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I'm in the process of making a set of console rod holders from the plans drawn by Joe Kriz and downloaded from the parts drawings.

There are two sets of teak pieces I'll call spacers 12" long, one set, with three rod holders, for each cushion . The top spacer is about 1 5/8" high by 1 5/8" wide. The bottom spacer is about 1 1/2" by 1" wide.

The top view (of I assume both spacers) shows a 1" radius cut out where the rod holders must nest and I assume that the radius is cut out on both the top and bottom spacers? Is that correct? Does the end view show the slanting depth of the radius or does the end view show a teak piece that tapers from top to bottom with the radius then cut out of the slant?

Does anyone know if that is correct before I start cutting holes? Thanks.

Jack

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Jack -

Both pieces get the radius cuts.

The side view shows a teak piece that tapers from top to bottom with the radius then cut out of the slant

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Jack-

Here is how I understand the drawing:

The spacers, as you named them, are square in cross section. The 1 inch radius cut out is cut at an angle into the spacers. On the top spacer it starts at a depth of 1/4" on the top of the spacer, and ends at a depth of 3/8" on the bottom side of the spacer. On the bottom spacer, it starts at the edge of the spacer, on the top, and exits the bottom at a depth of 1/8". This angle, with the differring thickness of the top and bottom spacers, means that the rod holders are at a more up-right angle than the face of the console, to which they are bolted. I assume this was done to permit the rods to clear the top railing over the windshield.

I cut these with a forstner bit on a drill press, setting up the spacers on the drill press table to be held at the proper angle to make these cuts. The spacer has to be clamped to the drill table and a fence, or it will want to move sideways as the drill bit descends. There is more force than you can counter-act by just holding the workpiece against the fence. I cleaned them up with a sanding drum. I felt the 1" radius was too small for the 1.5" PVC, and ended up doing them with a 1 and 1/4 inch bit and sanding drum.

Paul

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Phil,

Thanks and it's a good thing because that's what I did to the teak last fall (tapered them). I didn't want to finish the pieces until I had a chance to get to the boat and check the fit and you know how that went this winter. I couldn't get near it!

Thanks again; I'm still going in the water this weekend seat backs or not.

Jack

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Oops, now what?

Well, I guess it doesn't make any difference as long as the rod holders slant away from the top of the console. I'll make them fit.

Jack

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The top blocks remain square at 1 5/8 inches.
Only the recess for the rod holders are tapered.

The bottom blocks are 1 1/2 x 1 inch thick and they are NOT tapered either.
Again, only the recess for the rod holders are tapered.

These tapers are roughly 4 degrees and are roughly the depth shown in the drawing.

Hope this helps.

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Jack -

Joe's comments are important, not because he is an expert, which he is, but if you want to add rod cushions in the future, the angle of the rod holders is important so the cushions sit "right" and are comfortable. I had these cushions on my Montauk and riders really liked sitting up there.

I hope I am making sense.

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I'm just looking at the console rod holder drawing for the first time and notice one omission.

The teak stock to which the rod tubes mount is not rectangular in cross section (flat on its face), it is convex on its outer surface.

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CBO-

A related question about the cushions, if I may:

I made rod holders and ordered cushions (my Montauk did not have them originally). When the cushions came, they were a little bit wedge-shaped from top to bottom, when viewed from the side. In other words, either the top or bottom of the cushion is a little thicker than the other. My question is, what is the top, and what is the bottom?

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I don't remember.

I would guess it would go what ever way is more comfortable. Guessing thin part on top.
:o

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Paul,
The cushions can go either way, whichever is more comfortable.
I have the thin part on top so my spinning reel handles do not hit the cushions.

Tom,
I'm not sure what you mean.
The drawings show the teak pieces as rectangular which they should be.
The top blocks are 1 5/8 inches square.
The bottom blocks are 1 1/2 x 1 inch.
There are no angles in the blocks and they should all be 90º edges.
The only thing that is angled is the slots for the rod tubes.
Some of the hidden lines (dashes) that show the holes and angles of the rod tube slots may not show up properly in the drawing.

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I'm in the process of purchasing all the components to fabricate the rod holders. I already purchased the teak (quite expensive) and back rest. I've hit a wall in trying to find the 1 1/2" 200PSI PVC. Can anyone help me find a vendor.

Also, how would sch 40 PVC work out? It would be difficult if not impossible to flare the top, but absent that, it would still be functional and neat in appearance.

Comments please.

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Joe,

I disagree. The factory Whaler Console Rod holders had teak pieces are were not flat on their faces, the egdes are are rounded over to create a convex surface both along the long edges and the ends. This gives it a more finished appearance. I have a set of these on my 1988 Montauk. I'll see if I can get a photo up.

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Tom,

I see. You are talking about the edges and using a router to make say a 1/4 inch radius.
Is that correct?

I have seen them both ways.
I purchased a brand new set from Whaler in 1989 and they have about an 1/8 radius on all edges except the back edges that mount on the console.
I left the radius out in my drawings and left that up to the individual. They are not necessary and you never see them if you have cushions.

Unless of course you are Tom and myself (along with some of you other picky people) that stick your head upside down and backwards to see if a piece of wood has a radius on it.... :D

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No, it is not as simple as a round-over bit edge treatment. Here is a photo of mine:

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Paulsv,

I'm sure that you can mount the back cushions either way but I think the most comfortable way is with the thin edge at the top; that makes the back slope up and back from the seat. Look at the chairs in your home and you will see that most of them have the up and back slope from the seat.

If you mount the thick side at the top you will wind up sitting forward with no support for your lower back.

I just finished my project and I tried them both ways and finished with the thin edge at the top. Photos are on my personal page.

Jack

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Philip, (cooperphilip)

Where are you located? I found my pipe at Eliminator Sales in Lee, NH.

http://www.eliminatorsystems.comystems.com

If you are close to NH I will sell you some of the 20 foot piece I had to buy from them! I know I need one more piece to correct a problem with one of mine but I probably have plenty. I'll have to look it up but will sell it to you for what I paid for it. Or I'll swap it for something I might need that you might have?

Jack

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cooperphilip,

This PVC is water pipe.
Not familiar with other parts of the country but try Home Depot, Lowe's, etc., if you have something similar around. Or an irrigation or sprinkler company.

Schedule 40 would work except the inside of the pipe would be smaller in diameter as the thickness of the wall is thicker than 200 psi pipe. Depends on whether or not your rods would fit.
It isn't that much but you never know. I have never tried to flare sch40 either....

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I was able to find the 1 1/2" PVC 200PSI from a local supplier...so I'm on my way to finalizing the project. I'd like to thank CaptJ for his offer to provide the pipe if I was unable to locate some.

In the process of assembling the components, I've run into a problem. The flaps on the cushion (purchased from Specialty) appear to be quite short (1 1/2") and the only way it can snap onto the teak is to place the female snap at the extreme forward edge of the teak. Even then, when the cushion is attached, it is a extremely taut and I am fearful that the vinyl will tear. Perhaps that's the way it should be based on Tom Clark's photo of the top block(posted on 6/12/08). His photo displays the female snap at the extreme forward edge of the block. I'd like to see another photo (same angle) with the cushion attached to the teak.

Would welcome responses.

Phil

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Phil-

I don't have a photo, but my snaps are look like they are ending up at about the middle of the teak piece. I thnk my cut-outs for the PVC might have been a little deeper than what is shown on the drawings, once I got done sanding them. I'll see if I can get a photo this weekend, when I am done installing them.

Paul

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Paul, I appreciate your response. It would be great if you are able to post a picture.

How far does the flaps on your cushion extend? As I said, the flaps on the set I purchased from Specialty exend only 1 1/2 inches.

Thanks,

Phil

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I found an okay photo of my rod holders prior to installing the new Halls cushions. I think I see that bevel Tom refers to.

See attached

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As you can see in the above photo, the snap is in the center of the piece.

In the photo below, you can see the "flap" is quite wide. I recall Lois at Halls asking if I had rod holders since she made two versions. Wide or narrow flap.

I did not have to move the snap for the installation.

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Perhaps most original equiment cushions would snap correctly if the snaps were placed in the middle of the cross piece and if the dimensions of the cross pieces were exactly correct.

In my case, I was using cushions from Specialty Marine and a set of teak cross pieces that I made myself. I misread Joe's drawing and slanted the face of the teak downward and then compensated by adjusting the angle of the radii slightly. Frankly slanting the face of the teak didn't make much difference except that they are not exact replicas. Of course I made them by Gorilla gluing two thiner pieces together to get the correct thickness because I had the thin teak laying around.

Consequently, I waited until I had the rod holders completely installed to place the male snaps on the teak. It's a good thing that I did because the female snaps on the Specialty Marine cushions were not placed exactly. In fact, they were 9 1/4" apart instead of the 9 1/8" as the drawing calls for. I knew that in advance and drilled the holes to match the placement of the snaps. I guess that means that I could be in trouble down the road if I have to replace the cushions but... a photo on my personal page shows the varied placement of the snaps.

Moral is if you don't buy your cushions from Halls watch out for the placement of the snaps.

I'm not sure why Tom's snap (in the picture) is so far forward. Perhaps even the original equipment cushions had some play in the placement of the snaps?

Jack

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Paul,

If you could post a picture that would be great. By the way, the flaps on my cushions (purchased from Specialty Marine) extend out to 1 1/2 inches. Is that basically the same as yours?

Thanks for your help!


Phil

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Jack, Thanks for the info. You've been really helpful.

Instalation of cushions (with extended flaps) in conjunction with rod holders makes for a much more aestestic appearance in that the flaps actually reach up to the console and the teak blocks are hidden from a side view. I already purchased the cushions from Specialty; but will inquire if they stock extended flaps.

Again thanks for your help!!!

Phil

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Phil,

Glad I could contribute something. We finally had a short break in the weather and my wife had a chance to ride on the new seat with the seat backs and she says they are very comfortable.

I forgot to mention that I replaced two wood (mahogany I think) cooler holders with the black plastic ones because the wood made the cooler too high for the seat backs. Fortunately the boat came with both the wood and plastic holders because when I measured for the seat backs I found the cooler seat was too high to allow the seat backs to fit above them. Assuming that the top teak blocks were mounted flush with the bottom of the windshield.

I also mounted the black plastic cooler holder a little further forward to make the seat more comfortable (more cushion to sit on). CBO's photo shows about how my seat is placed.

Anyway it works. By the way, if people still need the 200 psi pvc the company that I bought it from in NH has 20 feet for about $12.00. Pretty cheap.

Good luck with your project.

Jack

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cooperphilip,

The flaps on my cushions and all the cushions I have seen are 3 inches.
1 1/2 inches is not nearly enough for the flap to reach the teak blocks.

I am sure that the snap placement varies from cushion to cushion slightly.
They should be around 9 1/8 inches but could vary 1/8 of an inch one way or the other.
There is enough room on the teak blocks to allow for slight variation.

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Sorry, I had a camera malfunction, so I don't have a picture yet. The flaps on my Specialty Marine cushions are about 3 inches, and the snaps fall at about the center of the teak spacer, without having to pull hard. I had a problem with the snaps themselves. A few of them wouldn't close to start with, and several others were so tight that the first time I unsnapped them the female part of the snap separated and fell off the cushion. I replaced them all with Tenax fasteners. A little pricey, but boy do they work nice!

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Paul, Joe,

You provided the answer to my problem regarding the flaps. I contacted Specialty and their supplier inadvertently shipped the cushions with 1 1/2" flaps. They will remedy the situation.

I will post a picture of the project once it's completed.

Hey, thanks a lot for your help!!!

Phil