Nice idea with the cork.  My skerry has the same basic layout as the NE and in less breezy conditions, it'd be nice to get out of the bottom and unfold a bit.

   Funny timing; I was just looking a adding some to my dory.  Did you just make them for the center section or for more? How wide did you make them and would you stick with that dimension or change if doing again? I thought of adding small strips of wood at the edge next to the hull to catch the edge of the existing thwarts. Do you find the cork to be sufficient?  Barry

I knocked together some very simple "side seats" for my Passagemaker Dinghy, inspired by a capsize which was induced by a too-sudden tack (lost my grip on the tiller), sail caught suddenly aback, and subsequent inability to shift my weight to the other side quickly enough while sitting on the bottom with my feet suddenly higher than my hips.  The water began running down my back, whereupon Winkle spat me out over the side and into the drink like a bad oyster.

Briefly, I fashioned these "portable" seats out of 1/2" by 5-1/2" "craft board" (some sort of light pine) from Home Depot, with an extra 1/2" piece under one end to account for the difference in height of the sternsheets vs. the midship thwart, long enough to bridge the gap fore'n'aft, and with rubber feet at each end to keep them from sliding about.  Simple, light, readily adjustable (nearer the centerline for light air, nearer the gunnels for heavier), just wide enough to be fairly comfortable, and narrow enough not to be much in the way.

I'll try to get a few photos and a better description and post on a new thread soon.

.....Michael

   Answers to Bernkar's questions:  I made my seats from 12x1 (yep, mistyped in initial post) poplar boards, shaped, stained and varnished, so the finished seat is just about 11 inches wide at widest and 3/4 inch thick.  I think the dimension is about right - no use getting too narrow and compromising comfort, as they still seem to leave plenty of room for rowing & etc. as is.  They do move around a bit even with the cork if heel angle gets large, so the strips on the outboard edges might be a good idea.  On my boat there is a jam cleat for the mainsheet on the port and stbd side of the center seat that stops mine from sliding too far.

   Link to slide seat contruction and other photos:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/31735445@N06/albums/72157667267363123

I must say you have done a really nice job on your NED and added some cool features.  Thanks for sharing!

   Kudos to whoever took those pictures.  Great method on the side seats.

I like them for another reason, load balance.  On my NED as well as another one, we had our spouses in the stern seat and could see each others water line and they both were stern heavy with the bow water line a good few inches above the water.  This arrangement should solve that problem it seems to me, thus making tacking easier going thru the wind.

Thoughts?

Curt

 Hey Curt, it's been a while, welcome back. Thanks for your note on bench seats, that's my boat in Silver Salt flickr link.
Yes, helps trim a lot, way more comfortable and makes it much easier to sail with more people. That wasn't my primary goal as I usually sail solo, but a nice side benefit.
I've been wracking my mind about your gudgeon gunk question. I'm drawing a goose egg. As a W.A.G., possibly uncured varnish?

Cheers,

e

   No problem on the goose egg...I remember at the phone company the stuff inside the "snot caps" (wire joiners) would have been perfect...dont even know if they still use those.  Maybe I'll just do a small squirt of silicone in the holes before I insert the 

On the side seats, once again I'm in a hurry to get stuff done on the boat before we leave for the summer but want to make a new kick up rudder, and now I want to make these seats too...question...I wonder if there may be some aluminum U-channel that would accept 3/4" wood to screw up into the existing seat (with an access hole for a drill bit in the bottom of the U-channel).  Maybe not such a good idea.

Curt

Good question, I’ve wondered about a more elegant and lighter system too. John H. saw the boat at Small Craft Festival in St. Michaels and noted sail cars and tracks would work and perhaps be lighter but would offer no friction so they would have to be locked down to keep seat from slamming your shins on changing heel. I briefly thought about using aluminum flat stock in the same configuration as wood to build the cleats and sliders but thought it would have to be pretty thick to be strong enough. In the end the free “offcut” pile was easier and close at hand. The big downside is the weight. Haven’t put it on the scale but it’s a fair bit heavier than just the seats. The seats themselves, being maple and mahogany, while pretty are also pretty darn heavy. Add in all the 3/4 pine and epoxy for screwed and glued cleats and sliders and it’s noticeable. I used a little flour in the graphite mix to make a textured surface. They don’t slide around at all under normal heeling.
Always impressed with your engineering Curt, looking forward to seeing what you come up with. And the rudder too. I’ll probably have to redo mine after you’ve figured it out. No pressure ;-)

Cheers,
e

   Hey....silver salt...I am ready to go to town to buy wood for a rip off of your side seats and have to also make a kick up rudder in a hurry so I have questions I know you could help with.....would you be able to call me?  I'd sure appreciate it!

Thanks!  Curt 817 456 2878

Silver Salt:

You have inspired me to install bench seats in my NED.  The detail in your photos on Flickr is very helpful, but I still don't quite get how or from what material you fashioned the under-thwart brackets upon which the seats slide. 

Another option that I am considering is to lay the benches across the thwarts and using star knobs and hanger bolts to hold them in place in either postion.  In the platform postion, the star knobs would be below the thwarts for sleeping. 

Mopi Lopi 

Hey ML, the cleat material is cheap pine from the big box store. Screwed and glued to thwart bottom. Coated with several coats of epoxy thickened with a bit of wheat flour (all purpose White Lilly I think) and graphite. Flour thickens the mix and keeps it from sagging, also makes a textured surface to keep the benches from sliding too easily. Graphite makes it black and prevents uv damage so I don’t have to varnish. Varnish would rub off the sliding bits pretty quickly.

Sorry for the sloppy drafting…

Not sure how you’d keep the star knobs out of the way, I often find myself tucked up against one or the other bulkhead with one cheek on the thwart the other on the bench. The cork idea earlier seems perfect for friction and it’s easier and lighter.

Many ways to skin this cat, let us know what you come up with. 

Thanks for your quick reply and clear explantion and diagram.  I would prefer to keep both the thwart and seat at the same level and not have any hardware "underseat," so I will likely be following your suggestion.  I have never used flour or graphite with epoxy, so proportions would be welcomed.  I also wonder if you latch the seats in any way to keep them from sliding.   

   Sorry ML, totally useless on proportions. Couple of light coats of unthickened first. Then top off with your mix. Just add flour till it's about as thick as, what, 30 weight oil? Wont take much. A single experiment should answer all questions. Add graphite till it's black. At any rate you want it to spread easily and evenly.

It's kind of a seat of your pants operation.

Roughness of flour has enough friction no latches necessary.