Click pictures to see larger
"from Stem to Stern"
Modifications--Page 3-Cockpit Changes
a) 2 coaming boxes were installed in the backs of the seats on each side. These were about 20 X 8 X 6 inches and used to store loose sheets and winch handles.
i) In the upper roof of each box a water proof speaker was installed for the AM/cassette radio so I had music outside. I made covers of plywood for these for storm conditions but found that even in the worst of weather no water came near them.
ii) in the rear side of the port one was the control switch for up/down of the electric windless.
b) A Deck/Bulkhead hatch about 10 X 20 inches was installed in the seat back on the port side near the cabin door. It had a very flush outside so it did not bother your back leaning on it. This was to give
a) 2 coaming boxes were installed in the backs of the seats on each side. These were about 20 X 8 X 6 inches and used to store loose sheets and winch handles.
i) In the upper roof of each box a water proof speaker was installed for the AM/cassette radio so I had music outside. I made covers of plywood for these for storm conditions but found that even in the worst of weather no water came near them.
ii) in the rear side of the port one was the control switch for up/down of the electric windless.
b) A Deck/Bulkhead hatch about 10 X 20 inches was installed in the seat back on the port side near the cabin door. It had a very flush outside so it did not bother your back leaning on it. This was to give
increased ventilation to the port 1/4 berth which would be my sea berth. As a side benefit it also allowed me to look out towards the rear of the cockpit from bed and I could tell much of how things were performing with this view.
c) Teak rails of square teak 1 inch stock were run along the front edge of the seats from for to aft about 3/8ths of an inch down. These were to give something to grab onto and for support.
MY COCKPIT BOX.
d) My cockpit box was one of my best ideas and worked out perfectly. I was concerned about the large cockpit well of the Cal 29 and what would happen if I were pooped. I needed a good place to store my life raft and grab bag. When my wife joined me for cruising in island areas (she wouldn't do the passages) I wanted a double bed without pulling everything out of the V-berth and an outdoor alternate to setting up the dinette table double. I liked the idea of something to stand on in the middle of the cockpit without standing on the seat cushions. THE BOX solved all these issues elegantly.
c) Teak rails of square teak 1 inch stock were run along the front edge of the seats from for to aft about 3/8ths of an inch down. These were to give something to grab onto and for support.
MY COCKPIT BOX.
d) My cockpit box was one of my best ideas and worked out perfectly. I was concerned about the large cockpit well of the Cal 29 and what would happen if I were pooped. I needed a good place to store my life raft and grab bag. When my wife joined me for cruising in island areas (she wouldn't do the passages) I wanted a double bed without pulling everything out of the V-berth and an outdoor alternate to setting up the dinette table double. I liked the idea of something to stand on in the middle of the cockpit without standing on the seat cushions. THE BOX solved all these issues elegantly.
The cockpit. Note: Box, rails, arch supports and nice cushions for comfort
i) it was made out of 3/8 inch plywood with clear epoxy sealer which when done looked like teak - well, sort of.
ii) It was a 3 sided affair with the cockpit floor forming the bottom.
iii) The front wall was a flat piece running vertical across the cockpit well. It slide through two slots in the aforementioned rails to hold it in place at the top. Holding the bottom in place 2 small blocks of wood on each side which it slide through. It was positioned just aft of where the engine controls were so they could be operated.
iv) The back wall was constructed the same way and it was placed just about where the cockpit locker lid starts. This gave the tiller its normal clearance and avoided the outside manual Whale bilge pump.
v) The top was one piece and sat on top of the rails flush with the top edges of the walls. It had a slight groove in it at each end to fit snugly into the wall pieces. It was held firmly in place with 4 quick pins run through the back and front wall into a small block of wood screwed on the underside of each corner of the top.
vi) When I did the epoxy job on the top I sprinkled it liberally with anti-skid sand to give a non-slip surface.
vii) The box dimensions worked out so that with a very tight fit it held:
ii) It was a 3 sided affair with the cockpit floor forming the bottom.
iii) The front wall was a flat piece running vertical across the cockpit well. It slide through two slots in the aforementioned rails to hold it in place at the top. Holding the bottom in place 2 small blocks of wood on each side which it slide through. It was positioned just aft of where the engine controls were so they could be operated.
iv) The back wall was constructed the same way and it was placed just about where the cockpit locker lid starts. This gave the tiller its normal clearance and avoided the outside manual Whale bilge pump.
v) The top was one piece and sat on top of the rails flush with the top edges of the walls. It had a slight groove in it at each end to fit snugly into the wall pieces. It was held firmly in place with 4 quick pins run through the back and front wall into a small block of wood screwed on the underside of each corner of the top.
vi) When I did the epoxy job on the top I sprinkled it liberally with anti-skid sand to give a non-slip surface.
vii) The box dimensions worked out so that with a very tight fit it held:
- my Boufour 4 man offshore life raft in satchel case; my grab bag which was a water proof bag designed for white water rafters about 3 feet long and 10 inches in diameter, the breakdown oars for my dingy and some pieces of scrap wood that might come in handy.A small pad eye was bolted inside the wall of the seat and the life raft lanyard for deployment was attached to this. In an emergency, the 4 quick pins could be pulled, the lid tossed, the raft tossed with the grab bag attached with a line. Over and out in seconds, I think but never had to test.
viii) Some small extra pieces of wood were fabricated and marked and carried in the V-berth. With these, the box could be taken apart when settled for a good stay at anchor and the 3 parts of the box plus the pieces filled in the cockpit well resting on the teal rails forming a very large platform. The cushions from the cabin fit on this near perfect making an outside double bed.
ix) The box served as perfect little outside table even while passage making. Many the night I sat with a beer and potato chips sitting on the box and me on the seat watching the sea go by.
x) When going into port or a reef anchorage it was a great place to stand.
xi) It was my work bench. Go to Top
e) My starboard cockpit locker was divided in two.
i) The forward part held two aluminum horizontal 10 pound propane tanks along with the regulator, hoses and my small tank of gasoline for the outboard. It had a small vent hose with one way valve leading outside the hull to drain propane. The rear wall was flush with the top and had rubber sealer along its top so when the lid was closed the section was sealed off.
ii) The rear section was just an open mess holding an assortment of junk including the 2 small anchors, bottles of this and that and buckets, cleaners and such.
f) The port locker was devoted to lines. Hundreds of them of all different lengths and sizes plus 4 fenders and fender boards. A float or two and I don't know what else.
g) Mounted on the port bulkhead was my Plastimo Contest 101 compass. On the starboard side was my B&G Focus multi-instrument (depth, speed, log, temp).
h) On the seat sides back with the tiller were the blocks and lines for running the Cape Horn steering gear which came through the transom at the back of the cockpit just behind the rudder post. See more in The Voyage page.
i) A heavy duty 2 side roller stern roller for stern anchoring
j) Overall, at the stern was my "radar arch". It is hard to describe so looking at some of the various pictures in different pages may help. Several show it.
i) Essentially it was a stainless steel tube affair which mounted on two pads near the stern quarters of the deck with angled supports. It went out at an angle of about 20 degrees and was about 5 feet high.
ii) When it was built it was designed with posts rising from the top horizontal member to hold the wind vane generator, the GPS antenna, the radar detector and the radar dome. Fish wires for cables were put in at the time it was built.
iii) At each corner and in the center was a half circle of tubing to use as grab handles or to attach whatever to. These were super to attach a block and tackle for easy lifting of my outboard motor which was mounted on plate on the pushpit rail.
iv) My SSB antenna was speaker wire running from the top corner of the arch up to the masthead with insulators in line.
v) Half way down another horizontal bar ran. This one was removable and held in place on two half moon rests with quick pins. It acted as the rear support for my bimini or sun shade.
held: I kept my Force 10 propane barbecue, a life ring (although I have no idea who would throw it or to whom when single handing) and some line holders.
l) A full stainless steel harped dodger was in place at all times. It had a full window forward which was zippered to open and roll out of the way for ventilation. The harps were fashioned with quick pins so it could be taken down if need be.
i) All the windows had snap on covers.
ii) Grab handles were mounted on the outside port and starboard to give safety when going forward at that narrow part of the Cal 29.
iii) Across the back edge of the dodger roof was a full zipper. To this attached the sun shade or cockpit roof.
iv) The roof had a small plastic window in it so that the sail could be seen without leaning outboard. This never really worked out and I always leaned somewhere.
v) The back of the roof zipped onto the pole on the arch and was designed that it went on very tight. There was a certain order to the zipping.
vi) About half way along the roof a zipper ran across it - a double zipper that could go either way. Due to the placement of the main
sheet on my boat (athwartships across the back of the cockpit well), I could let the zippers for the main sheet to not pull on the roof and even tack in theory. While all this worked after a fashion it was not required. You tack so rarely at sea that it was less trouble to just drop the back zipper and do it. Further, once sailing the main sheet ran outside the roof in the clear.
vii) Stored below I had complete walls for the cockpit in both netting and solid with windows. I could make a whole room out of the cockpit.
m) Of course, you may note that most critical of all improvements, good sized self tailing primary sheet winches.
viii) Some small extra pieces of wood were fabricated and marked and carried in the V-berth. With these, the box could be taken apart when settled for a good stay at anchor and the 3 parts of the box plus the pieces filled in the cockpit well resting on the teal rails forming a very large platform. The cushions from the cabin fit on this near perfect making an outside double bed.
ix) The box served as perfect little outside table even while passage making. Many the night I sat with a beer and potato chips sitting on the box and me on the seat watching the sea go by.
x) When going into port or a reef anchorage it was a great place to stand.
xi) It was my work bench. Go to Top
e) My starboard cockpit locker was divided in two.
i) The forward part held two aluminum horizontal 10 pound propane tanks along with the regulator, hoses and my small tank of gasoline for the outboard. It had a small vent hose with one way valve leading outside the hull to drain propane. The rear wall was flush with the top and had rubber sealer along its top so when the lid was closed the section was sealed off.
ii) The rear section was just an open mess holding an assortment of junk including the 2 small anchors, bottles of this and that and buckets, cleaners and such.
f) The port locker was devoted to lines. Hundreds of them of all different lengths and sizes plus 4 fenders and fender boards. A float or two and I don't know what else.
g) Mounted on the port bulkhead was my Plastimo Contest 101 compass. On the starboard side was my B&G Focus multi-instrument (depth, speed, log, temp).
h) On the seat sides back with the tiller were the blocks and lines for running the Cape Horn steering gear which came through the transom at the back of the cockpit just behind the rudder post. See more in The Voyage page.
i) A heavy duty 2 side roller stern roller for stern anchoring
j) Overall, at the stern was my "radar arch". It is hard to describe so looking at some of the various pictures in different pages may help. Several show it.
i) Essentially it was a stainless steel tube affair which mounted on two pads near the stern quarters of the deck with angled supports. It went out at an angle of about 20 degrees and was about 5 feet high.
ii) When it was built it was designed with posts rising from the top horizontal member to hold the wind vane generator, the GPS antenna, the radar detector and the radar dome. Fish wires for cables were put in at the time it was built.
iii) At each corner and in the center was a half circle of tubing to use as grab handles or to attach whatever to. These were super to attach a block and tackle for easy lifting of my outboard motor which was mounted on plate on the pushpit rail.
iv) My SSB antenna was speaker wire running from the top corner of the arch up to the masthead with insulators in line.
v) Half way down another horizontal bar ran. This one was removable and held in place on two half moon rests with quick pins. It acted as the rear support for my bimini or sun shade.
held: I kept my Force 10 propane barbecue, a life ring (although I have no idea who would throw it or to whom when single handing) and some line holders.
l) A full stainless steel harped dodger was in place at all times. It had a full window forward which was zippered to open and roll out of the way for ventilation. The harps were fashioned with quick pins so it could be taken down if need be.
i) All the windows had snap on covers.
ii) Grab handles were mounted on the outside port and starboard to give safety when going forward at that narrow part of the Cal 29.
iii) Across the back edge of the dodger roof was a full zipper. To this attached the sun shade or cockpit roof.
iv) The roof had a small plastic window in it so that the sail could be seen without leaning outboard. This never really worked out and I always leaned somewhere.
v) The back of the roof zipped onto the pole on the arch and was designed that it went on very tight. There was a certain order to the zipping.
vi) About half way along the roof a zipper ran across it - a double zipper that could go either way. Due to the placement of the main
sheet on my boat (athwartships across the back of the cockpit well), I could let the zippers for the main sheet to not pull on the roof and even tack in theory. While all this worked after a fashion it was not required. You tack so rarely at sea that it was less trouble to just drop the back zipper and do it. Further, once sailing the main sheet ran outside the roof in the clear.
vii) Stored below I had complete walls for the cockpit in both netting and solid with windows. I could make a whole room out of the cockpit.
m) Of course, you may note that most critical of all improvements, good sized self tailing primary sheet winches.