In Praise of the Humble Deck Screw

A work in progress. Those decks are looking good! The weather is not ideal.

 As the weather refuses to cooperate I'm forced to do other projects that are not so sun dependent. And this leads me to talk a bit about my boat (Gasp!) and how I'm putting her to rights as a proper pocket yacht and overnight sailboat. I think it's fair to say that for me, I did not get a completed boat. She's sailable but her utility for what I want to do and what she is capable of is limited. And the project I tackled today illustrates this well.
It should be noted the seats themselves are not to plan. As originally envisioned the seats were simply slatted platforms 6 3/4" off the floor. Not the full "watertight", they are most decidedly not, lockers that allow you to sit with your thighs level and your feet flat on the floor. She's much more comfortable then stock I would say. The first time I stepped aboard what would become my boat in the parking lot of the Beaver, Utah Flying J was "Step on the sides of the seats, the centers are weak." This I dutifully did, have been doing, and admonish others to do as well. But why? The seats themselves are, if I don't miss my guess, some remnants of the 1/4" Okume that was used throughout the vessel where 1/4" plywood was called for. They are a bit bowed and checked but nothing in that department a bit of refinishing won't fix. But they are flexible. Not worryingly so but you know for sure when you've accidentally put your weight in the center of the seat. And these seats have been in the boat for her whole decade of existence.
 I'm 215lbs on a good day. And the image of me getting distracted by something and stepping through my seat as I board from the pier is not something that should bear thinking about. So I figured I should fix this. There is so much about small boat work that you won't find in a book. We are a generally independent lot. Backyard engineering at it's finest really. So with a couple of  1x2's, deck screws, two new clamps and assorted power tools I set about righting my seats.

This is the first one. There were many more holes in this one then the second.

  The engineering was notably simple. My first thought of doing two parallel strips up the middle wasn't going to work. The original "hinges" that held the seat top in wasn't going to allow for it. So i settled on a single strip inboard for longitudinal strength  and three stringers to take the load in the center. I started the process by carefully measuring and by the end of the project my Mk.I eyeball was doing most of the work. I was able to tell when things were centered, about how to make things look even and how to customize each for what was needed. The starboard side seat for instance has more bow in the center then the port seat and the pattern of attachment reflects this.
 Most of my wood work anymore is done with deck screws. You know the kind that must come with it's own unique driver bit to ensure you'll never have it when you need it. I can't wait to see someone attempt to take a boat I've worked on apart. There will be hardware store trips in their future for sure as they track down the bit for each section I worked on. But most are exterior screws, have an aggressive pitch to them and do a really good job of holding wood to wood. Combined with Titebond II my modifications are pretty permanent.
 The first seat took longer then the second. Primarily because I was engineering on the fly and was still sighting in my Harbor Freight screwgun. But once the preliminary engineering was done the second seat went much faster and I only have one extra hole in the seat top. 

Not bad. Not bad at all.

 Putting the seats back in really showed me how necessary this improvement was. The seat tops now feel solid and are much more even. They close well and as I was tarping the boat once more in fear of a late afternoon shower I stood dead center on the starboard locker. Nothing moved and I forgot all about where I needed to step. Got the job done and cleaned up. That is what seats should be. And now mine are.