—A base for the cockpit, at rest

Your cockpit was designed for at anchor. So was this.

Name: The Sailboat Cup Holder
Brand: Steadi Labs

Practical Sailor, reviewing cockpit design, puts it plainly: “many cockpits are optimized for at-anchor enjoyment instead of underway usability.” That is not a criticism of your boat. It is a description of where the cockpit is actually most used.

Nothing loose stays put on a boat that is heeling, and this is loose. It is a 5.2-inch base for the mooring, the anchorage, the slip and a flat motor — not for a beat to windward.

4.9 average · 121 reviews

See the packs

from $14.95 · free shipping on every order

Ships from Orange, California. 90 days to change your mind, used is fine.

A can standing in a black Steadi on a white bench cushion beside open water. — On a cushion, at rest. Twelve colours in all.

—The angle everything else has to survive

Fifteen degrees is the limit of comfort. Twenty-five and the crew is done.

These are sailing publications’ own published figures, read on 3 September 2026 — and they are the reason this page draws the line where it does.

Cruising World

15°

limit of comfort

Describing a heeling monohull: fifteen degrees is “the limit of comfort for some sailors”. Anything standing on a surface at that angle has already gone.

Yachting Monthly

25°

and the crew too

“Few boats are efficient at more than 25 degrees of heel, and that applies to the crew as well.” Reefing guidance, not marketing.

Practical Sailor

At anchor

what the cockpit is for

“Many cockpits are optimized for at-anchor enjoyment instead of underway usability.” The boat’s own designers made the same call this page does.

So: at rest

$14.95

nothing cut

A 5.2-inch moulded base on the cockpit sole, a seat, a coaming or a cockpit table. No hole, no fastener, no guard pipe.

Sources: Practical Sailor, “A Practical Look at Sailboat Cockpits” · Cruising World, “More Righting Moment Means Less Heel” · Yachting Monthly, “Essential reefing tips for cruisers”. Fetched 3 September 2026 and quoted as published.

—What the marine aisle asks of the boat

Every flush holder starts with a hole in the cockpit.

Sea-Dog’s standard flush holder needs a 3-inch hole
And it “accommodates drink containers up to 2-7/8″ in diameter”. Their combo version needs 3-3/4 inches; the captive stainless one needs 3-5/8 and three #8 RH self-tapping fasteners.
The clamp-on route wants a guard pipe
Edson’s clamp-on mount fits 1″, 1-1/8″ and 1-1/4″ guard pipe. That is a pedestal guard, which is one location on the boat — and it is a bracket only, with no holder on it.
The rail mount is the good no-drill answer, and it is honest about its range
Polyform US publishes it as fitting “rail tubing from 0.625 to 1.25 inch”. If you have a guardrail where you want the drink, this is a genuinely good product at $26.
And the cockpit table is a five-hundred-dollar decision
Edson’s fold-down poly table is 27 by 13 inches closed, 27 by 26 open — and their own category page lists the luncheon table from $577 to $604 depending on mounting.

sea-dog.com · edsonmarine.com · polyformus.com. Fetched 3 September 2026, quoted as published. Steadi Labs is not affiliated with any of them.

A hand sliding an aluminium can down into the fins of a Steadi. — The whole installation. No hole, no bezel, no fasteners.

—Does it actually work

It wobbles. Then it settles.

Somebody steps into the cockpit, or a wake comes through the anchorage, and the drink comes back level instead of going over. The base is 5.2 inches across and spreads the load rather than balancing on a point.

Filmed on a couch cushion, which is a fair analogue for a cockpit cushion — and, to be clear, not on a boat.

A full can standing in a white Steadi on a cushion. — Real footage, one take, no cuts.

—How it holds

Width, and nothing else.

The base

5.2 inches across and fixed. It moves the edge the drink would have to tip over much further out, so the whole thing has to lean much further before it goes.

The fins

Six of them, holding the bottom inch. Cans and bottles slide on from the top; tumblers drop in. Drink and base then rock as one piece.

Not a gimbal

It does not self-level and it makes no attempt to. A gimballed holder swings to stay upright; this widens the footprint instead. Different mechanism, different limits.

A macro photograph of the flared base of a terracotta Steadi, showing the moulded STEADI mark. — The flare, close. That width is the entire mechanism.

See the packs — from $14.95

—The object

One piece of rubber. Nothing to bed or seal.

No hole to cut, no bezel to bed in sealant, no fasteners to back up, no guard pipe to clamp. It goes on the surface and it comes off, and it lives in a locker between weekends.

Base5.2″ — fixed
Height2.8″
Opening at rest1.64″
Weightabout 3.6 oz
Fins6, from 0.92″ up, flexing to 3.15″
MaterialShore 85A TPU
Hole requiredNone
GimbalNone — it does not self-level
CleaningRinse, wipe, or dishwasher

Several sizes of can standing in Steadis side by side, from a slim can to a tallboy. — Slim can to tallboy. Bases between two and three inches all seat.

—What seats and what does not

Wider than a flush holder takes, and it does not need a hole.

Sea-Dog’s standard flush holder accommodates containers up to 2-7/8 inches. This seats bases from two inches up to 3.15, so a 40 oz Stanley Quencher at 3.1 goes in here and not in that. A standard 12 oz can is 2.6. A mug with a handle does not seat at all — the handle lands exactly where the fins grip.

Search by container

Every width below comes from a published specification, not from us. Where a spec is uncertain, the answer says so.

Container

Or the width across the bottom

Width in inches

A width across the bottom of the cup, in inches.

Without a tape measure

A standard sticky note is three inches square. A cup standing on one with its base inside the paper will seat.

Anything borderline — hello@steadilabs.com reaches a person, and the answer will be honest either way, including a no.

—Where they end up

The cockpit seat, the coaming, the bridgedeck, the table.

Sundowners in the cockpit at anchor. Coffee on the bridgedeck in the morning. Lunch on the cockpit table on a mooring. On the saloon table below when it is wet. And on the dock box, which is where half of them actually live.

Twelve colours, and the picker assigns one per unit, which with guests aboard is mostly about telling whose is whose.

—What the aisle costs

A hole, a guard pipe, or six hundred dollars.

Prices were looked up on 3 September 2026, not estimated. Every figure is the seller’s own.

The product	Price	What it asks of the boat
Attwood gimballed drink holder, black	$11.64	A screw-down gimballed surface-mounting bracket. It self-levels, which this does not — a genuinely different and useful mechanism.
Attwood gimballed drink holder, white	$15.34	“Self-leveling drink holders with slot for coffee cup handle.” Note the handle slot: it takes the mug this cannot.
Polyform US rail mounted cup holder	$26.00	No drilling — clamps to “rail tubing from 0.625 to 1.25 inch” with a screwdriver. If you have a rail where you want the drink, buy this.
Edson clamp-on mount, guard pipe	$62.00	Fits 1″, 1-1/8″ and 1-1/4″ guard pipe; the narrower version is $57.00. A bracket only — no holder included.
Sea-Dog adjustable folding drink holder, 304 stainless	$68.95	Surface-mounted, no cutout: “Installs with two #8 RH fasteners (not included).” Folds to 3/4 inch closed.
Edson white poly fold-down luncheon table	$577–$604	Edson’s own published range across mounting configurations. Mounts to a pedestal.
The Sailboat Cup Holder	$14.95 · four for $39.95, $9.99 each	Nothing. It stands on the seat, the coaming or the table, and it comes off.

If you have a guardrail where you want the drink, the Polyform at $26 is the better product — it clamps on with a screwdriver, it does not come off in a seaway, and it is designed for exactly that. And if what you want is a drink that stays level while the boat heels, buy a gimbal; that is a mechanism this does not have.

The Attwood also has a slot for a coffee cup handle, which is a real advantage over this. Handled mugs do not seat here at all.

—From people who bought one

None of these is from a boat of any kind.

There are boat reviews in the corpus and they are not on this page — they are from powerboats, and putting them here would be exactly the sort of thing that makes a sailor close a tab. These four describe sloped seating and surfaces that move, which is what this page claims. Verbatim, unedited, not filtered by rating.

A black Steadi on a grandstand bench holding a canned drink in a glitter koozie, a spectator's leg beside it, at an outdoor race — Photograph sent in by Holly J with this review.

★★★★★

Our seats are metal benches with a slight slope towards the back, making it impossible to set down any type of drink. We were able to use these for a 20oz bottle with a koozie on it as well as a slim can with an insulated Brumate on it! They worked perfect, holding our drinks on the bench & on our cooler.

Holly J · June 2026Photo from the buyerPhoto from the buyerPhoto from the buyerPhoto from the buyerPhoto from the buyerPhoto from the buyerPhoto from the buyer

A dim living room at night: a glass of dark cola sits in a sage-green STEADI base on a fabric-topped ottoman while a calico cat walks across the same ottoman; a TV plays in the background — Photograph sent in by Dixie with this review.

★★★★★

I have a tendency to spill my drinks and have two cats. This is one of the best things I’ve ever impulse bought. It works. It actually works. It’s a heavy, wide enough base that it is actually stable. It fits cans, bottlers, glasses. It doesn’t get bent out of shape. It’s exactly what I needed.

Dixie · August 2026Photo from the buyerPhoto from the buyerPhoto from the buyerPhoto from the buyerPhoto from the buyerPhoto from the buyerPhoto from the buyer

★★★★★

They also stay steady on the little wobbly patio table outside.

Susan Ilkenhans · May 2026

★★★★★

Steadi works very well in stabilizing my drinks on soft surfaces, like the couch or by the chair I use as a nightstand.

Marie Adams · July 2026

17 more, photographed by the people who bought them

Sent in with their reviews. Tap any one to read it. Different rooms, different drinks, different colours — none of them staged by us.

A slice of one product-wide corpus — reviews of the Steadi, not of this page. The full corpus is published live.

—The limits, in one place

What it does not do.

It is not for use under sail.
A boat that is heeling puts everything loose on the leeward side, and this is loose. Fifteen degrees is described as the limit of comfort and twenty-five as the limit of efficiency; this product is irrelevant at either. At anchor, on a mooring, at the dock or motoring flat — that is the whole of it.
It is not a gimbal and it does not self-level.
A gimballed holder swings to stay upright as the boat moves. This widens the footprint. If you want the first thing, Attwood makes it for about twelve dollars and it is the right buy.
It does not attach to the boat.
No cutout, no bezel, no fasteners, no rail clamp. Which also means it goes over the side as easily as anything else that is not secured, so treat it like a winch handle.
A handled mug does not seat.
The handle lands exactly where the fins grip. Attwood’s gimballed holder has a slot for a cup handle and this does not, which is a real advantage to theirs.
Wind is not something it resists, and it does not float.
An empty can goes over in enough wind whatever it is standing in. And if it goes over the side it sinks — it is denser than water and there is no flotation in it.

—If it turns out to be the wrong thing

Ninety days. Used is fine. Nothing goes back in a box.

Ninety days covers most of a season. If the answer is no, hello@steadilabs.com reaches a person and the money comes back — no form, no restocking fee, no questions about condition, and nothing to pack up or post. Salt, sun and sunscreen included.

You order. Free shipping, every order, always.
It leaves Orange, California within one business day.
USPS, 2–5 days, tracked.

—Who makes it

Steadi Labs. One person, in Orange, California.

The steel injection mould open in the machine, the cavity that forms the base visible. — The mould, in the machine.

Scott Rodriguez at a workbench, holding a terracotta Steadi and looking at it, with shipping boxes behind him. — Scott, who makes them.

Scott Rodriguez made the first one after a full drink went over on a soft cushion with three kids under three in the house. It was built for spills, not for boats.

Nobody who sails asked for this page, and this company has no sailing pedigree to claim. What it has is a wide base that works on a cockpit cushion at anchor for the same reason it works on a sofa, and a page that says plainly where that stops.

We make one thing and we make all of it here — the moulds, the material, the colour runs, everything within about three and a half miles of the shop.

Steadi Labs — veteran founded and veteran owned
Designed, injection moulded, picked, packed and shipped in Orange, California
Patent pending
100% BPA free
5.2 inches across the foot, about 3.6 ounces

— Scott, Steadi Labs

—Questions

Straight answers.

Will it hold under sail?

No. A heeling boat sends everything loose to leeward and there is no version of a flat base that changes that. This is for at anchor, on a mooring, at the dock, or motoring on flat water.

Is it gimballed?

No, and it does not self-level. If that is what you want, Attwood’s gimballed holder is about twelve dollars and it is the right product.

Does it float?

No. It sinks. Treat it like anything else in the cockpit that is not tied on.

Will it fit my flush holder?

It does not go in one — it is a base that stands on a surface. Worth knowing the other way round though: a Sea-Dog flush holder takes containers up to 2-7/8 inches, and this seats up to 3.15, so a 40 oz tumbler works here and not there.

What about my mug?

A handled mug does not seat. Attwood’s gimballed holder has a slot for a cup handle, which is a genuine advantage over this one.

Does salt water hurt it?

No. Shore 85A TPU, no metal, no moving parts. Rinse it with the rest of the boat.

Where does it stow?

A locker. It is 2.8 inches tall and about 3.6 ounces, and they nest.

Why does this site only sell one thing?

Because it is one thing. It is a Steadi, made by Steadi Labs in Orange, California, and checkout finishes at steadilabs.com where the company lives.

—Still deciding

$14.95 for a piece of rubber.

It is. The alternatives are a 3-inch hole in a cockpit, a $62 bracket with no holder on it, or a $577 table. Ninety days covers being wrong about this one.

I already have flush holders.

Then you are well served under way and at rest both. The gap this fills is the cockpit table, the coaming and the bridgedeck, which are where people actually put drinks at anchor.

It will go over the side.

It might, and it sinks. It is $14.95 and they come in fours, which is not a defence so much as an honest price on the risk.

Will the sun destroy it?

Shore 85A TPU with no metal to corrode. Long-term UV exposure is not something we have tested, so we do not make a claim about it — on a boat that is a real question and we would rather say so than guess.

Your cockpit was designed for at anchor. So was this.

Fifteen degrees is the limit of comfort. Twenty-five and the crew is done.

Cruising World

Yachting Monthly

Practical Sailor

So: at rest

Every flush holder starts with a hole in the cockpit.

It wobbles. Then it settles.

Width, and nothing else.

One piece of rubber. Nothing to bed or seal.

Wider than a flush holder takes, and it does not need a hole.

Search by container

Or the width across the bottom

Without a tape measure

The cockpit seat, the coaming, the bridgedeck, the table.

A hole, a guard pipe, or six hundred dollars.

How many, and what colour goes where.

None of these is from a boat of any kind.

17 more, photographed by the people who bought them

What it does not do.

Ninety days. Used is fine. Nothing goes back in a box.

Steadi Labs. One person, in Orange, California.

Straight answers.

$14.95 for a piece of rubber.

I already have flush holders.

It will go over the side.

Will the sun destroy it?

At anchor, on a mooring, at the dock.