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24-10-2016, 16:57
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#1
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Registered User
Join Date: Nov 2013
Posts: 2
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Thoughts on fiddles
I am in midst of a galley refit of a Amel Mango. I am replacing the counters with Corian and would like to know if fiddles are necessary or just a great place to collect crumbs and launch objects.
I have the choice of a bullnose edge, a fiddle, or even a removable fiddle if I want to get fancy (but potentially not as clean).
Does anybody have experience with ocean crossing without fiddles? Do they make a difference on the hook? I cannot say that I have "used" them underway as I remove everything from the counters before getting underway.
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24-10-2016, 17:18
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#2
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cat herder, extreme blacksheep
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: furycame alley , tropics, mexico for now
Boat: 1976 FORMOSA yankee clipper 41
Posts: 18,967
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Re: Thoughts on fiddles
you will want them.
definitely. saves a lot of work cleaning up stuff -- food, plates, flatware, clothing, condiments....
but--it is up to you. ye can always add them later, when you purchase the new plates and ....
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24-10-2016, 17:20
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#3
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Moderator
Join Date: May 2008
Location: cruising SW Pacific
Boat: Jon Sayer 1-off 46 ft fract rig sloop strip plank in W Red Cedar
Posts: 21,134
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Re: Thoughts on fiddles
Under way we use sticky rubber lace-like "cloth" to help keep things in place, and in fact fiddles don't help much then. But how about when you are at anchor in a calm harbour, dishes and jars of pickles on the counter and without warning, a distant pilot boat booms by throwing a huge wake which gives you a sudden big roll? That's when fiddles come into play IME... I'd sure keep them on any boat of mine!
Jim
PS while I do like fiddles, my favorites are cellos...
__________________
Jim and Ann s/v Insatiable II, lying Port Cygnet Tasmania once again.
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24-10-2016, 18:08
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#4
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Registered User
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Oakland, CA
Boat: Freedom 38
Posts: 2,503
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Re: Thoughts on fiddles
I'm glad I had my wooden ones reinstalled when I changed the countertops to Corian. Looks really polished and boaty mcboatlike
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24-10-2016, 18:12
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#5
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Moderator
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: aboard, cruising in Australia
Boat: Sayer 46' Solent rig sloop
Posts: 28,400
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Re: Thoughts on fiddles
If you decide to retain the fiddles, make sure there are "crumb holes", spaces where you can sweep out the crumbs. Also, if this is a galley re-fit, do radius all your corners, it is so d--n hard to keep tight right angle corners clean, and the radius will make all the difference.
Ann
__________________
Who scorns the calm has forgotten the storm.
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24-10-2016, 18:24
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#6
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Registered User
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Tampa Bay area, USA
Boat: Beneteau First 42
Posts: 3,961
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Re: Thoughts on fiddles
Go into your kitchen and dig out a nice sizable serving tray. Put a plate and a bowl on it, preferably plastic. Then, reasonably suddenly, tilt one side up to 20º-30º. Before anything comes to rest, quickly reverse the angle by the same amount. Then ask yourself whether fiddles are necessary on your galley counters as you recover the (hopefully) unbroken bowl and plate from your floor/counter top.
__________________
"It is not so much for its beauty that the Sea makes a claim upon men's hearts, as for that subtle something, that quality of air, that emanation from the waves, that so wonderfully renews a weary spirit."
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24-10-2016, 18:58
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#7
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Registered User
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Australia
Boat: Catalina 470
Posts: 4,578
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Re: Thoughts on fiddles
I was on a hanse recently, no fiddles on the table etc. Im with Jim, the sticky weaved cloths are the way to go, but the fiddles are also important to me. Something im not liking about modern boats are the lack of things like fiddles, multiple hand grabs and deep sinks. You cant really appreciate those details until trying to live on a boat for several days while off shore.
I've seen a couple of monos with non gimballed stoves! I wonder if they have been sailed.
Sent from my vivo Y35 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app
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24-10-2016, 19:14
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#8
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Senior Cruiser
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Highlands, NJ 07732
Boat: Laurent Giles Salar 40
Posts: 286
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Re: Thoughts on fiddles
How does the name "fiddles" come into use describing the raised edges of tables, trays, etc on a boat? Curious
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24-10-2016, 20:22
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#9
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Registered User
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: Up the mast, looking for clean wind.
Boat: Currently Shopping, & Heavily in LUST!
Posts: 5,629
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Re: Thoughts on fiddles
They definitely are worth it, though you need to have ones which are respectable in height for them to work well. Otherwise they're just decorative trim that tends to add problems. Though even short ones do aid in holding on to furniture when the boat's bouncing around.
__________________
The Uncommon Thing, The Hard Thing, The Important Thing (in Life): Making Promises to Yourself, And Keeping Them.
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24-10-2016, 20:37
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#10
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Registered User
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Wherever the wind takes me
Boat: Bristol 41.1
Posts: 1,006
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Re: Thoughts on fiddles
Very much in favor of fiddles, including inside some storage lockers.
This is one of the smarter installations with which I have had experience.
Photo borrowed from YBW.
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24-10-2016, 20:39
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#11
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Registered User
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: Bumping around the Caribbean
Boat: Valiant 40
Posts: 4,625
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Re: Thoughts on fiddles
I don't care how many sticky mats you have, fiddles are near indispensible in my book if you sail long distances. It's not practical to keep the counter clear all the time, and they keep loose objects you put down momentarily from flying off, like flashlights, coffee mugs, pencils, screws, etc. And I've seen more than one plate or bowl or mug make a run for it off a sticky mat only to be saved by the fiddle.
And sticky mats don't stop rolly things from taking flight, like tipped over salt canisters, or fruit or vegetables...
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24-10-2016, 20:52
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#12
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Registered User
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Cowichan Bay, BC (Maple Bay Marina)
Posts: 9,703
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Re: Thoughts on fiddles
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ann T. Cate
If you decide to retain the fiddles, make sure there are "crumb holes", spaces where you can sweep out the crumbs. Also, if this is a galley re-fit, do radius all your corners, it is so d--n hard to keep tight right angle corners clean, and the radius will make all the difference.
Ann
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Yes, Ann's right, open spaces in the fiddles are absolutely necessary to make it easy to clean. The photo that was posted didn't have them, IIRC. Sometimes it's easier to have the crumb holes at the corners, maybe even less woodwork. My table has open corners, my galley doesn't and I wish it had. Also, if you can, recess your sink(s). Cleaning up at the edge of top mounted sinks is a PITA. Good luck.
__________________
Stu Jackson
Catalina 34 #224 (1986) C34IA Secretary
Cowichan Bay, BC, SR/FK, M25, Rocna 10 (22#) (NZ model)
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24-10-2016, 21:01
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#13
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Registered User
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: Up the mast, looking for clean wind.
Boat: Currently Shopping, & Heavily in LUST!
Posts: 5,629
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Re: Thoughts on fiddles
Quote:
Originally Posted by Stu Jackson
Yes, Ann's right, open spaces in the fiddles are absolutely necessary to make it easy to clean. The photo that was posted didn't have them, IIRC. Sometimes it's easier to have the crumb holes at the corners, maybe even less woodwork. My table has open corners, my galley doesn't and I wish it had. Also, if you can, recess your sink(s). Cleaning up at the edge of top mounted sinks is a PITA. Good luck.
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Yep, clean out ports for crumbs are handy. As are recessed sinks. And I'm a fan of recessing them enough so that you can place a section of counter top material/cutting board into the recess & have it sit flush with the level of the rest of one's counters. It makes for a nice bit of extra working surface, & makes incorporating 2 sinks less of a compromise from the perspective of losing that section of counter top to a sink.
__________________
The Uncommon Thing, The Hard Thing, The Important Thing (in Life): Making Promises to Yourself, And Keeping Them.
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25-10-2016, 03:56
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#14
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Senior Cruiser
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: Thunder Bay, Ontario - 48-29N x 89-20W
Boat: (Cruiser Living On Dirt)
Posts: 49,082
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Re: Thoughts on fiddles
Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Blebrant.
__________________
Gord May
"If you didn't have the time or money to do it right in the first place, when will you get the time/$ to fix it?"
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25-10-2016, 10:17
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#15
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Registered User
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Wherever the wind takes me
Boat: Bristol 41.1
Posts: 1,006
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Re: Thoughts on fiddles
Crumb scuppers are certainly useful.
What I tried to illustrate in the pic above is that the acrylic/lucite used is transparent, strong, easily form-able into elaborate curves and is impervious to water. And, it doesn't need varnishing.
This was the first time I had seen it used aboard, and I think it to be better suited to purpose than teak or some other wood.
I am less sure for whether or not tables should have fiddles. In my case, they have proven uncomfortable. Keeps your elbows off the table! Currently quite happy with a fiddle-less dining table.
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