Does it drive you nuts to try to clean the gunk that collects in the corner between the edge of your table and the fiddle? Particularly if something has spilled on the table and the fiddle did its job of containing it?
Yes, I’ve sat there scraping away with a putty knife, trying to get everything out of that crevice . . .
Or how about when you’re in port and doing a project and would kill for a big smooth table without that lip . . . say when you’re working on a canvas project? But at other times, that fiddle is a lifesaver for keeping parts — and plates — from falling to the floor.
In Lin Pardey’s latest newsletter, she details how she and Larry built a removable fiddle for their galley table. She graciously offered to share the information with The Boat Galley’s readers. Lin and Larry’s web site is filled with useful information and you can also sign up for their (free) newsletter there.
In Lin’s own words:
I am going through The Care and Feeding of Sailing Crew to update it for a new fourth edition which should be ready for September (new edition now available in print and for Kindle — see it here).
As I came to the chapter on building a galley table, I remembered the complaint made by one of the overseas cruisers who sailed into our cove this season. We were invited on board for dinner and when we sat down to eat, the wife complained that the fiddle on their table worked well at sea, but always got in the way in port. When we showed them on board Taleisin, they really liked the way our removable fiddle works. So thought I’d share it for this month’s tip:
Because we don’t like the appearance of brass- or copper-lined pinholes in a table (besides, we doubt their strength) and because we like the idea of permanent fiddles even less, a completely different idea evolved. Larry set three ovals of 1/8-inch bronze into the edge of the top leaf. (This leaf is 3/4-inch-thick ash.) He then made a 5-inch-wide fiddle board, 3/4inch thick and tapering toward each edge. Three bolts go through the middle of the bare-teak board and thread into the bronze plates to hold it in place at sea. When we are on the starboard tack, the table is used in its closed position, with the fiddle over the port settee (downhill side). On the starboard tack, the table leaf is opened; the fiddle is now over the starboard settee. This puts you in the best-supported and most comfortable eating position at sea—downhill with a good backrest and nowhere to fall.
Though most galley tables do not have a fold-over leaf, this same fiddle arrangement will work by making the fiddle board only 3 inches wide. It is important to ensure the attachment holes are at least one inch from the lower edge of the fiddle to ensure the wood doesn’t split If someone grabs it in a seaway.
Whether you have a double sided fiddle or a single fiddle, removing it by unbolting it takes less than a minute. This means that in port it can be stowed away to leave a clear expanse of table. Even at sea, removal is easy enough that I am willing to remove the fiddle to clean away crumbs that inevitably collect in table corners.
Carolyn Shearlock has lived aboard full-time for 17 years, splitting her time between a Tayana 37 monohull and a Gemini 105 catamaran. She’s cruised over 14,000 miles, from Pacific Mexico and Central America to Florida and the Bahamas, gaining firsthand experience with the joys and challenges of life on the water.
Through The Boat Galley, Carolyn has helped thousands of people explore, prepare for, and enjoy life afloat. She shares her expertise as an instructor at Cruisers University, in leading boating publications, and through her bestselling book, The Boat Galley Cookbook. She is passionate about helping others embark on their liveaboard journey—making life on the water simpler, safer, and more enjoyable.
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Paul Wyand says
Lin and Larry look great! I have read so many of there books, I feel as though I know them!
Capt Jerry Robbins says
Great plans and as I am rebuilding a Chrysler26 it will work perfectly,thank you so much for including Lin and Larry’s plan!