securing furniture when underway

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Westiculo

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 27, 2017
Messages
271
Location
US
Vessel Name
Rose Mary
Vessel Make
42 Grand Banks Motoryacht - 1985
hey, how do you guys secure your furniture when you're underway? When we get a-rockin everything starts a-slidin. Anybody have outdoor furniture they manage to keep in one place when moving? We have 4 teak chairs and a table on our motoryacht.
 
We use very small stainless steel padeyes and small nylon double braid lanyards.
 
I have an iron sculpture of two acrobats on a log stump base in my salon, I inlaid 5 rare earth magnets in the bottom of the base and screwed a steel plate to the salon floor. The base snaps onto the plate and stays in one place no matter what. I also use earthquake wax on smaller pieces.
 
The stainless steel padeye for our large foldout table is mounted under the settee cushion with the double braid lanyard under the cushion when not in use. Our table has a felt padded base plate and can be moved to any location for various seating arrangements. Chairs are secured the same way using deck or bulkhead mounted padeyes and lanyards. Sticky putty is used to secure small items in place.
 

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Think about this when you're securing anything in a boat that is visible. Doesn't necessarily apply to the ER.



Will someone get snagged/step on it?


Is it in the way of opening/closing something?


How often will it be used?


Does it add character or value?



I've been on a few boats that use the old eye and hook method, usually fake gold, that have been bent, smashed, and pulled out of the walls and counters. They just look awful a lot of times.
 
That's why you only use hook and eyes where they can't be seen and of the appropriate size and design to do the job
 
It really depends on the sea conditions you boat in. In protected water a statue with pointed protrusions may be ok but in rough water it would be downright dangerous on a boat.
Even if it is secure, I’d be concerned about someone falling on it an impaling themselves.
I don’t have any furniture that isn’t permanently fixed other than a couple bean bags that we use on the bow in calm conditions. They also work well to pack around other gear in a locker to stop things shifting. Hook eyes and bungee cords won’t hold a heavy load when it gets ugly out there. I’ve also beefed up the mounting brackets of the hot water heater and fridge after they previously had broken loose in rough conditions.
 
I don’t think I would want to live without some sort of art in my life. If things get nasty, the sculpture will unplug from the base and get set on the sofa, but that has not happened yet. I considered bringing some paintings from our collection that’s in storage, but decided that iron or glass pieces would be better suited to the marine environment. I’m looking forward to acquiring some new pieces as we travel, so we’re keeping some wall space open.

BTW the sculpture is “Drunken Acrobats Brawl” by Arturo Bassols 1936-2001. This piece was created in 1964 and my family purchased it and another piece from the artist at that time. He was a recent Cuban refugee in those days and was teaching art at my elementary school, which is how he came to our attention.
 
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The Futon in our old sedan slid around in rough seas. These "feet" solved the problem. The photo shows the aft foot fitted before screwing it down.

Rob
 

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We have 2 Stressless recliners that are freestanding. I put an area rug under them with a nonskid pad under the area rug. They have not moved so far.
 
We have 2 Stressless recliners that are freestanding. I put an area rug under them with a nonskid pad under the area rug. They have not moved so far.

Our Stressless are off the area rug, so a bungee to padeyes at the base of the wall work well.
 
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