Early Light came with a standard 13" x 24" teak cockpit table from Edson. It was in need of refinishing when I purchased the boat but I soon found that the table was actually made with teak veneer plywood surrounded by solid teak trim. I found the teak plywood was delaminating and in some spots the veneer had been sanded through to the plys beneath. It was ugly to say the least.

I decided that I not only wanted a new table, but that I wanted one with folding leaves to give more surface area. The fore and aft dimension was limited by distance from the point of attachment on the pedestal guard to the cockpit sole. I settled on 28 and 1/2 inches which gave approximately 3/4 inch clearance to the sole. The width was to be 26 inches (13 inch main table with two leaves of 6 and 1/2 inch width.

To add a little contrast to the teak in the cockpit I decided to use mahogany for this project.

I first cut out the three pieces of mahogany and rounded the forward outboard corners of the leaves with a 3 inch radius. I next marked the location of the hinges and then let them in using the small chisel in my X-acto knife set.

Next I cut all of the stiffeners that would go onto the under side of the main table and the leaves. These were then drilled using a counter bore bit. The two mahogany pieces that would be under the two Edson stainless steel strap hinge pieces were cut and drilled as were the two pieces that would go beneath the Edson stainless steel table brace. The mahogany latch was fabricated that would keep the leaves from opening while the table is in the stowed position.

Finally to keep the table from swinging while in the stowed position, a black nylon clip made to hold 1" tubing would be mounted so the table was cliped to the 1" pedestal guard when stowed. A small mahogany block was fabricated to mount this clip on.

All three mahogany table pieces were given 10 coats of Captains Varnish and all the smaller parts were given an intiial 6 coats. At this point, everything was assembled, mahogany plugs were set in screw holes and all the small pieces were given an additional 5 coats of varnish.

Below are several photos of the finished table.

Bottom side with table folded showing latch

Bottom side with table folded showing Edson table hardware and nylon tubing clip

Top of table in open position showing recessed table hinges

Bottom of table in open position showing Edson table hardware and nylon tubing clip

Close up of wooden latch

Photo of table top in open position

The following tools were required for this project:

1. Bandsaw

2. Hand plane

3. 3/8" variable speed electric drill

4. #8 counter bore bit

5. Drill bit set

6. X-acto knife set with chisel blade

7. Table saw

8. Phillips screwdriver

Material Required:

1 pc of 3/4" mahogany 14" x 60" ($24.00)

8 linear ft of 3/4" x 3/4" mahogany (on hand)

2 pr of chrome bronze table hinges ($26.00)

24 each #8 x 5/8" Phillips FH SS wood screws ($1.44)

37 each #8 x 1" Phillips FH SS wood screws ($3.33)

6 each #10 x 3/4" Phillips RH SS wood screws ($.72)

Edson table brackets (on hand from old table)

1" black nylon clip to hold table against pedestal guard when stowed ($1.10)

40 mahogany plugs (cut with plug cutter from mahogany scraps

1 pint Captain's varnish ($8.00)

assorted sandpaper (on hand)

Total cost of this project: $64.59

This project took a total of approximately 9 hours to complete including varnish application.

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