Posted by Captain Norm (24.54.194.221) on April 02, 2002 at 22:03:13:
In Reply to: Photo of my custom outboard bracket posted by Captain Norm on March 29, 2000 at 20:43:34:
I've had lots of questions on this photo, here's one of the answers as to who made it & about the observation seat cushions:
I designed & tested it w/1" dowels & a plastic outboard bracket from West Marine. I gave the prototype to Bill of Garhauer Marine, he made it out of stainless steel tubing. It works GREAT 99.9% of the time. Totally out of the way, if someone sits on the observation seats, they don't touch it, big part of the design. It is situated so Garhauer's outboard lift (mounted as far off the side as possible) lowers the outboard in the center of the dinghy transom. It is VERY strong, never expect it to move. Only slight problem is when the boat heals excessively, the prop of the OB touches the water. I guess I would raise it an inch or two if did it again.
Story about the cushions for the observation seats. I got 1" OD hose (same size as pulpit). I put 6 or so coat hangars inside hose to give stiffness. I then bent the hangars & hose to match the pulpit & marked the point where the support drops down behind the seat. I then covered the hose with appropriate size pipe foam from Home Depot, as temporary part of template. Luckily, port & starboard sides are mirror images, so I just needed 1 template, just different markings. I brought the template to a local automotive upholstery shop & asked them to make a pair out of material I supplied. They Velcro it shut for easy removal. I'm very happy with their job and saved BIG BUCKS, verses a boat canvas shop.
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Norm Perron
C42 #600 Aphrodisiac, Marina del Rey, CA