Hints For Removing Rowing Seat With Removing Inwales?

Shari Gnolek

Have dog, will paddle
In order to remove a rowing seat, do I need to remove the inwales? Or, if I take off the thwarts can I "stretch" the boat enough to get the seat out? The inwales are in decent shape so I wasn't going to remove them but I want to remove the seats to make stripping the varnish off the boat and seat pieces easier. I have removed the braces that the seat was resting on but can't tip the seat enough, to get it out, and it's just about in widest part of the boat.

This seems like a simple wooden puzzle that I am failing to figure out, unless the seat was put in before the inwales were installed. Any hints appreciated!

edit: The tile should read... WITHOUT removing Inwales
 

Attachments

  • 20190110_093641.jpg
    20190110_093641.jpg
    135.9 KB · Views: 254
In order to remove a rowing seat, do I need to remove the inwales?

No, the seats were installed after the inside gunwales were in place so you should be able to remove it by flexing the boat a bit. You will probably have to remove the stern thwart and everything else first. Good luck,

Benson
 
Thanks! I wasn't sure how much flex/force would be OK if the thwarts were out. Seems like it will need to flex at least an inch and a half for the seat to clear the inside gunwale.

I'm worried about breaking things but I am probably thinking about this boat more delicately than is necessary .
 
You really don't want to go at the inwales, as they have rib tip nails, probably rusty steel, in them. Like Benson said, you might need to remove seats/thwarts to allow a bit more flex. Do you have a bar clamp that will push outward? I use a Bessey DuoKlamp a lot for similar tasks.
Tom McCloud
 
Yes, I have some bar clamps I can use.
Once I remove the thwarts to get the seat out, should I put the thwarts back on right away so the boat doesn't lose its shape? Or, how long could they be off for (if I am working on this in an unheated attached garage) until I'd need to be worried about that?
Thanks!
 
Ribs in even an old boat can have surprising spring-back. If I were doing it I'd take out the seat & thwarts to be sanded and re-finished away from the boat. I would put temporary thwarts in within a day, could just be 1" pine board and steel bolts, to make sure the hull doesn't relax and create new problems while other items are attended to. TM..
 
Lots of ways to do this and not hurt anything: You could wait til you are stripping the interior with all thwarts out and straps around and a little past the deck ends. With the seat still in and as you strip down the boat, move the seat down and do that area, and put back. Finish the washing out and with a very flexible and now soaked hull, use a piece of 2x2 or so, longer than the hull width at the seat point and spread the hull open with long bracing along both inner wale faces and retrieve the seat. As Mc says replace with false thwarts sized EARLIER and install immediately and get to work on those and the seat. I would bet the hull would spread even dry , but not as easily as when soaked. Have fun ! Dave
 
Back
Top