Cockpit Table Leaf Support – Broken Lanyards and Fix Ideas?

[Mike Maksimchuk]

Hey everyone,

This weekend both of the internal supports under the cockpit table failed and dropped their leaves; the string/lanyard inside broke on each support arm. According to Catalina Direct’s tech guidance, these spring-and-lanyard versions (not the older bungee style) offer less travel and can fail easily if misaligned or overextended. They’re selling replacement arms for about $55 apiece, but it looks like the only real failure is a few cents’ worth of cord.

Has anyone tried opening one of these up and just replacing the internal lanyard? I’ve read that owners of other Catalina models have had success tying in a new cord to replace the broken one. Or has anyone upgraded to the aftermarket version with more robust construction? I can’t quite fathom how to do this, based on construction!

Before I spend over $100, I was hoping someone here might have:

• DIY tips for replacing the lanyard (type/size of cord, knots, or tricks)?
• Experience with alignment fixes — Catalina Direct suggests that misaligned brackets cause premature failure and might need redrilling to ensure equal extension.
• Feedback on the more durable aftermarket option (if anyone’s tried it)?

If you’ve got suggestions, part numbers, or even photos of your own fix, I’d love to hear them. Thanks in advance!

Mike

Amadeus, #94

[ken magida]

My recollection is that I bit the bullet and bought a replacement which was identical to my original one.

I then used the broken one to support a drop leaf I made for the galley.

Ken Magida

#46 FOREVER YOUNG

Sent from my iPad,

An intelligent device which corrects my typing.

On Jul 5, 2025, at 17:24, Mike Maksimchuk <mtma...@mtu.edu> wrote:



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[David Everett]

Mike - its a pretty simple fix - just unscrew and take it off, and fashion a new elastic cord.

David (#62 - in South Australia and a long way from spare parts!)

[Allan Spousta]

Yes, they easily come apart.  I have rebuilt the ones on my table with new shock cord.  I ordered the shock cord from Amazon

Sent from my iPhone

On Jul 6, 2025, at 10:16 PM, David Everett <davidse...@gmail.com> wrote:

Mike - its a pretty simple fix - just unscrew and take it off, and fashion a new elastic cord.

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[david hogan]

I replaced ours but it wasn’t 100% successful .  Seemed easy but the right amount of cord proved challenging. I ended up undoing our work and manually connecting the pieces .

We don’t raise it much.

The cost for properly matched pieces may have saved me the ugh - I will just order them 

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[Mike Maksimchuk]

I ended up using the springs and the stoppers…but added bungees instead of string. That took out the length issue! 

On Jul 7, 2025, at 18:08, david hogan <finalt...@gmail.com> wrote:



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[Chris McDonnell]

Search for “cockpit table strut repair” in this group. I posted repair process in 2017.

Chris McDonnell

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[Mike Maksimchuk]

Thanks Chris. I apparently just didn’t hit the right combination of words in my search on the forum!

On Jul 7, 2025, at 20:36, Chris McDonnell <chris.mcd...@gmail.com> wrote:



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