Console Building

andy d · 21 January 2007, 17:16

I am currently in the process of building a Jockey Seat for a RIB I plan to purchase later this year.

As it would be wasteful and inefficient to make a mould for a purely fiberglass seat, I decided to firstly build a frame from pine and plywood and then sheath it in fiberglass.

So far, I have made the frame and will soon be attaching the plywood cladding.

I am unsure as to the various standards of plywood as even timber merchants seem unable to give me decisive answers. I understand that the recommended material is marine plywood, however the only local supplier of this which I am aware of (Atlantic Timber) only stock it as 22mm thickness which is too large for my purposes. A local builder's yard stock weatherproof plywood in the required thickness of either 3.6mm or 5.5mm however I am not sure if this is the same as marine plywood or whether it would do a comparable job. I also plan to seal the whole seat inside and out after assembling, with G4 sealer, would this be enough of a precaution to warrant using normal plywood.

Any advice on this subject would be much appreciated and if anybody knows of good suppliers in the altrincham area of cheshire, please let me know.

I also plan to have a S/S backrest fabricated and have had a quote of around £100 for a quite simple design from marine fabrications (£10 for materials and 3hrs labour @ £30/hour) if anybody knows of any other good fabricators I would be very grateful (local would be great but is not a necessity) I am also unsure if it needs to be a particular standard of S/S for marine use, if I go with a non-marine fabricator.

What thickness of plywood would you recommend for the back panel to which the backrest will attach?

I plan to make the seat cushion and backrest cushion using a plywood base, vinyl upholstery and closed cell foam filling, if anybody has advice on design or suppliers of upholstery and foam I would be very grateful.

Finally, if anybody knows a good supplier of S/S screws and hinges it would be helpful.

Thanks

Andy

vince · 21 January 2007, 18:05

Hi andy d, i dont know about the ply or upholstry, but for the stainless nuts n`bolts we use Tek Hardware on ebay. Got every conceivable bolt etc, and very good value.
http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Tek-Hardware Hope it helps.

Endeavour · 21 January 2007, 18:23

Are you building a separate console and separate seat unit?

andy d · 21 January 2007, 18:35

thanks vince

I am building the seat and a separate console.

andy

Endeavour · 21 January 2007, 18:59

Side by side seat, or jockey?

Single or Double?

slimtim · 21 January 2007, 19:04

check out my thread:

http://www.rib.net/forum/showthread....hlight=student

its a bit long but in there are all the detail of how I did it. You can use WBP ply which I was told was the same as the marine ply but without continuous veneers, which doesn't matter for a jockey seat. WBP is cheap as chips, perhaps about £10-£15 for an 8'x4' 5.5mm panel.

I used 5.5mm ply with a couple of layers of 300gsm GRP on the outside for non structural bits, but used 9mm ply on the seat sections. I also used 9mm ply for the rear panel where my backrest bolts on + 9mm ply backing plates...perhaps overkill but safe as houses.

I used epoxy to coat the inside as it provides a hard wearing finish. G4 just kind of soaks in I think so not sure how good it will be. Use G4 to coat the surface before applying your GRP layers if using polyester resin.

Hope that helps.

andy d · 21 January 2007, 21:30

Thanks slim tim, is WBP weatherproof plywood that builder's yards would supply.
Your thread looks like it has loads of info so thanks very much I'll read it all so I don't ask you something thats already in there.

It is a two man jockey seat with a single backrest, for one behind the other, with the front most at the helm.

Thanks

Andy

ryabikov_andrew · 21 January 2007, 21:32

Hi! I've already built jockey seat console for my Korsar Komandor. I've applied plywood painting it in black color. It's beautiful material for trial version

If you dont take pleasure in your building then you can take a chance again. Dont give up try again!

Andrew

Aidan · 21 January 2007, 21:49

I am sure that I have seen this stuff cheapr that you can make it.
Its my experience that you are better off buying the finished product, but this could be down to my ships husbandry skills.
Check what you can buy a finished product for first such as this:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Bench-Seat-Joc...ayphotohosting

andy d · 21 January 2007, 22:11

Thanks Aidan

But its a bit late now as I have already built half of it. I think you might be right about cost as mine will cost more like ten times that but I'll have confidence in its strength, having built it myself.

SlimTim, the thread is really helpful, what company did you use for the upholstery and seats, they looked very nice.

Thanks

Andy

AndrewH · 21 January 2007, 22:44

Quote:

Originally Posted by andy d

Finally, if anybody knows a good supplier of S/S screws and hinges it would be helpful.

Check out www.a2a4.co.uk. I've found them to be really helpful - they're always at all the local boat jumbles with a huge range of stock.

Andrew

Downhilldai · 21 January 2007, 23:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by andy d

...... one behind the other, with the front most at the helm......

Well planned.

andy d · 24 January 2007, 21:50

What sort of hinges would you recommend, I plan to hinge it to the side as opposed to forward or backwards.

Also what sort of seal would you recommend around the sides?

Thanks

Andy

Biggles · 24 January 2007, 21:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by AndrewH

Check out www.a2a4.co.uk. I've found them to be really helpful - they're always at all the local boat jumbles with a huge range of stock.

Andrew

Try Screwfix direct for nuts and bolts etc in A4 Stainless steel.

Lawrence · 24 January 2007, 22:37

Probably a bit late for this project but for general reference http://www.robbins.co.uk/marine.htm are the place for all marine woody bits.

slimtim · 24 January 2007, 23:05

andy

in addition to my PM:

Use sea screw for stainless screws and washers. I used nice stainless hinges to the seat lid, and sunk wacking great screws into nice mahogany blocks to make it all nice and strong. Hinges and attachments are always first to go on cheaply made consoles.

I used 12mm (i think) sticky back foam strip for the hatch seal. Its not ideal as it squashes and will probably need replacing in a couple of years but its cheap like the budgie and easy to apply.

Oh, and yeah I got my WBP from Sydenhams (building merchants) on the IOW.

Tim

andy d · 25 January 2007, 17:43

Thanks very much Tim.

The only problem Ican find with Sea Screw is that they only do up to 2" length screws ad ideally I might want longer. However they are very cheap, especially if you buy a decent amount so I think I will be ordering them later tonight. They also have good hinges so I will probably get them from there too.

What sort of fastenings would anybody recommend, a lot of jockeys seem to have velcrow, but some have metal fastening mechanisms.

Thanks

Andy

Downhilldai · 25 January 2007, 21:27

Protex fastenings are nice, but not cheap. Check out their website. They sell direct:

http://www.protex-fasteners.com