Install an elegant new chart table

Since the arrival of GPS, I’ve not found much use for the chart table on my schooner Britannia. Most of our passage-making navigation is done on the Raymarine multifunction display, on the helm pod, then transferred to a paper chart on the saloon table roughly every hour. The chart table was only used to store things which didn’t have a permanent home, and as a desk for my laptop when in port.

The layout was not a very efficient use of space and left a lot to be desired. The space between the table and companionway ladder was a narrow 10in, and squeezing into the seat frequently resulted in accidentally tripping contact breakers on the electrical distribution panel at the side of the table. The high bulkhead also obstructed getting in and out of the saloon seats, when the table leaf was up. There had to be a better design than that!

I’m a traditionalist – I wouldn’t have built a square-rigged brigantine schooner if I wasn’t. Nonetheless, advancements in equipment, particularly electrical and navigational devices, should cause even the most ardent old sea-dog to rethink some of the more traditional methods and layouts – like chart tables. Our trusty sextant served us well on past ocean passages, pre-GPS,