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Photo AlbumMay 23, '11 4:47 AM
by Nicholas for everyone
Hi to all.

I'm starting this thread with some preliminary photos of a dinette that a Swedish friend is currently finishing. Mats Wik is the owner of "Taifun", Ballad hull# 911, and has been living aboard his boat for six years, the last two in Greece. He and I have been talking about the advantages of a dinette for the last six months and after trying out his--even in this unfinished form--I've become a fan. As you can see from the photos, the original seating position has been elevated (seat base to floor is 62cm) and has been extended, almost reaching the mast wall. He has also built an in-hull, 40-litre water tank between the seats. The storage space below the seats is enormous. The table drops in between the seats and creates a nice double bed (well, almost). Mats has opted for a lagoon table which can be swung around and can also be used in the cockpit. Even so, his table doesn't wobble like the original Ballad table. But the greatest part of all is that, with the elevated seating position, you can enjoy a drink or a meal with a view of the world outside. Having tried Mats's version, I'm now in the first stage of constructing a dinette on "Moments of Clarity". The starboard side berth has already been removed and the interior of the hull has been prepared for the epoxying of the mini bulkheads. Although Mats has laminated his contruction all around, on both sides, my plan is not to go to such extremes. Also, his Ballad is the version without the outboard berths so he had a bit more space to play with than I do. For me, a double berth will be almost impossible to achieve. On the other hand, I plan to have a bigger table (around 70x90, enough for a whole Imray chart) which will also be solid enough to hold on to at sea. In general, I've seen nice dinettes on boats both shorter and slimmer than the Ballad (Great Dane 28, Countess 28, Shipman 28) and they work great--at least if you're into cruising, cooking and breeze-shooting like I am. I'll keep you posted. In the meantime, ideas and comments are welcome.

Nicholas


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