Hey, Handy

Posted By: Francois M26S Vancouver Island
Date: 6/5/08 8:48a.m.

Report: outside forum guidelines

In Response To: Hey Francois, (pic) (Ron (MRHandy)-Mac26S-Cape Coral, FL)

Wish I had a pic of it "stored" but I don't and it's POURING rain today (again) so that ain't going to happen real quick. I'll try to describe...the length is as long as I could make and still be able to store the thing in the cockpit. The aft end of the "package" (the "chair" folded up, boards lying flat against one another) rests on the cockpit FLOOR...the forward end rests against the other end of the cockpit (by the bridge deck) just barely clearing the height of the seats. So it's sort of laying diagonally across the face of the cockpit well (making the boards as long as they could possibly be AND "trapping" them securely as the face by the bridge deck is sloped at a pretty good angle. The slope on the side faces of the cockpit well means that storing them there, like that, does not rob any space from the walking surface of the cockpit. I also rounded two of the corners (folded they both are on the same side of the "package") and that makes the boards just a bit as long as possible as I store them rounded side down. MAN, the guy who said that a picture was worth a thousand words wasn't kidding, was he???? Deployed, you don't need a lot of overhang over the SS pushpit down tubes IF you drill the holes a few inches inboard from the tubes. That way when you heel the "chair" hardly moves sideways at all. This is a picture I took while heeling A LOT, making hull speed , I would not have been using the chair at that time (would've fell out of the seat) but just too lazy to take it down. The height above the tiller is not much of an issue and you can play around with that by simply changing the number of wood beads and/or playing with the stopper knots at the bottom of the bottom board. (I used starter cord, no stretch) On mine I cut out a bit of material out of the center after a while to better allow my forearm to slide between the boards to reach the AP control pad and engine throttle. Remember the thing just hangs...so deploy/take down, if you grab both boards and push them away from one another the hooks tighten up against the top board so that you can hook/unhook the end away from you on the pushpit eye without getting up from your seat. I think you're gonna love it, your back will be forever grateful too. I use it all the time, it shines during a lazy light wind sail when two people can sit back comfortably, legs stretched out the length of the cockpit. During a long motoring leg, always facing forward and being comfortable means you don't get a sore neck...and at the dock or at anchor it's like having two full length lounge chairs aboard with you all the time. Good luck, look forward to seeing the finished product and your comments after a "test drive". Cheers, F