Mid-Week

11206I found a bit of wildlife in the office yesterday — the cute little baby mouse to the left. He is too young to fear humans yet. I just wanted to pick him up and hug him because he was so cute, but I didn’t. I’m not really much of a hugger — not even trees. It looks like about half the crew may be in Oxford since I don’t see them here in the yard.  I can also assume the ones left over here have been assigned winterizing tasks. We had a minor set back with the small travel lift and have a set of bearings coming for the winch pump. That is only a minor problem because we still have plenty of boats to haul with the big lift. 11203 They got a few boats tucked into the buildings yesterday. Pat was helping and seems to enjoy  a bit of time driving the dozer as a change of pace. Plus, he is pretty good at getting boats tight together. 11205 I noticed we had painters in again last night. These may be parts for the Burger but I do know it smelled heavily of epoxy paint here in the office and the shops. We usually do this in the tent with the exhaust fan on. 11204 I had to go take some photos of the refrigeration system in a Grand Banks 46 and noticed these little holders in the refrigerator. I believe they may be used to hold bottles of wine. Clever! 11201 From The Service Log We got an email from someone looking for the custom seating we do on Grand Banks, so I thought I should reprint (with permission) this article from the Service Log. I may have put this up a while back but it’s too much trouble to check so if you’ve already seen it you can go back to work now.

Custom Grand Banks Flybridge Helm Seating

April 10th, 2013 Custom Seat for Grand BanksIf you take long trips, you can appreciate comfortable seating for the helmsman. The standard Grand Banks helm seating is not all that comfortable, is pretty low and frankly unattractive. There are alternatives however that will give your helmsman a boost.In the photo above the owner wanted a double seat. This one we had custom-made and it sits atop double pedestals. His requirements were:
  • Add extra height to the steering station
  • Add comfort for long term cruising
  • Make the seat wide enough to hold two people
  • Make the seat slide back far enough for the driver to stand and steer when desired
  • Make the seat look as close to OEM as possible
High Chair Alternate Arrangement All these goals were achieved but being so customized it was not a cheap job. There are ways to do this cost effectively – especially if you don’t need a double seat. The following uses a stock chair available at West Marine or other boat retail stores. This owner had a problem seeing over the helm with the large electronics screens he liked. He also liked the idea of being able to turn around when he had guests aboard to be a part of the socializing. His requirements:
  • Rise him well above the navigation equipment
  • Be able to turn to face guests
  • Retain storage in the settee base
  • Have the seat removable when not needed
  • Have a fold away footrest
This was a easy project. All objectives were met by cutting a hole through the existing seat top and mounting the pedestal base inside the locker. Hardly any space was lost in the locker and the pedestal releases from the base for storage.
Pedestal mounted to new seat base

Pedestal mounted to new seat base

There are some points to keep in mind. The base needs to be firmly mounted to a level service. You will find some deck camber inside the settee and if you don’t address this, you will be seated at an angle – not good for you or the seat. The simplest solution was to build a new base with the camber cut in the bottom. In the photo to the right you can see the new plywood base. This was cut to a template made to match the deck camber. All open grain was sealed with epoxy and then painted with a good marine paint. The seat base was through bolted to this and then the plywood was put down in the bottom of the settee with adhesive caulk and bolts. You also have to very careful to cut the hole in the seat top exactly in alignment for it to look like a professional installation. It would be possible to cut the lid down the center to be able to access the storage area with the seat in place. If you take the seat off, you can just put the cushion back on and it will be just like it left the factory.