I'm starting this new thread because we moved on from the original article that started this discussion. This is where I left off before the Texas boats took off on their adventure. Here is the image promised (near the end of the thread) of my modified cockpit:
Posted: Wed Jun 16, 2010 1:20 pm Post subject:
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talbot,
I'm also interested in seeing pictures of your rowing seat.
My rowing seat is a board that spans across the seats and CB trunk similar to a thwart, but is removed while under sail. I'd like to improve on it before I leave on Sunday if possible.
John
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1976 Daysailer II, sail #8075
Early 50's Beetle Boat Swan Catboat
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talbot
Joined: 03 Sep 2007
Posts: 126
Location: Eugene, Oregon
Posted: Thu Jun 17, 2010 7:10 pm Post subject:
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I've been travelling and just got back in town. I'll try to get out to the marina tomorrow and take a picture. As for the description:
I mounted 1x2 strips of oak, about 8" long, on the trunk and the opposite tanks. The 1x6 oak thwarts sit on these strips, held in place with #10 bolts.
Fine points:
The placement of the thwarts was pretty much determined by the only available space on the CB trunk. To serve as a rowing seat, they had to be as far forward as possible while clearing the jib cams and CB downhual. On the DS I, I believe the thwarts are farther forward, up by the cams.
The 8" strips are mainly held on with 3M-5200 adhesive. They have three screws as well, but I couldn't go very far into the trunk for fear of hitting the centerboard.
The #10 bolts are semi-permanently fixed to the thwarts with t-nuts, so removing each thwarts involves just lifting the whole assembly out. There are no loose parts. Once I decided I didn't need to remove the thwarts, I put nyloc nuts on the bolts. The holes in the 8" strips are reinforced wtih bronze bushings.
The trunk top is higher than the cockpit tanks. Each thwart butts against the trunk on the inboard end. Outboard, it rests on the top of the tank, with a shim to fill the space between the thwart and the support. That creates a more or less level thwart.
My centerboard trunk is not in the center of my boat, the tanks are not parallel to the trunk, and the tanks do not even converge on the cuddy at the same angle. So I had to mount the strips first, then custom-cut the thwarts for each space. I wasted some pretty wood with measurement and cutting errors. Most cuts were done with a jigsaw, with some rasping and sanding to get the pieces to conform to the irregularities of the boat.
I mitre-cut all square board ends so there are no sharp corners to catch things on. I chose to varnish the oak because it looks nice, but check back with me after it's cooked in the sun for a season.