Association Forum - Removing the table in the Dinette floor plan

Assn Members Area · Join

Home.

Association Forum

Ships Store

Cruising

Racing

Technical Tips

Photo Gallery - New

Boat Search - Updated

Manuals & Brochures

Swap Meet

Links

Officer Flag Line & Staff

Bylaws & Constitution

Members Area

Join the Association

Notice:
The advice given on this site is based upon individual or quoted experience, yours may differ.
The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.

Association Forum

Username:	Password:
Save Password
Forgot your Password?

All Forums

Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums

General Sailing Forum

Removing the table in the Dinette floor plan

New Topic

Topic Locked

Printer Friendly

Author

Topic

Voyager
Master Marine Consultant

Member Avatar

USA
5392 Posts

Initially Posted - 09/21/2009 : 21:38:46

Under most circumstances, the dinette table is right in the way when working or sitting down below. It's a good place to collect paraphenalia and clutter, but little else.

Therefore, I plan to remove the table in my dinette configuration cabin.

Instead, I will be adding a short bench seat in the rear of the seats to allow folks to sit around the bench seats and lean against the port side wall.

While its a little uncomfortable to lean against the side, I plan to use several cushions to pad the entire area.

I will not completely eliminate the table because it can be useful during meals, so I plan stow it beneath the quarterberth.

Has anybody with a dinette setup done this? How did it work out?

Bruce Ross
Passage ~ SR-FK ~ C25 #5032

Port Captain � Milford, CT

Edited by - on

dlucier
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

Virgin Islands (United Kingdom)
7583 Posts

Response Posted - 09/22/2009 : 05:35:43

My dinette table has been in the lowered stowed position, with the cushion on top, for the last 5 or 6 years. It gave my now older daughters, and thier cousins and friends, a place to comfortably hang out/lounge/read/nap while underway. It also provided a great storage area underneath the table. The loss of the table was no big deal since we almost always dine in the comfort of the cockpit.

Edited by - on

islander
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

USA
4024 Posts

Response Posted - 09/22/2009 : 06:05:07

Bruce, I too found the table to be " in the way" most times. I removed the table ( stored in the basement ) and made a shorter version that extends off the wall about 24". I re-used the mounting brackets from the large table and put a brace underneath from the wall to the bottom of the new table. The brace is made from 7/8 SS tubing and Bimini mounts on the ends. This shorter table works very well, It is out of the way when moving around the cabin but still gives you a place to put a glass down or a couple of plates. I wish I had some photos to put up.

Edited by - on

Voyager
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

USA
5392 Posts

Response Posted - 09/22/2009 : 21:17:25

Scott and Don
Both your posts have given me a good idea of what to do. I think I will build a short table like Scott's and mainly set it down low to create a seating pit like Don's.

I can re-use the wall mounts and come up with a clever leg arrangement (some kind of folding wooden thing with wing nuts) that will be out of the way until I need it.

I already use the under-table space for storage of waterbottles and the cooler. I just need to come up with the right kind of cushions at this point.

This forum's members and participants are awesome!!!

Edited by - on

PCP777
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

USA
1225 Posts

Response Posted - 09/23/2009 : 09:24:46

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by dlucier
 My dinette table has been in the lowered stowed position, with the cushion on top, for the last 5 or 6 years. It gave my now older daughters, and thier cousins and friends, a place to comfortably hang out/lounge/read/nap while underway. It also provided a great storage area underneath the table. The loss of the table was no big deal since we almost always dine in the comfort of the cockpit.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

Exactly, I can't imagine living without it. That's where I sleep when we stay the night, where my son naps when we're underway etc.

I love it.

Edited by - on

JohnP
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

1520 Posts

Response Posted - 09/23/2009 : 10:15:12

It seems like Don, Peter, and I have the L-shaped settee and table arrangement, which allows the table to be raised and lowered and has a cushion to make a small (5' x 4') bed that extends the port settee.

I like to keep my table down and empty usually, since it is a convenient platform. It has a leg under the aft unsupported edge. The foreward and port edges rest against the L-shaped settee frame. I also like to stand on it in the lowered position when under sail in light breezes with the pop-top open. This crew position gives a great view and leaves more room for others in the cabin and cockpit.

And of course, I have discovered from reading here on the Forum, maybe from Don's earlier description a few years ago, that a queen size air mattress fits into the cabin over the settees, the table with its foam pad, and my simple setup of 4 inverted plastic detergent buckets with other cushions on them. This bed uses the lowered table and makes the C-25 quite luxurious for anchoring out, even if it is not very convenient to set up and dismantle.

But with the "dinette" across the cabin, I suppose these options are not possible. Is that correct?

So making a smaller table may help give you more space in the cabin.

I also know that the folding table that comes down from over the swing keel box in my friend's C-25 is out of the way. He never uses it. On his boat we always eat in the cockpit, and we never seem to need a table. Then again, he never thought he needed a queen size mattress until he saw mine!

Edited by - on

dlucier
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

Virgin Islands (United Kingdom)
7583 Posts

Response Posted - 09/23/2009 : 13:22:18

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by JohnP
 It seems like Don, Peter, and I have the L-shaped settee and table arrangement,...<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

Actually, I have the dinette/McDonald's booth layout. This layout allows you to lower the table onto ledges in the fore and aft seats to make it into a bed ala a travel trailer.

This is a pic from a cruise where we left the queen sized air mattress up the whole time.

Edited by - dlucier on 09/23/2009 13:32:19

PCP777
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

USA
1225 Posts

Response Posted - 09/23/2009 : 14:02:56

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by JohnP
 It seems like Don, Peter, and I have the L-shaped settee and table arrangement, which allows the table to be raised and lowered and has a cushion to make a small (5' x 4') bed that extends the port settee.

I like to keep my table down and empty usually, since it is a convenient platform. It has a leg under the aft unsupported edge. The foreward and port edges rest against the L-shaped settee frame. I also like to stand on it in the lowered position when under sail in light breezes with the pop-top open. This crew position gives a great view and leaves more room for others in the cabin and cockpit.

And of course, I have discovered from reading here on the Forum, maybe from Don's earlier description a few years ago, that a queen size air mattress fits into the cabin over the settees, the table with its foam pad, and my simple setup of 4 inverted plastic detergent buckets with other cushions on them. This bed uses the lowered table and makes the C-25 quite luxurious for anchoring out, even if it is not very convenient to set up and dismantle.

But with the "dinette" across the cabin, I suppose these options are not possible. Is that correct?

So making a smaller table may help give you more space in the cabin.

I also know that the folding table that comes down from over the swing keel box in my friend's C-25 is out of the way. He never uses it. On his boat we always eat in the cockpit, and we never seem to need a table. Then again, he never thought he needed a queen size mattress until he saw mine!
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

I have the L- shaped like you, and I love it. I'm not a huge fan of the drop down table design as I use this space all the time but never with the table up.

dlucier, that looks AWESOME! I guess everyone has to climb over to get to the head? I bet I could set up something like that.....

Here's our messy down below on a recent cruise with my friend's kids taking full advantage of the L berth while under sail. It was a hot day and they were a bit pooped out.

Edited by - on

Voyager
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

USA
5392 Posts

Response Posted - 09/23/2009 : 16:53:08

I have the true dinette, with two seats on the port side with a table between the two, a narrow aisle leading to the head compartment and a settee across the aisle on starboard. When I drop the table between the seats, add a filler board in the aisle and put all the cushions in place, I can put in a queen size air mattress. It is awesome.

I haven't used that setup since the last time the Admiral overnighted a few years back. It makes the cabin very cramped and you always need something on the other side of the bed. If I omit the filler board in the aisle, the dinette makes a good size bed area you can curl up in, and I can sleep on the settee.

I think that my best bet is to create the short table (24") then set it down low most of the time.

Edited by - on

PCP777
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

USA
1225 Posts

Response Posted - 09/24/2009 : 06:30:06

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Voyager
 I have the true dinette, with two seats on the port side with a table between the two, a narrow aisle leading to the head compartment and a settee across the aisle on starboard. When I drop the table between the seats, add a filler board in the aisle and put all the cushions in place, I can put in a queen size air mattress. It is awesome.

I haven't used that setup since the last time the Admiral overnighted a few years back. It makes the cabin very cramped and you always need something on the other side of the bed. If I omit the filler board in the aisle, the dinette makes a good size bed area you can curl up in, and I can sleep on the settee.

I think that my best bet is to create the short table (24") then set it down low most of the time.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

I never raise my table.

Edited by - on

Dave Bristle
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

Djibouti
10005 Posts

Response Posted - 09/24/2009 : 06:52:43

Bruce: FWIW, your interior cushions were made a place called Royal in Norwalk. (He'll probably have a booth at the Norwalk show.) I had them shorten the one that went behind the companionway steps, in order to be the right size for a "bridge" between the dinette and the starboard settee. They do nice work--IMHO much nicer than original.

Edited by - on

Voyager
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

USA
5392 Posts

Response Posted - 09/24/2009 : 07:01:42

Those cushions arecomfortable and of very good quality. They fit perfectly.
I've used the bridge cushion several times as I made a board that fits in the aisle below it.

Edited by - on

Voyager
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

USA
5392 Posts

Response Posted - 09/24/2009 : 19:21:04

Ok - today, I put the table down to the seat height and I put the cushions down. It worked fine except the table sticks out a little bit, and there's no way to secure it in place.

So when I was on a 20 degree heel today (the northerlies piped up in the late afternoon) the table slid 1/2 way down toward the settee. Of course, when I tacked, the table slid back into place (more or less).

Any suggestions on a way to secure it so it doesn't slide around? I've got some strips of rug underlayment (non-slip backing). That might work.

Edited by - on

Dave Bristle
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

Djibouti
10005 Posts

Response Posted - 09/24/2009 : 19:31:56

Maybe a couple of the brackets that are mounted on the liner in the "up" position? I'm not sure where you can get them...

Edited by - on

Deric
Captain

Members Avatar

USA
408 Posts

Response Posted - 09/25/2009 : 03:17:07

I have the original table, which I believe to be very heavy. I made a table with 1/2 plywood because it was lighter and allowed me to set it up or move it down quickly to the benches with one hand. I drilled a small hole in the middle of the wood so that I can lift the table up or down with ease.

Just a thought.

Deric

Edited by - on

dlucier
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

Virgin Islands (United Kingdom)
7583 Posts

Response Posted - 09/25/2009 : 05:20:45

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Voyager
 So when I was on a 20 degree heel today (the northerlies piped up in the late afternoon) the table slid 1/2 way down toward the settee. Of course, when I tacked, the table slid back into place (more or less).

Any suggestions on a way to secure it so it doesn't slide around? I've got some strips of rug underlayment (non-slip backing). That might work.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

I use good quality grip liner to keep the table in place. I also use this stuff under cockpit cushions/seats and the carpeting to keep them in place as well.

Edited by - dlucier on 09/25/2009 05:33:39

islander
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

USA
4024 Posts

Response Posted - 09/26/2009 : 18:10:10

Bruce, We went sailing today so I took some pics so you can get a better idea on the shorter table. We don't have kids to accommodate so making that area into a bed isn't needed for us. Sara is 5'6"" so she gets the V Berth and I'm 6'3" so I take the aft. This leaves a clear shot to the head in the night if needed with out stepping over anyone. The area between the two seats usually is where we put the little cooler for day sailing but I still have a place to plop my butt down and still have a place to put a drink or plate on. It works for us but everyones needs may be different.

Edited by - on

Voyager
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

USA
5392 Posts

Response Posted - 09/26/2009 : 21:10:51

Scott
This looks like a great idea, the table is still usable, but way out of the way, and the seats are still usable. Fantastic finish on the table too.

Edited by - on

Topic

New Topic

Topic Locked

Printer Friendly

Jump To:

Association Forum

Notice: The advice given on this site is based upon individual or quoted experience, yours may differ.
The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.