[Rhodes22-list] cockpit bench seat reinforcement

[Lou Rosenberg]

  Thanks for the tech explanation Stan, will re install stiffeners 
first and check your diagnosis on my aging craft.
   gofer hat or golfing hat? :)
  Lou
__________________________________________________________

>Wearing my gofer hat and have to run but can't resist answering this one:
>
>The Rhodes people have gone to great expense to bring you a separate cockpit
>liner so the seats are open underneath unlike all competitive boats that
>make their decks in one piece providing a continuous hard seat.  The Rhodes
>seats have a natural built in spring and will not break unless you have one
>built by an early contractor in which case I do not know what they did.
>
>The creaky noise you hear is built in to give you the feel of an authentic
>old wooden boat.  If you do not buy that explanation the creaky noise is
>akin to crickets rubbing their legs.  The cut outs in the ends of the
>cockpit liner may be making contact with the seat as it extends past this
>vertical glass member and when you step on the seat, its flexibility is
>making it rub the vertical ends of the cockpit liner creating a non
>invasive, scary to some sound.  You can eliminate this by increasing the
>spacing between the seat stiffeners and the vertical end walls of the
>cockpit liner so when the seats flex for your comfort they still do not make
>contact with the cockpit liner glass walls.
>
>stan/gbi
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Bill Effros" <bill at effros.com>
>To: "The Rhodes 22 mail list" <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
>Sent: Tuesday, August 24, 2004 11:47 AM
>Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] cockpit bench seat reinforcement
>
>
>Has anyone ever had the cockpit seats break?  This question comes up again
>and again, but Stan never changes the design of the boat.  I like to keep
>cockpit cushions on the seats which also distributes the weight of people
>standing on them.  While I'm sure Roger's solution is bulletproof, my
>question is whether Stan's original solution is also bulletproof.
>
>Bill Effros
>
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: Bob Weber
>To: rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org
>Sent: Tuesday, August 24, 2004 11:29 AM
>Subject: RE: [Rhodes22-list] cockpit bench seat reinforcement
>
>
>Lou, I had the same question last year. The best solution is below.
>
>Bob Weber
>
>Thanks  Roger for the fix.
>I have the same issue with the seats on  my 1974/75 Rhodes 22.
>I will use your fix.
>
>Bob
>S/V Knot Necessary
>
>>>>cen09402 at centurytel.net 04/09/03 09:47AM >>>
>Bob,
>
>When I first got my 1976 R-22, I didn't care for the way the cockpit seats
>"creaked" when walked or sat upon.  So, I reinforced my cockpit seats with
>1" OD stainless steel tubing from below.  I have two support columns per
>side for a total of four in all.  These support columns were mostly
>assembled from off-the-shelf stainless steel railing hardware.  The enclosed
>link will show you a picture of one of these support columns:
>
>http://www.rhodes22.org/rhodes/pics/Propane-1.jpg
>
>The only custom made components were the oddly shaped spacers between the
>top of the support columns and the underside of the cockpit seats.  One of
>these spacers is visible in the above photo.  These pieces were designed to
>take the irregularity out of the upper bearing surfaces on the underside of
>the cockpit seats & provide nice flat areas for the support columns to rest
>upon.  At the time, I happened to have several scrap pieces of black, UV
>stabilized, UHMWPE polymer, which I used for these spacers.  However, these
>spacers are out of the weather and are not in direct sunlight.  So, there is
>no reason why they couldn't be fabricated out of wood.  If you make them
>from wood; then, I would either paint them or seal them with epoxy.  Please
>note that all four support columns will be slightly different & will have to
>be custom cut to length for that specific position.  Likewise, the spacers
>will have to be custom made for each position.
>
>One critical construction detail not visible in the photo is the use of 1"
>OD stainless steel fender washers inside the stanchion mounts, top and
>bottom.  These fender washers spread the compression loads on the top spacer
>and the cockpit sole such that the ends of the 1" OD tubing do not gouge
>into either when heavily loaded.  Thus, the 1" OD stainless steel tubing
>must be cut to a precise length = (the vertical distance between the cockpit
>sole and the top spacer) - (the thickness of two fender washers) in that
>specific position.  Although there are setscrews in the stanchion mounts,
>they are not involved in supporting the compression loads.  The stanchion
>mounts merely locate the ends of the support columns top & bottom and
>prevent lateral movement.
>
>This fix has been absolutely bulletproof since 1987, including several hard
>falls against the cockpit seats by big people.
>
>Good luck!
>
>Roger Pihlaja
>S/V Dynamic Equilibrium
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Bob Weber" <ruba1811 at hotmail.com>
>To: <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
>Sent: Tuesday, April 08, 2003 5:54 PM
>Subject: [Rhodes22-list] Reinforce Cockpit seats
>
>
>>Hi all, I had one of the boards securing the underside of the cockpit
>seats
>>deteriorate and break on me this year.  Everyone is familiar with the
>boards
>>running along the front edge of the cockpit seats (the ones that hold the
>>filler boards)  There is marine ply wood strips that secure the other side
>>of the seat.  I will be replacing these this weekend.  It seems to be a
>>staight forward job but if anyone has done this before and encountered
>>problems or has a better solution,  please chime in.  The seats were
>making
>>a peculiar sound when stepped on prior to noticing the broken board.
>Thanks
>>in advance.
>>
>>Bob Weber
>>
>
>
>
>>From: Lou Rosenberg <lsr3 at MAIL.nyu.edu>
>>Reply-To: The Rhodes 22 mail list <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
>>To: rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org
>>Subject: [Rhodes22-list] cockpit bench seat reinforcement
>>Date: Tue, 24 Aug 2004 11:07:03 -0400
>>
>>RHODIES;
>>   Seeking advice on reinforcing the cockpit seats in my R22 ( 1981) . The
>>boat is now secure on is trailer in its winter home in Bklyn thanks to Rick
>>Centalaonza, a boat hauler ( Coastal)
>>   and some good boat yard folks in Pt Jeff and Bklyn.
>>   My stb side cracks when I walk or sit  on it, but is not broken. The
>>glass work underneath is brittle and the wood stiffeners are missing .
>>   I have Casey's book on HULL & DECK repair and plan to stiffen and support
>>the entire length of both benches by epoxing a dowel in the groove and then
>>adding a triangular support made of pine ( since its not going to be seen
>>much , teak is overkill, I believe).  The triangular support would need to
>>be epoxied to the floor underneath the seats. I plan to space the  2
>>supports on each side  equally.
>>
>>   Has anyone had weakening of their bench seating due to damage or
>>weathering and age of the glass?
>>   I am wondering how the epoxied supports would react to the flexing of the
>>boat later on as she is under strain.  Would it make sense to not epoxy the
>>supports and just wedge them down with rubber mat under the wood?
>>   **
>>   Any advice appreciated !
>>   thanks
>>   Lou
>>__________________________________________________
>>Use Rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org, Help? www.rhodes22.org/list
>
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