Last week, I bought a very nice quality Teak Helm Seat kit from a little known company..well cottage industry really.
The company is Teakflex Products, out of Pawcatuck, CT. (www.teakflex.com).
I say cottage industry because, the owner has the folks living in the area cut his Burma teak wood to specific lengths and shapes for the various products he makes, and pays on a per-piece basis. The quality of the wood is Excellent, the finish of the wood is near finishing level..I used some steel wool on the final sanding. just to give the wood a bit of fresh grain to accept the cetol stain (Marine). The accuracy of the various wood cuts on the kits parts was very good. The length of each part was as it had to be..no trimming or sanding to fit.
The design of this helm seat is an arched seat that spans across the aft portions of the cockpit seats. It consists of an arched back made of solid teak, an arched front piece of solid teak that has been nicely cutout to allow access to the inside of the seat, where there is a teak strip bottom designed to store 'stuff' conveniently (ie: binoculars, bilge pump handle, deck key, etc), but allow drainage.
It is a beefy design, weighing 20 lbs when finished.
The top of the seat consists of 19 teak slats that are spaced 1/8in. apart across the arc of the top. There is a stepped rabbit on the front and back pieces, to accept the top slats, hiding their end grains.
The kit is assembled quickly, with the assembler drilling a small pilot hole, dabbing some epoxy on the wood butt end, and then power screwing a S.S. wood screw into the provided and drilled holes. Finally, apply the provided teak bungs, cut and trim, and final sand the whole seat, and finish as you want. We used Cetol marine, and will apply 4 coats of cetol gloss over the next 2 weeks. Oh, and all of the work except final sanding was done at anchor on Stockton Island saturday, using our inverter and normal power tools (R.O.sander, belt sander, drill gun).
I have a couple digital pictures available, taken after assembly. Unfortunately, I do not have a web site to place them yet (another project on hold til winter), so send me an e-mail, and I'll shoot them to you.
This is a nice product, and I believe the price ($125) is fair for the quality and value it provides.
Just to be clear, I am not associated with this chap in any way except thru satisfaction with his product, attitude and service.
Cheers,
Larry DeMers
s/v DeLaMer
Cape Dory 30 ~~Sailing Lake Superior~~
demers@sgi.com
TEAK HELMSEAT REVIEW
Moderator: Jim Walsh
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Gary L.
Re: TEAK HELMSEAT REVIEW
Larry,
I checked out the site, and the images are great. Does it just rest on top of the port and starboard seats, or does it need to be secured somewhere? Also, does it leave enough room forward to manuever about?
Thanks for the link.
Gary Lapine
Red Witch III
CD30C, #339
Somerset, MA
dory26@attbi.com
I checked out the site, and the images are great. Does it just rest on top of the port and starboard seats, or does it need to be secured somewhere? Also, does it leave enough room forward to manuever about?
Thanks for the link.
Gary Lapine
Red Witch III
CD30C, #339
Somerset, MA
dory26@attbi.com
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Larry DeMers
Re: TEAK HELMSEAT REVIEW
Gary and All,
The seat just overlaps the CD30's bench seats in the cockpit, so that itself cannot be the only attachment. I have added a fairly beefy hinge on the starboard side, that will allow me to swing the seat up and out of the way for instrument and autopilot access, or to pull the hinges spring loaded pin and remove the seat altogether. On the port side, I drilled a small dimple in the fiberglass, and then installed a matching wood dowel in the seat, so that the dowel matdches up with and goes into the dimple, which prevents someones legs from torquing the hinges around, since this seat weighs 20 lbs.
My seat is aboutr 3 in from the back of the cockpit, so there is 3 in. more room for legs should that be needed for you tall folk (Ken!). I am 5'11", and my knees are 3in. back from the wheel on this seat. Perfect position for my arms and frankly..pretty comfortable, especially with a 1 in. foam pad under my posterior. My sight line is physically slightly over the top of the dodger. To see over completely, I just have to raise my head a little, so that is a large improvement over the non-raised seat situation.
Send me an e-mail this week if you are interested in seeing my photos (2). I will have more of it installed on the boat next weekend.
-as an aside, anyone willing to answer some basic questions about getting a small web site going so that photos like this can be hosted for this group? I am willing to do the maintenance but need some questions answered about how to do it exactly. I have thrown a few days at it already, and have a web page designed, but the crucial parts are still fuzzy in the head, and the ISP is worthless for explanations.
Thanks,
Larry DeMers
s/v DeLaMer
Cape Dory 30
demers@sgi.com
The seat just overlaps the CD30's bench seats in the cockpit, so that itself cannot be the only attachment. I have added a fairly beefy hinge on the starboard side, that will allow me to swing the seat up and out of the way for instrument and autopilot access, or to pull the hinges spring loaded pin and remove the seat altogether. On the port side, I drilled a small dimple in the fiberglass, and then installed a matching wood dowel in the seat, so that the dowel matdches up with and goes into the dimple, which prevents someones legs from torquing the hinges around, since this seat weighs 20 lbs.
My seat is aboutr 3 in from the back of the cockpit, so there is 3 in. more room for legs should that be needed for you tall folk (Ken!). I am 5'11", and my knees are 3in. back from the wheel on this seat. Perfect position for my arms and frankly..pretty comfortable, especially with a 1 in. foam pad under my posterior. My sight line is physically slightly over the top of the dodger. To see over completely, I just have to raise my head a little, so that is a large improvement over the non-raised seat situation.
Send me an e-mail this week if you are interested in seeing my photos (2). I will have more of it installed on the boat next weekend.
-as an aside, anyone willing to answer some basic questions about getting a small web site going so that photos like this can be hosted for this group? I am willing to do the maintenance but need some questions answered about how to do it exactly. I have thrown a few days at it already, and have a web page designed, but the crucial parts are still fuzzy in the head, and the ISP is worthless for explanations.
Thanks,
Larry DeMers
s/v DeLaMer
Cape Dory 30
Gary L. wrote: Larry,
I checked out the site, and the images are great. Does it just rest on top of the port and starboard seats, or does it need to be secured somewhere? Also, does it leave enough room forward to manuever about?
Thanks for the link.
Gary Lapine
Red Witch III
CD30C, #339
Somerset, MA
demers@sgi.com