes... 8x4 foot sheet. $50 was for 3/4 inch. 1/2 was less. I got mine at Lowes.
Be careful with the router as you don't want to bevel the edge beyond the first "ply" of the plywood. Instead of a rounter, you can simply smooth the edges using just a few passes with 100 grit sandpaper. Also, take a few minutes to sand the all the surfaces, especially the sides, with 100 grit and then 220 grit sand paper before you stain it.

ETA: try to find a sheet with as few knots as possible. Slide a few boards to the side till you find a piece with the most "clean" areas to cut your table sections from. Be sure to check the reverse side too.

weinie · Jun 30, 2013

One more thing I thought about doing...

You can take an image, like the logo of your sail boat or the name, and print it on vinyl. A print shop or sign shop should be able to do it on a clear background.
Glue it to the table and poly over it.
I was going to do an antique style compass rose for my table but I never got around to it.
You can always do it later on though.

TLW · Jun 30, 2013

On RAGTIME

Ron20324 · Jun 30, 2013

Rodd said:
... I will go to the lumber yard tomorrow and check out those woods. ...

Just last week there was a sign in the Annapooils Home Depot that they now carry marine wood. Maybe not at all stores, you'll have to inquire. No, I don't know which wood they would carry.

Morgan donor · Jul 1, 2013

You can buy a Magna bait table for $30 +/-. Relocate the hinge to the short side and attach to your pedestal. Mine is bolted to a plastic binoc/cup holder. (Still retains the 2 piece hinge & Magna pin for removal). Home depot for two pedestal legs, cut to length to hold table horizontal. Drill 3 - 1/4" holes on forward short side (2 on outside edge, one in center). Install 1/4" dowels in legs. For a quick lunch we use one leg in center. Dinner, 2 legs. Seats two. Its a bit flimsy, but ours has been in use 5 years.

Brian S · Jul 1, 2013

Oh, you guys with your big fancy boats and steering pedestals and such...

When you've got a small trailer sailer, there are no such luxuries. And you have to worry where to stow things. When I need a little bit more space for hors-d'oeuvres or prep area for the rail mount grill, I use a plastic folding table. I wanted to get this nice wood table from Byer of Maine: https://www.byerofmaine.com/products/pangean-furniture/pangean-folding-table.html but I didn't feel like getting spendy. So I found something very similar in plastic at Walmart for $15.00. I thought I'd need a smaller table to fit in the cockpit, and was mildly surprised that the plastic table was a bit on the small side. Still, it does barely fit in the space under the cockpit at the end of the quarter berths...

My girlfriend had an old wood table which seemed to be made of cedar, of a similar folding design. However, by this point it was so rickety, we burned it in the wood stove. I think she got it from an outdoor center, something like the local nursery/garden/home decor place. So far I haven't seen anything similar at the local big box Lowes or Home Depot. The problem with such a table is it appeared to be assembled with mild steel air gun brads and other cheap hardware that wouldn't hold up to salt air and splashes.

Guess I'll just stick with the plastic table for now.

Brian

jimmcgee · Jul 1, 2013

If we're out for a relaxing day sail and the wind's no piping (ie not rail down), we'll put out snacks on the cockpit table. We also do breakfast and dinner in the cockpit depending on the weather.

bigpapaporsche · Jul 1, 2013

I just returned from my first major sailing experience, 10 days on lake Huron, travelling 360 miles. The boat was a 1976 Tarten 34C that had a cockpit table and pedestal steering, and crew of 4. I was surprised is learn just how versatile a cockpit table is when sailing! I aways thought it was mainly for eating or drinking at anchor. We gathered around it for lunch and found it very useful as a Nav Station table while underway. We used the "old fashion method" to plot out course on the charts, were able to pin-point our position using the GPS Lat/Log. I wouldn't want to be without a cockpit table!

TomY · Jul 1, 2013

I had an idea and cut this mock up out of birch plywood. Simply, the table is cut out to slide over the binnacle guard, a leg fits tightly to a cleat on the bottom.

It's still in the cockpit lockers it worked so well. I'll get around to doing a finished one, some day. It stows flat, two pieces, easy.

nramsey · Jul 1, 2013

TLW Is that a custom table or off-the-shelf? How big is it?

Cockpit table ideas?

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