C-Pup16 in Los Angeles
New member
I bought my CD-16 cruiser in 2003 as a newbie to boating on the ocean. I cared enough for my wife to also buy a 4 man Givens survival raft in a duffel bag... much to the howls of laughter of old salts owning C-Dories who said I'd have to choose whether to carry the raft or my wife on such a small boat. They were kind of right, but I have carried it for all these years usually leaning it against the back of the passenger seat. I admit it robs me of scarce cockpit space. I recently looked at my need and what I could do. I need to be able to grab the raft and deploy it in seconds before the boat sinks if I get suddenly swamped. That means it can't be shoved into the v-berth and buried behind a sleeping bag, ice chest, etc. needing great effort to extract. (Also, the last thing I want is for it to deploy inside the v-berth, exploding the boat!) It can't go on the roof because its weight would make the boat less stable. So here's what I did...
1) removed the passenger seat... good-by well worn seat.
2) un-srewed the table from the hull. It is attached by three bolts coming out of the hull with hand screw plastic caps (nuts). I moved the table abaft by one bolt and screwed it back to the hull onto the two aft bolts. I then drilled a hole through the hull and added a new bolt to connect the table's third most aft hole to the the hull.
3) relocated the v-berth's porta-potty cut-out cushion to lean against the hull as a back rest for a passenger sitting on the v-berth cushion in front of the table.
4) pushed the porta-potty further under the v-berth to make its space available for a passenger's legs and feet.
5) bought a West Marine folding seat cushion for the passenger "seat".
6) bought the outrageously expensive white plastic marine board from West Marine and cut it to a size that extended the table to the aft edge of the former passenger sear platform. This increased the table almost 2X the factory table and is useful as a chart table if needed. A larger table is certainly welcomed.
7) a board was cut to create a connection between the former passenger seat platform and the v-berth shelf (where a passenger use to put their feet). Since the v-berth platform is lower than the seat platform, it created an angle that is not desired. I fixed that with some 2x4 to create a level shelf.
8)The heavy Givens duffel bag now sits in a plastic child's snow sled and fits perfectly under the new table. In an emergency, it can be pulled out with a hard yank and deployed even if the boat is sinking.
9) under the "bridge" between the old seat platform and the v-berth platform is a new storage area... also welcomed!
Outcome: I am 5'6" and average built. I can sit in the new passenger seat comfortably without being too close to the windshield. I put a large U bold on the aft corner of the factory table for a passenger to use as a grab rail. When underway at high speed or in rough seas, I'd make my passenger wear a bicycle helmet just in case the boat slams into a wave, causing his head to slam into the windshield. Frankly, I mostly boat alone so the new passenger seat is for me to relax in when anchored or drift fishing and needing to watch my fishing rod in a starboard rod holder. My wife lost her desire to boat at sea, being either sea sick or bored sick.
The Givens raft is now well centered in the boat and balanced nicely with me at the helm.
Keith
C-Pup16
1) removed the passenger seat... good-by well worn seat.
2) un-srewed the table from the hull. It is attached by three bolts coming out of the hull with hand screw plastic caps (nuts). I moved the table abaft by one bolt and screwed it back to the hull onto the two aft bolts. I then drilled a hole through the hull and added a new bolt to connect the table's third most aft hole to the the hull.
3) relocated the v-berth's porta-potty cut-out cushion to lean against the hull as a back rest for a passenger sitting on the v-berth cushion in front of the table.
4) pushed the porta-potty further under the v-berth to make its space available for a passenger's legs and feet.
5) bought a West Marine folding seat cushion for the passenger "seat".
6) bought the outrageously expensive white plastic marine board from West Marine and cut it to a size that extended the table to the aft edge of the former passenger sear platform. This increased the table almost 2X the factory table and is useful as a chart table if needed. A larger table is certainly welcomed.
7) a board was cut to create a connection between the former passenger seat platform and the v-berth shelf (where a passenger use to put their feet). Since the v-berth platform is lower than the seat platform, it created an angle that is not desired. I fixed that with some 2x4 to create a level shelf.
8)The heavy Givens duffel bag now sits in a plastic child's snow sled and fits perfectly under the new table. In an emergency, it can be pulled out with a hard yank and deployed even if the boat is sinking.
9) under the "bridge" between the old seat platform and the v-berth platform is a new storage area... also welcomed!
Outcome: I am 5'6" and average built. I can sit in the new passenger seat comfortably without being too close to the windshield. I put a large U bold on the aft corner of the factory table for a passenger to use as a grab rail. When underway at high speed or in rough seas, I'd make my passenger wear a bicycle helmet just in case the boat slams into a wave, causing his head to slam into the windshield. Frankly, I mostly boat alone so the new passenger seat is for me to relax in when anchored or drift fishing and needing to watch my fishing rod in a starboard rod holder. My wife lost her desire to boat at sea, being either sea sick or bored sick.
The Givens raft is now well centered in the boat and balanced nicely with me at the helm.
Keith
C-Pup16