Mark II Cockpit Width

[Stu Jackson]

I received this question from Bill Eddy of Fleet 1 on behalf of Larry Izant:

"...he told me that he wanted to put some sort of stainless or other material foot support in the middle of his cockpit floor.  He said that when he sails his brand new C-34 and it heels above 20 degrees that he and his wife slip off the bench seats.  Apparently, with the Mark II wide back end, the bench seats are too far apart to use the opposite bench as a foot restraint.  After talking about the potential tripping hazard his plan presents he still wanted to do something.

Do you know of anybody in our fleet or nationally who has put in any type of stainless or other foot blocks or tubing in the center of their cockpits to brace against in heeling conditions.  I checked the national projects and tech notes areas and didn't see anything on such an idea.  When you get a chance let me know if you have any guys who might have done something along these lines."

Any suggestions?

I'm in the process of working with Bill to get Larry familiar with this message board.

Thanks,

[John Sheehan]

Stu,

When we ordered our 34 we got the cockpit cushion package.  One of the best things about the package was the helm seat cushion.  It is arched similar to the fiberglass seat on the earlier 34's, so at reasonable angles of heal you can still sit upright and not slide.  The cushion is attached with straps on the bottom of the cushion snapping on to snaps on the top of the fiberglass seat.  A custom cushion shop should be able to make one up without much problem.

John

[Roc]

I believe the mkII has an available option of a cockpit table, that's mounted on the cockpit sole.  Both sides fold down when not in use.  The reason I bring this up is that the table has a brace on the bottom, that I've heard is a good foot brace when heeling.

[john meyer]

Hi Stu (and others) - I'm a guest at this point as I sold my Mark II, 1998, but I still enjoy the best sailing forum on the net.  One of my planned projects when I had the C34 was to put in grated cockpit flooring.  I think there was a thread about a beautiful install several years ago.  My game plan, had I installed the flooring, was to also make a removable foot brace.  I think it could have been done by drilling some extra holes down the middle of the grate and make a foot brace out of 2x4 with some dowels extending out of it (lining up with the previous mentioned holes).  When sailing, the brace would be in place, at other times, the brace could be removed to eliminate the trip hazard. I know, one project creates two, but as Ron says, "just a thought".

[mrousseau]

Hi Stu,

We ordered with our new C34 MKII the cockpit fiberglass table with leaves which fold down.  The table has a stainless steel foot rest to help you stay in your seat.  The cockpit is so wide that the table is not in the way and it is a great feature.  You can seat 5 people at the table.

Michel and Annick