supersailor
Contributing Partner
The E-34 has an extra wide bridge deck making seating more difficult under the dodger. You can sit on the companion slot (very uncomfortable). You can use a cockpit cushion. (bad angle, awkward when heeled). I dreamed up this little companion way seat that is concave so you have a comfortable seat no matter the heel angle. It slides into the hatch board slot and has a little leg to stabilize it. I won't include dimensions as each model boat will be different. Cardboard is a great throwaway pattern maker. I used scrap wood laying around the shop for materials hence a total cost of zero. The top is birch so everyone can tell it is in place and to watch their step going into the cabin. It does not interfere with the step down as it is almost completely over the bridge deck. I was going to put a cushion on it but the general consensus is that it is fine the way it is.
As a general note of caution about sitting in the companionway, there is a reason that Terra Nova is the only Ericson that I know of that has a seat belt (yup, like in your car). I like to say it is because we are so blinding fast but the reason is much more serious. My wife and I were on a cruise among a bunch of Islands and she was just settling onto the seat when we hit a rock. She planted her face into the hatch then fell into the cabin luckily missing the edge of the sink counter. We did an emergency diversion to the nearest Emergency Room for a bunch of stitches and an overall check for broken bones. Luckily there were none. Rae Ann looked just like a Raccoon for a month or more. The solution was to add nonskid strips and a seat belt to keep a person on the seat.
The other little project is a boarding step for the ladies. I did not make it foldable as I like things solid in all cases. It is small enough to stow easily and it is attached to the boat so it can't slid away under the boarder like ones that sit on the dock.
As a general note of caution about sitting in the companionway, there is a reason that Terra Nova is the only Ericson that I know of that has a seat belt (yup, like in your car). I like to say it is because we are so blinding fast but the reason is much more serious. My wife and I were on a cruise among a bunch of Islands and she was just settling onto the seat when we hit a rock. She planted her face into the hatch then fell into the cabin luckily missing the edge of the sink counter. We did an emergency diversion to the nearest Emergency Room for a bunch of stitches and an overall check for broken bones. Luckily there were none. Rae Ann looked just like a Raccoon for a month or more. The solution was to add nonskid strips and a seat belt to keep a person on the seat.
The other little project is a boarding step for the ladies. I did not make it foldable as I like things solid in all cases. It is small enough to stow easily and it is attached to the boat so it can't slid away under the boarder like ones that sit on the dock.
