Cup Holders

[Jeff and Sarah]

Who of you (and hopefully there are many) have come up with good cup holder solutions for the cockpit? The pedestal guard is an obvious choice but there must be other solutions out there. I'm considering some recessed cup holders on the winch boxes but those would be awfully big holes to cut. All ideas and/or photos are welcome.

Thanks!

[Neil Gordon]

Underway or entertaining guests?

I've never seen an ideal solution, either. Here's what I've used and my pros and cons:

Bulkhead mounted cup holders: Liquidity had a bracket in each corner of the cockpit and each corner of the cabin.
Pro: Impervious to angle of heel. Work for selected beverages.
Con: Won't hold a mug with a handle. Mine tended to rust/fail at rivet points. Tall drinks have too high a center of gravity. On a 28, they were always in the way, so generally stowed (until trashed) and never used anyway.

Hanging (from lifelines) holders:
Pro: Easy to place wherever. Generally out of the way depending on where placed. Impervious to angle of heel.
Con: No mugs with handles. Center of gravity of the drink must be low enough.

Cockpit sole: This is my preferred method for my coffee mug.
Pro: No extra device. Works well in port, motoring or sailing so long as I don't tack.
Con: Only works on the leeward side. Bear tends to drink my coffee if I don't watch him. Lower center of gravity is better than lower.

I've pondered whether home-made (or boat-made) cloth/canvas holders might work well... essentially small, hanging buckets. They could easily be hung from lifelines, custom sized for your preferred drink and would stow flat when not in use. For the amount of fabric they'd use, you could likely make a set for free.

[RLW]

EdsonMarine.com has a number of options. We use one attached to the stainless hoop over the pedestal on our other boat. Defender.com has Edson and several other options. Hope this helps...

[Jim Walsh]

Here's what I have.

[casampson]

Twin grandchildren make excellent cupholders.

[Jim Walsh]

Twin grandchildren make excellent cupholders.

My cup holders don't require the establishment of a college fund

[Neil Gordon]

Twin grandchildren make excellent cupholders.

My cup holders don't require the establishment of a college fund

Sure, but any solution that requires a trip to the marina store can amount to about the same thing.

Granted, they don't need to have two free hands for working, but every Navy Chief I've ever known got along fine with just a permanently bent index finger.

[jbenagh]

We found some cheap, white plastic coffee mugs at Target several years ago. My son noticed that the handles hook exactly over the coamings and fit a soda can perfectly. I wouldn't have them out in rough stuff but they do OK with the occasional wake or usual 2-4 foot stuff. I can try to get a picture if you want. I'm not sure you will find them again but it would show you what to look for.
Jeff

[Jeff and Sarah]

Thanks for the responses. They have given me a few ideas- I'll post what I come up with soon.

[Cathy Monaghan]

Here's a photo of what our old Edson pedestal looked like with both the luncheon table and cup holder installed:



The cup holder is teak and the cup openings are "koozie" size. A pair of binoculars also fit in it well with room for two beverages.


-Cathy
CD32 Realization, #3

[jbenagh]

What do people use to attach the cupholder to the pedestal? I assume there is some kind of stainless "U" bracket available but I have never seen one for sale.

Jeff

[Gary M]

Here is an interesting cup holder.

The bottom has a square post that fits in the winch handle socket.

It works well until you need to use the winch, then I guess you need grandchildren.