J/30 Class Association Forums J/30 Forum Cruising Discussions table for a J-30

does anybody have a simple formula for building a retractable table which legs would go into the the two holes originally there for a folding table. Thanks in advance for any information on building one or where I may find one.

Try posting a "wanted" ad on the website in the For Sale page. Here on the Chesapeake, almost no one ever sails with theirs on the boat. Most of them are sitting in attics or basements. Someone may be willing to part with theirs. I know at least one was traded here via the web within the last year.

Send an email to Tom Donlan, he has a folding table on his J30.
Tom G Donlan
TG.Donlan@barrons.com

Larry Christy

My table came with the boat, without legs. I recently used 2 stainless "pipes" from a local supplier after determining the inside diameter of the keel mounts. the originals were aluminum and everybody threw them away as they reacted with the ss keel mounts. I used spring loaded hinges from Lowe's for the leafs instead of the complicated bent wires used with the original, which I didn't get with the table anyway. the original table is huge and takes up a ton of space,which is why nobody uses them. I took mine back off after having it on the boat a short while!

After 10 years of not using the table ... I took the starboard leaf off. After five years of still not using the table, I took it out and into the basement. BUT the problem is that it is a wide open cabin and the table did provide a partition to keep the sails out of the way on the port side.

Then just opted for a couple of bucks worth of 1-1/4 pvc to make a rope hanger, grab rail, and floor divider. U shape with about 15 in. legs that have a screw though the existing holes in the legs to lock the PVC in.

The legs are covered with white spiral wound shrink wrap tape.
And it is handy walking through the cabin with any kind of boat motion.

Vic,
Did you not get any issues removing the Legs? Mine (original one I presumed) are dead stuck.
I came to the same conclusion than you (let's remove them) but was hesitating sawing them, just to keep the option to reinstall them - never know...
Thanks,
-- Georges

The PO of White Dolphin took the "saw them off" approach.

I've really wanted to put the table back in for cruising weekends (we also use the boat as a "waterfront apartment" in Charleston when not racing), but the only solution seems to be finding a pole with an OD the same as the previous table leg ID, then grafting it on to a leg section that fits the table...too much of a pain to deal with.

-dan

Those are the original legs on Vee Jay here in Naples covered with white PVC like tape spiral wound.

the 1-1/4 pvc slips inside them ... just an insert to get the top connected and not have the poles just sitting there.

Why would anyone want to saw them off ... when you can have a nice rope hanger so that lines can dry? {took me a year to figure out this $3 "fix" }

Unfortunately for some reason the PO on Vee Jay 2 in Newport sawed off One of them ... I will have to figure out how to somehow replace that one this May and still be strong enough for using as a hand rail.

the insert ... just an upside down U slips in an out with a SS screw where one of the SS legs pop in.

Some years ago, I decided to get serious about all aspects of boat speed and took the table off of Wildcat. Other than the weight of it, the table came out easily along with one leg. Not being smart enough to make something practical like your rope hanger, we cut the second leg off.
After that bold move, common sense took over and i realized we just might want to use that table again. So... I had an aluminum plug turned down to the ID of the table leg; drilled and tapped a hole in the leg for a screw to hold the plug in place. Although the table has never been back on the boat, I now sleep quite comfotably knowing that I can use it if I want to.

roger, roger -- mystery of why only one leg is sawed off solved. I received a full size and cut off leg when i got that boat.
I haven't seen Vee Jay 2 for a few months ... Hopefully they did not saw it off flush with the rib but left me a little bit of a collar to anchor to.
Thanks
Hey that table probably cost over $500 in those day bucks. Even if we never use it ... it's original equipment ... to be passed on to subsequent owners for them to store somewhere in the way.