# designing the galley



## Hellacious (Mar 13, 2012)

We are in the process of building a cruising monohull and I am excited about designing the galley. My question is are solid fiddles all around the counter really necessary? I find they get in the way when cleaning up and wiping the counter down. I was going to try having a low handrail attached about 2 inches up and out from the counter, it would serve double duty as a grab rail when underway and would also stop items sliding off the counter. It would however make cleaning up a breeze. Any comments please.


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## Siamese (May 9, 2007)

I'm not bothered by fiddles as long as they have sweepouts at the corners. 

You rail idea sounds fine. One downside might be that they may eat of some of your counter space by the time you get something robust enough.


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## Faster (Sep 13, 2005)

If the rails project off the cabinet face they needn't interfere with countertop area...

One thing that really helps with counter clean up, with fiddles, is to have an under-hung galley sink.. We converted a conventional drop in sink to underhung.. simply drilled the flange and attached it to the underside, then trimmed the hole edge. You can then cleanly wipe everything over the lip of the sink cutout.


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## genieskip (Jan 1, 2008)

Double emphasize the need for cleanouts at the corners. My boat doesn't have them and I am seriously considering taking a jig saw to the fiddles.


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## Siamese (May 9, 2007)

Projecting off the counter face sounds good.

One thing I don't like about wood fiddles is that unless you get the counter really dry when you're all done, you constantly subject the fiddles to moisture. Nice to eliminate that altogether.


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## GeorgeB (Dec 30, 2004)

The nice thing about fiddles is they also contain liquid spills rather than it dripping on the sole making for a slipping hazard.


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## Hellacious (Mar 13, 2012)

Thanks for your comments, I wish I knew how these folks liked their set up. Ours will not be quite as fancy, but you get the idea. I wonder how often spills happen at sea, that really is the only issue it seems to me.


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## wingNwing (Apr 28, 2008)

Thanx for posting the photo; that rail setup looks both esthetic and practical.


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## paulk (Jun 2, 2000)

wingNwing said:


> Thanx for posting the photo; that rail setup looks both esthetic and practical.


Unless your plates slip through underneath them, or as mentioned above, a liquid (salad dressing?) spills on the counter. A solid fiddle can also serve as a fingerhold, if not a handhold, and helps keeps messes contained. Using the sink as a catch-basin, or having a gap over a garbage receptacle are other good options.


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