Thank you, n advance to those who have experience with the Piantedosi rowing wing/Chester Yawl combination or who would otherwise like to comment:

I am about to install one of those sliding seat units into my Chester Yawl and as such I acquired the Yawl Conversion Kit that consists of two wooden blocks with shims, some sort of stabilizer brackets for the seat slider beam and miscellaneous hardware (See liked pictures, below).

Question 1A: The centering pin that attaches to the outrigger via a knuckle and into the oarlock is nothing more than a long skinny screw. Has anyone modified it to insert a pin of the same diameter as the oarlock pin (in order to reduce movement). Any reason as to why this might be a good or bad idea? Not sure whether there was a reason behind the design, other than to keep it simple for the kit.

Question 1B: With the installation of scuppered inwales on my CY, came the need for top mounted oarlock risers. The row wing outrigger centering pin knuckle interferes with oarlock riser/receiver dictating that I rise the whole seat contraption by the width of the knuckle, therefore leaving a gap (this does not look pleasing and certainly provides no structural integrity). Any ideas as to how to address this (kinda circles back to my question 1A, above)?

Question 2: CLC tells me to keep the mounting wood blocks bare. While I am tempted to go with CLC’s advice, I am also tempted to epoxy/varnish as it clashes with the rest of the bright finish on the boat. Sure it will work and many will tell me that functionality is all that matters. While functionality is a must, I also wish to keep the aesthetics on par with the rest of the boat.

Question 3: I wanted two sets of floorboards (one for fixed seat rowing, and one for sliding seat. I ordered a second set but since my kit was shipped circa 2007, apparently CLC made some changes to the CY which resulted in a different size floorboards that no longer fit and that therefore  had to be “re-cut.” The work around was to cut both sets to an identical shape that fit and glue a 1’ wide extension step onto the hull for am aesthetically pleasing and practical fit of the boards. This of course made using the bow and stern floorboard locking studs unusable. The swivel brass toggles are simple but not particularly eye pleasing in my humble opinion, nor are they particularly good for the floorboard finish. Besides, the rowing installation calls for 4 brass screws and finish washer in addition to said toggles. 

Some pictures to help visualizing my questions:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B81mbFEcmsHoRUdsbTFfbGtYQzA?usp=sharing

Thank you all, in advance for your wisdom!

Eric