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Dinettes vs Settees

12K views 13 replies 8 participants last post by  Classic30 
#1 ·
I tried this thread in G&M and it didn't work too well, so ill try it here.

Ive had to rip out the port settee and pilot berth on my pearson 36 to replace a bulkhead. Ive always thought that a dinette would work out great in that area. Im going to give it a try and see how it works out. I figure if i dont like it, i can rip it all out and build the settee back.

Ive done some measuring and i think there will be enough room. I will have to raise the seat hight from what it was to a little higher to give some leg room for who ever sits close to the hull.

This is the settee/pilot berth that was there before.


Here is as it sits now. That used to be a water tank that was cut open by a PO. Im going to remove it.


We are going to be full time liveaboards again once this is done. Ive got the quarter berth for one kid to sleep in and im putting a pilot berth on the starboard side.
 
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#4 ·
Dinettes used to be a more popular configuration in the '60s/'70s/early-'80s. They were the standard salon configuration on popular boats like the Westsail 32 and Peterson 44, among others. You don't see them too often on production boats anymore.

Think of a dinette much like a diner booth. They are handy for young families, who are always looking for nooks where the kids can sit out of the traffic pattern and do homework, arts and crafts, etc. It also makes it easier for parents to "manage" the meals with young kids -- generally everything is within easy reach.

But that "easy reach" is also one of the downsides -- they tend to feel a bit cramped, especially on small-mid-size boats. Also, ingress/egress for the outboard seating positions is not the easiest.

My preference is when the dinette can be turned into a U-shaped, wrap-around bench seat. This gives everyone a bit more elbow room, at the expense of some lost table surface area. But in either configuration, it is a nice advantage not having to always include the opposite settee in the seating configuration -- freeing the path fore and aft, as well as the opposing settee.

Here is the dinette from a Peterson 44, for those unfamiliar with the configuration:

 
#5 ·
My Grampian 26 had a tiny little dinette that sat two in comfort, four in agony. It had to be perched up on a different level than the sole to make it work. Two settee's would have been better.
My Hunter 31 had the U shaped dinette that about 6% of them came with. It was great as a drop down bed, scooting around the U to the back side (hull ward) sitting position was painful because the table didn't come out easy.
That's with a 11 foot beam - and I think beam makes all the difference is whether or not a dinette works.
My Gemini salon is essentially totally the dinette. It works because the table is a triple folder and gets out of the way but still the forward most (bottom of the U) is not reachable unless you go in and sit before the table gets loaded. Makes for useful storage, and when we have large crowds it comes in handy.

Drawings and measurements are one thing, but don't say diddly for comfort and useability. Take the time to make card board cut outs, or even plywood mock ups and give them a real fit test prior to committing.
 
#7 ·
Drawings and measurements are one thing, but don't say diddly for comfort and useability. Take the time to make card board cut outs, or even plywood mock ups and give them a real fit test prior to committing.
Hear, hear!

Sounds like a lot of extra work, but will likely save a lot of time/money in the long run.
 
#6 ·
Wise advice chuckles... What often looks good on paper doesn't work quite so well in the real world.
 
#10 ·
I BELIEEEVE YOU....

Something I've never had to do :) voice of experience.
A 20 dollar sheet of OSB is all it takes, and better than using REAL wood as firewood later.
 
#11 ·
SVD - the shape of that defunct water tank almost looks like it was meant to accommodate a dinette of some sort in the first place..

We currently have a center line table and we miss the off set Ushaped dinette we had in the last boat - it really frees up movement fore and aft below, esp with others there. I would go along with the thought that, if there's sufficient space that you may find such a dinette more practical than a 2x2 type of dinette. There is, however, as JRP noted a loss of table surface area. But overall it's a much cozier look and provides comfy "corners" for lounging.

Chuckle's mock up plan makes a lot of sense.
 
#12 ·
I really don't think i could fit a u-shaped dinette in the area. The table with 2 benches idea is going to work out best. Ive also considered building it back to factory.

As for the water tank, why would anyone cut out half your fresh water storage?

This is what factory would have looked like.
 
#14 ·
I really don't think i could fit a u-shaped dinette in the area. The table with 2 benches idea is going to work out best. Ive also considered building it back to factory.
SVD, from what I can see from your photos, if there's not enough room for a U-shape, it doesn't look like you'll have enough space.

Even making the seats higher, I'd suspect that the curvature of the hull will remove most, if not all, of the leg-room from the person against the hull (though okay for small kids I suppose) and the table will take up quite a bit of valuable storage space, although if it can be lowered, you'd have a double berth.

The reason pilot berths are fitted as standard in most small boats is because they maximise the available seating & storage space, given the curvature of the hull. U-shaped dinettes work great, but you need plenty of beam to have a seat against the hull and seating for two between that and the centerline...

.. but with that in mind, seeing as you're going to replace the bulkhead anyway, could you move your fore/aft passageway further to starboard?? It's a bigger job, but a U-shaped dinette might fit then.

Just my .05 cents worth... :)
 
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