The original salon table was a 40 lb monstrosity that was permanently attached between the mast and the forward bulkhead of the salon. It had leaves on each side that would fold up; in this fully activated postion the table was so large that one couldn’t walk around it, and even sliding in the seat to be at the table was challenging. Even with the leaves down, the large wooden box in the middle of the boat took up all the space.
Jonny removed the old table and salvaged pieces of it to fabricate a folding table that stows upright against the bulkhead. This was not an entirely original idea: most Valiants shipped with tables like this. Our situation was slightly complicated by the fact that the distance between the mast and bulkhead is about 7″ greater than the distance available to stow it vertically against the wall, so Jonny constructed a solid platform mounted on the bulkhead that extends into the cabin sufficiently to allow the table to fold up. The resulting table is extremely solid, and the greatly increased space and convenience have made this one of our favorite improvements.
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