Keeping Things Where They Belong

Keeping Things Where They Belong

When Kathy and I ordered Snickerdoodle and bought her, the manufacturer had designed side shelves that ran along both the port side and starboard side of the main cabin and galley.  But, the shelves only had a small fiddle along the edge to keep things in place.  This worked ok if there wasn’t much breeze.  But, if the wind piped up and Snickerdoodle heeled much more than five degrees, the stuff on the shelves fell off and made a mess on the cabin floor.  We lived with this condition for a few years.  But, eventually, grew tired of picking up the mess.

There are several ways to prevent this mess from happening every time the boat heels.  One way is to never put anything on the shelves that could fall off.  I’d say that is impractical and a waste of space.  Another idea is to use “cargo netting” that is designed to hold the miscellaneous stuff that might find its way to the shelves.  Secure the netting just above the shelf.  Problem sorta solved.

                                         Yes, this photo is from a few (several) years ago.

See the net just behind my left shoulder?

A third way that works is to install a taller fiddle.  This is pretty easy to do with two pieces of teak “U” trim that you can glue to vertical pieces that extend between the shelf and the overhead.  I have these in Snickerdoodle’s galley right behind the stove.  These work great to keep salt, pepper and other seasonings – plus my coffee, et al – in place while we are sailing.  The two pieces of quarter inch by one inch wooden slats are easily removed to give easy access to everything.

The two slats keep everything on the shelf while sailing and all of the heeling that goes on.  Removing the two slats gives easy access.

BarnacelBillHolcomb@gmail.com