I have been puzzling over how best to fix the seats in place. Aside from their obvious purpose, they are important as braces for the overall rigidity of the boat. One option would have been to bolt them in place, but I was reluctant to do so because the seats look so nice without any fittings to spoil the lines (see the pictures below). We will, of course, fit the knees in place on top of the seats, but they too should not have any visible fastenings.
 |
| The rowing seats in place |
In the end, I opted for dowel pegs drilled into the underside of the seats and into the supporting cleats. I came across a handy little gadget to ensure that the holes were exactly aligned: a little metal stud with a very sharp point that fits into the first hole drilled, so that, when the seat is laid on top, it gives a neat and precise reference mark for the second drilling. Neat and simple.
 |
| Marker studs |
 |
| Dowel peg in place |
The seats then dropped into place, once I had hit them with Harry's rubber mallet:
 |
| The bow seat, fixed with the pegs, but not yet glued (the knees, as you might expect, are below the seat). |
 |
| With knees... |
 |
All 3 seats fitted |
No comments:
Post a Comment