Cockpit Boards

[DBurkett]

I’m looking for information on the installation of cockpit boards. I have a deep footwell that I would like to block off.
Any information would be appreciated.

Regards,
Dick Burkett

 

[rakaaw]

Do you mean something akin to cockpit mods carried out by Roger Taylor to his yacht Ming Ming?

 

[DBurkett]

Do you mean something akin to cockpit mods carried out by Roger Taylor to his yacht Ming Ming?

The system used by Bill Churchouse, aboard his Westerly. The boards are removable.

 

[zoidberg]

The system used by Bill Churchouse, aboard his Westerly. The boards are removable.

Pics would be interesting....

 

[DBurkett]

Pics would be interesting....

Pics would be interesting....

There are no pictures available; I saw the system displayed in the “ Meet the Skippers” video on Bill Churchouse.

 

[zoidberg]

There are no pictures available; I saw the system displayed in the “ Meet the Skippers” video on Bill Churchouse.

Yes. I had another look.... following Bill's ethos 'KISS', I can't see the difficulty in copying that idea. It's cheap, it's effective, it's easy to make. And it offers a volume of storage precious on a small boat.

 

[ducked]

AFAICT from that video, those boards arent secured or sealed, being simply laid across between the cockpit seats, so, while they would likely resist swamping the cockpit by a wave, they would also be likely to be dislodged in a knockdown, when they might become a hazard,

Any storage under them is likely to be rather wet storage, and similarly not very secure.

I can see the attraction of the simplicity, especially as securing them is likely to require extra holes in the boat, but I think a bit of complication might improve them.

I have a similar, but potentially more serious issue with the cockpit hatches on my recently acquired Trident 24, which arent well secured and apparently could directly connect the sea with the bilges.

 

[zoidberg]

I can see the attraction of the simplicity, especially as securing them is likely to require extra holes in the boat, but I think a bit of complication might improve them.

I'd agree wi' that.
ISTM there are many ways to provide secure fastening of such boards, both simple and complex.

In the context of s/h distance sailing in a small boat, where much of the watch-keeping would likely be done sitting in the companion-hatch or inside, such boards would cause most of the seas that jump aboard to be slung quickly over the side, leaving just dribbles to be dealt with by the normal cockpit drains. The space underneath would provide lots of useful storage for bulky but light items such as spare sails in bags.... and garbage.

 

[gaylord694]

Why not do what Paddy Mcalin did on his Buchanan 27 and glass the whole cockpit over to seat level then your be sure it's not going come adrift when pooped.......Worked for him he got down into the Southern Ocean before having to get to New Zealand for repairs to something totally unconnected

 

[dansaskip]

Yes but where would you put your legs and feet when sitting in the cockpit. To me it would seem very inconvenient and uncomfortable.

 

[gaylord694]

You don't but members were asking of possible solutions...... I suppose it depends on what kind of sailing you do doesn't it , there's never going to be an ideal solution

 

[zoidberg]

Yes but where would you put your legs and feet when sitting in the cockpit. To me it would seem very inconvenient and uncomfortable.

Surely the point of batting ideas and comments around in here is that someone can muse "That's interesting, except for..... Now, what if I did XYZ instead? How might that work out?"

It might be 'bigging it up' to call that brainstorming, but I s'pose it is similar.

 

[ducked]

Yes but where would you put your legs and feet when sitting in the cockpit. To me it would seem very inconvenient and uncomfortable.

I suppose if you arent comfortable reclining, or conning the boat from the main hatch, you couldmake yourself a very small recessed footwell, perhaps a plastic dustbin, which would be adequate for solo use but still wouldnt contain a dangerous weight of water.

 

[newtothis]

There's a chap on YouTube who built Wave Rover, a 21 ft ply boat, that has a flush deck with no cockpit. Purpose built for single-handed ocean crossings. Has a couple of seats on the pushpit for conning, but otherwise seems to be largely controlled from the hatch.

 

[MisterBaxter]

For a single hander, how about making a waterproof storage box (epoxy ply perhaps) that neatly fills up the aft 50-60% of the footwell? That way you get useful storage, reduced water capacity in the footwell, and a small footwell. The box could be semi-permanently fastened down. If the cockpit drains are not at the forward end of the cockpit, some solution would need to be devised, obviously.

 

[ducked]

For a single hander, how about making a waterproof storage box (epoxy ply perhaps) that neatly fills up the aft 50-60% of the footwell? That way you get useful storage, reduced water capacity in the footwell, and a small footwell. The box could be semi-permanently fastened down. If the cockpit drains are not at the forward end of the cockpit, some solution would need to be devised, obviously.

IIRC Ming-Ming (II?) had something along those lines

 

[ducked]

IIRC Ming-Ming (II?) had something along those lines

That said, the cockpit is already a box, but conventionally one without a lid. As described, box in a box stylee, this seems structurally somewhat redundant/inneficient.

One could of course just add a bulkhead partition and a lid (dinghy?) to the non-footwell bit, but as you say, the drains are likely to be aft where you wouldn't want them