bridge arm chairs

bob lico · Post by **bob lico** » Aug 17th, '19, 13:14

phoenix bridge chairs progress slowly after a zillion coats of varnish and molding arm supports as well as custom foam.

bob lico · Post by **bob lico** » Aug 17th, '19, 13:15

bob lico · Post by **bob lico** » Aug 17th, '19, 13:18

bob lico · Post by **bob lico** » Aug 17th, '19, 13:19

please hylite photo for full image

bob lico · Post by **bob lico** » Aug 17th, '19, 13:22

it all started with the individual pieces

Tony Meola · Post by **Tony Meola** » Aug 17th, '19, 22:54

Bob

Are you going to cover the foam your self?

bob lico · Post by **bob lico** » Aug 18th, '19, 07:56

no i feel this is over my pay grade i want fancy welting ,i will give to a pro.tony it was harder to get that damm leather over the top of the seats in my corvette than changing engines!!!! these seats will be covered in leather so i am not going thru that again.

bob lico · Post by **bob lico** » Sep 7th, '19, 14:49

i have viewed every possible bridge chair/chairs combination for a 31' Bertram and making a list of necessities like must be two seats,as in aircraft,sport fishing boat.pilot co-pilot needed to observe water,gauges,sonar,gps,auto-pilot heading,correction and must of all to spot crab traps,lobster pots,FLOATING OBJECTS. you need two seats. next i want sit down helm seats with alot of cushioning,side protection from sliding side to side in rough water.i must be able to have a view of Bertram chock and 1' in front of boat.and last but not lease NO petastals because the space under seat on a 31' Bertram bridge is vital but does not apply to 35' Bertram and above. you must have room to stand in front of captains helm chair and turn around and look backwards to back into boat slip with your hand at side in natural position and land directly on single lever controls.so with this being said and to comply with this list of demands here we go:

bob lico · Post by **bob lico** » Sep 7th, '19, 15:00

we have a two bend pipe platform made of coosa board platform attached to the two preformed u-bent pipes with floor flanges mounted as far back as possible on bridge to shift weight of two people (350 lbs.) directly over main bulkhead for boat attack angle and servere impack going over huge waves also provides space in front of pod to turn around and face backward basicly like driving a sports car with steering wheel at your prefered angle .we place a shock absorber under the new helm chairs to absorbed inpact from going over big waves and maintaining speed.

bob lico · Post by **bob lico** » Sep 7th, '19, 15:05

note the space between chair and pod to turn around or co-pilot to get pass you . exactly like driving sport car.

bob lico · Post by **bob lico** » Sep 7th, '19, 15:06

please hylite each photo to get full page photo.

bob lico · Post by **bob lico** » Sep 7th, '19, 15:09

finished job and exception confort ,back of chairs have built in spring in vertical teak of ladderback by way of datto teak with alluminum band inside to give spring to the room on your back for extra confort.

bob lico · Post by **bob lico** » Sep 7th, '19, 15:33

try my ever best to add personal touch to every aspect of this project like no "flaps" on cushions that would obscure the beautiful grain on the teak ladderback ,so i made a 1/4" pvc. board and stainless hangers attach to inside of ladderback to hang seat back on in addition allows for quick removal during winter storage.no visable screw,nuts in ladderback i used threaded inserts, stainless hanger bolts to attach side teak pieces so no bungs show.keep in mind no lollypops or greasey hands on bridge this is offwhite leather.with french seams .

Tony Meola · Post by **Tony Meola** » Sep 7th, '19, 22:55

Nice work.

One thing i am not clear on, if the distance between you sitting down and the pod is enough space for a person to get past you, would you not be too far away from the pod to be comfortable running the boat?

PeterPalmieri · Post by **PeterPalmieri** » Sep 8th, '19, 06:45

Very nice

bob lico · Post by **bob lico** » Sep 8th, '19, 08:05

tony it would be exactly the distance you are away from your steering wheel in your car.wheel is at a angle like the tilt sreering in your car.as i mention in previous post i started with only a pod on bridge the use milk crates and 2 x 6" planks until i was in a coftable driving position as well as my son he stands 5' 8" now if your 4' 2" or 6' 7" this set is not going to work for you just like a car.

Yannis · Post by **Yannis** » Sep 8th, '19, 13:16

Bob,

Why didn't you use the standard sliding mechanism that would allow for various distances between helm and captain?
Let alone that the same captain may need more or less leg room, depending on the occasion.
Thanks.

bob lico · Post by **bob lico** » Sep 8th, '19, 14:27

sliding mechanism one system and shock absorber system another suspension system you cannot both because slider is one track inside another and shock absorber use one track independent of the other. seat is preset for me or son 5'8" at 73 yo it is highly unlikely i will get any taller nor my 50 year old son.perfect as is .

Tony Meola · Post by **Tony Meola** » Sep 9th, '19, 00:14

Bob

With that thick foam, 6 I inches I guess, you probably don't need the shock absorber system.

Carl · Post by **Carl** » Sep 9th, '19, 06:08

As always...real nice job Bob.

Love the stitching...

White leather...I give white a day or two with me before the pattern changes.
Yes, White I know, no pattern...but Carl will starts his own.

Mark · Post by **Mark** » Sep 10th, '19, 13:01

Bob,

Exquisite!! Love the no-piping on the cushions. Double stitched. Very nice along with all the other features. Noticed you didn't mention anything about fish blood not being allowed on the bridge. And by chance you or your children ever decide to give up fishing on the Phoenix, I meet the 5'8" size requirement. LOL. Although I seem to be shrinking as I get older.

Mark

CamB25 · Post by **CamB25** » Sep 10th, '19, 13:14

Very nice, Bob! I like the seams that break up the seat and back panels. I may "borrow" that idea! Is the back cushion flat? It looks like it has bolsters, but that may be the seams playing with my eye.

PeterPalmieri · Post by **PeterPalmieri** » Sep 10th, '19, 13:55

bob lico wrote:sliding mechanism one system and shock absorber system another suspension system you cannot both because slider is one track inside another and shock absorber use one track independent of the other. seat is preset for me or son 5'8" at 73 yo it is highly unlikely i will get any taller nor my 50 year old son.perfect as is .

Bob, Maybe when you did your seat suspension you were limited but I have the Garelick active seat suspension system and it also includes a slide system, 6" end to end. I set the center seat all the way forward and the passenger seat further back to give them more leg room.

LOW PROFILE SEAT SLIDE
MODEL #75081 or 75091

ACTIVE SEAT SUSPENSION SYSTEM
MODEL #77000 or 77300

bob lico · Post by **bob lico** » Sep 10th, '19, 16:55

honest peter i am perfecly coftable the seat is exactly were i want it.funny thing now that i think of it. my wife has a BMW X-5 and those seats can move every possible way along with back lumbar of seat seriously ridiculous and you know what, she adjusted first day car arrived and never touch the 12 differant controls again.same for this boat nobody other than my son will ever pilot this boat for at least 50 years the way it is set up in estate.i will photo my son standing up facing backward as you would docking the boat or more important fighting bluefin tuna or mako shark keeping the prey off the quarter for wireman,gaff man.looking down from bridge with single lever controls you can judge distance off the hawes pipe courner rub rail within one inch,no kidding don`t forget you have enourmous rudders set to zero.you can back up looking straight back at ten knots and put the boat between the forward pilings within 1".scare the sh-t out of the bayliner people on the dock than hit both engines in forward 1' from dock.lets say the slip you are pulling into is north/south and strong east or west wind . you led boat into the wind and now the wind takes the stern a little you coming back at 8 knots or more with a definite crash at the piling about two feet into transom and two feet before you hit you slam opposite engine into forward. keeping in mind you have Vulcan drives with zero slip when it goes in gear it is instant and almost 1600 pounds of torque the boat litteraly jumps two feet over centering boat in slip -----yea the people are running as the large pillar you put out on the transom gently nooges against the dock and the women never touch a line . 31Bertram nothing to worry about as you step on dock.

bob lico · Post by **bob lico** » Sep 10th, '19, 20:34

this is a photo of foam lay up and shaping ,back pad has wrap around foam like ZO-6 corvette seating to keep you from sliding left and right.i hope i answer your question CAM

Yannis · Post by **Yannis** » Sep 11th, '19, 01:13

One thing I have no idea about is how real leather behaves in salt water.

Does it absorb it?
Do you need to rinse it or wipe it with a damp cloth after every trip?
Do you need to always cover it after you leave the boat? Do you need to apply wax or equivalent, every so often?
How long is it expected to last?
Ooof, a lot of questions really!

Carl · Post by **Carl** » Sep 11th, '19, 05:49

bob lico wrote:.

straight back at ten knots and put the boat between the forward pilings within 1".scare the sh-t out of the bayliner people on the dock than hit both engines in forward 1' from dock.

you coming back at 8 knots or more with a definite crash at the piling about two feet into transom and two feet before you hit you slam opposite engine into forward.

keeping in mind you have Vulcan drives with zero slip when it goes in gear it is instant and almost 1600 pounds of torque the boat litteraly jumps two feet over centering boat in slip ----

the transom gently nooges against the dock and the women never touch a line

How can the ladies touch a line, they' ve been tossed around like frogs in a blender on pulse.

Sorry Bob...Mike made me say that.

Mike...you know what they say about payback....you remember that helpful hair dryer in the rain tip.

bob lico · Post by **bob lico** » Sep 11th, '19, 07:16

as long as they are sitting down no problem .i don`t want them to try to fend off the pilings like the searays coming in to dock and the captain must always be aware if you are in a situation with a man standing on the coaming boards putting out out riggers you cannot manever so just keep the boat in straight line on one engine some times we are in a situation were we have to follow the anchor in order to retrive in wreck area so i have to be real careful with my son kneeing on the bow. this is when i would love to have your engines. too much of something like HP can work against you at times especially coming into a marina ,you have to come in on one engine but MUST used both engine when you approaching docking area.-------not good!

Carl · Post by **Carl** » Sep 11th, '19, 10:57

Bob, if you want to get serious about it and all...

Yes, I fully I understood what you meant about coming in with authority in full control of the boat. I also figured people know enough to be firmly seated and not moving about during docking...if not they are told to plant it now.

Nothing worse then coming into a slip with people hanging off the sides ready to jump...or flailing arms around for lines like a nest full of baby birds squawking for mommas' regurgitation.
Then of course the line backer who feels the need to block the pole or push the boat, depending on what side they are on, shoving with all their might...

Although unless a heavy wind or current, I am a firm believer in slow but steady. Also if not going good...abort and lets give it another go.

Another little trick you might like...on the 92 sportfish with turbines I got to play with...the turbines were kickers and hooked up to jet drives...but the diesels were mostly conventional straight shaft design. Mostly...To utilize the diesels when turbines kicked in, the props pitch could be tweaked, like on a plane or helicopter. All that needed to be done was put a little hole down the middle of the shafts to the props mechanism. That way they could increase the wheels pitch on the go to match the jets thrust. Maybe you can figure a way to reduce the pitch in tight quarters. A low gear would be better...

bob lico · Post by **bob lico** » Sep 11th, '19, 11:38

two speed ZF gears

but they are very high physically and would not fit in confined under cockpit . i took measurements and not even close.some years back Cabo made a 31or 32' with catapillars 350 hp and used this ZF two speed transmission . costly for a 31' so they use the 35' as minimum.

PeterPalmieri · Post by **PeterPalmieri** » Sep 11th, '19, 12:11

Did I mention I made a piloting error over the summer that ended with me breaking the starboard window, just missed breaking the curved window. Coming in with authority wasn't an option as the slip was 13' wide at the pilings and the pilings were maybe 20' off the dock. Boats on either side were over 35' long and I had 30+ knot wind hitting me at 10 o'clock off the bow. So I was backing down a narrow alley. I decided to go in slow and a gust caught me and spun me to starboard enough that I caught the other boats rub rail at my windows, it happened slow I thought the wind didn't allow the boat to spin off when I reversed the port motor, the motor instead actually stalled. I've become very confident in my abilities to spin this boat in it's length in the tightest of quarters but I'd be lying if I didn't admit my confidence was shaken a bit. My mistake was I only had my 10 year old son on the boat, if I had a couple of adults we could have just walked the boat down between the others.

For me I think in tight quarters I could use the additional torque to have better control

bob lico · Post by **bob lico** » Sep 11th, '19, 15:51

oh yea for sure case in point i pull into Sailors Haven years ago with full boat the entire family with grand children. 10 people depending on you, damm this docking is going to be heroic. at very end of north side is the only slip and two boats at a right angle making the 11' slip unusable well now i go around the 40' boats bow pulpit and start backing in.my son says dad the slip is less than the boat midships. "i know son" we are going to stetch the pilings by 6" so i go in and cut the engines and the boat push both pilings aside until the midships past and without diesels and those props i would never be able to pull out. i think the man above put his hand on my shoulder and said for your family!!!

Carl · Post by **Carl** » Sep 11th, '19, 16:58

bob lico wrote: "i know son" we are going to stetch the pilings by 6" so i go in and cut the engines and the boat push both pilings aside until the midships past and without diesels and those props i would never be able to pull out.

LOL...must be a Fire Island thing.

My buddy and his wife decide to go to Watch Hill with us. I pull up to the Dock Master, request two slip together on A Dock. Not much available but think we got something...I pull into mine, tie up. He's backing into his as I get to chatten with the crowd...hear a bit of a squeak, his boat stops about halfway. He yells...it won't go. So being a good bud I am, I tell him to give it more gas...

and more gas he gives it, then some more. Squeak squeak squeak the poles spread out, he goes back, the sprung back in holding his bow snug as a bug in a rug.

As he's tying up I ask him what his beam is...

Oh, it's 11'...huh...when Dock Master comes by, just tell him your 9'6".

HydroRacer · Post by **HydroRacer** » Sep 13th, '19, 08:03

Yannis - Genuine leather in an outdoor marine application is probably the worst thing you can use as a covering . Leather has a great oil content due to its tanning process ( that's why high grade leather have a soft supple feel ). In a high temp and high sunlight environment that oil content will shortly flash off ( within months ) . You can take a piece of leather and shrink it up to 30 % with a heat gun or just leave it out in the baking sun . That's why auto manufactures do not cover their dashes in leather . Besides shrinking and looking distorted the leather will feel hard as a rock. Have you ever felt the leather on a black seat that has been sitting in the sun year after year ? There is also a mold consideration when the leather gets wet , again not good for a marine application.
I see that the original poster " bob " had recently stated "new blue leatherette interior no more vinyl. " -in another post about some cabin cushions that he had recovered .

Definition : "Leatherette is a synthetic material made from vinyl or some type of plastic. You may also hear leatherette referred to as faux leather, fake leather, synthetic leather or pleather. While leatherette contains no animal by-products, it's made specifically to mimic the look and feel of real leather. "

Let's hope bob has made a grammatical error and has vinyl bridge seating . My company works with some of the best architectural upholsterers in the country and we have extensive experience in this field . Hope this has been of some help !

Yannis · Post by **Yannis** » Sep 13th, '19, 10:35

It has certainly been, thank you.

It is just because the word “leather” had been used by Bob, instead of leatherette or plastic leather, that I wanted to make sure what’s what.

By the way, soft or hard, cracked or not, the feel and smell of real leather as in those old british cars....jaguars, hillmans, triumphs...it still lingers in my nostrils!

bob lico · Post by **bob lico** » Sep 13th, '19, 10:43

Obviously marine leather both in cabin and on bridge feels and looks exactly like leather. marine leather done by Dormar Canvass long island ,NY. TOM is the best of the best on Long Island for custom work ,bridge canvass is Stamoid a fantastic looking soft material from the Swiss installed with no snaps uses nylon slides instead. incidently my antique corvettes have real leather seats i did the seats on the 1971 myself ,turn out to be more work then installing engine!!!!

HydroRacer · Post by **HydroRacer** » Sep 13th, '19, 11:13

bob , so what you are saying is that you have vinyl in the cabin and on your bridge seating . You give the impression that you have genuine leather , hence the great question posted by Yannis . Just want to clarify that point so nobody in the future will look @ your post and have the impression that it is ok to use genuine leather in an outdoor marine application. That can save someone a ton of money and aggravation by using the wrong covering material . There is no shame in saying vinyl bob.

Yannis · Post by **Yannis** » Sep 13th, '19, 11:29

This common vinyl is what everybody puts in outside cushions, deck, chairs etc.
They are preferred because they are waterproof, you can sit on them in a wet swim suit, but they are slippery and if it’s hot then you transpire.
It usually lasts a few years, however the problem area is the stitching, which is salt-burned. No matter how well you rinse them those seams still hold that little salt that eventually ruins them.
Then, as the usually white or cream color has grown yellowish and some old stains on it cannot be removed anymore, you feel it’s time to replace them...and they are costly d@mn it!

HydroRacer · Post by **HydroRacer** » Sep 13th, '19, 11:41

Yannis - Yes you are correct . There are marine correct threads such as Aqualon ( UV resistant ) . Most workshops will use a regular nylon thread which will break down in a time frame you had mentioned . We require our workshops to utilize Aqualon ( for commercial interior architectural projects , which is overkill ) and for our "picky " clients we have utilized thread from ParaGear , which is a parachute manufacturer based in Illinois. We never had a problem with stitching failing on any of our projects . Well worth the extra cost and our clients love it.

bob lico · Post by **bob lico** » Sep 13th, '19, 12:33

the product for the helm chairs is called ultra leather actually a PVC leather is real nice.

Mark · Post by **Mark** » Sep 13th, '19, 12:47

Even with using the best synthetic fabrics, the sun and the salt air will take its toll. Bob probably already did this but it might be a good idea to have a cover made that slides over the seat and either a strap under or snaps on bottom of the seat frame for when not in use. Much easier to redo the cover every so many years that redo the wood finish and the seat cushions.

Mark

bob lico · Post by **bob lico** » Sep 13th, '19, 14:36

good idea mark i will follow thru with helm chair covers. B.T.W. i have been covering the steering pod for 16 years with a cover and the oringinal awlgrip brand albrite i did with 20 coats has held up ,i would not dream of doing that pod over while it was in the boat.

HydroRacer · Post by **HydroRacer** » Sep 13th, '19, 16:39

bob - The only thing we use Ultra Leather or Ultra Suede is for aircraft headliners and side panels . What you are getting is a covering that feels like leather because it is very thin and has the same " hand " as leather . The Ultra Leather is about .95 mm thick which is not ideal for seating .It is all finish and no substantial backing. The application for aircraft is weight first . You are seeing a lot of Ultra Suede , Alcantara , Nova Suede in Exotic cars ( McLaren, Ferrari ect...) or that reason alone . Did you ever try to pick up 6 hides of leather ( average square footage for a car ) ? Weight to horsepower ratio ---
With all of the movement on a fly bridge seating and the harsh environment i would not recommend UltraLeather to a client for that application. Have your upholsterer keep the patterns to the side for you . Covers are a great idea . Also , be careful what you use to clean it...

bob lico · Post by **bob lico** » Sep 14th, '19, 08:00

i agree with your view on leather,the leather in the old corvettes were a thicker than present day cars but very hard to tell any bad qualities because the corvettes are garaged and sit on a wool rug with padding because corvette are notorious for absorbing moisture in brake calibers . the most obvious is normal the " leather option "for todays cars and i am pretty sure they are not leather at all i know BMW calls it BMW tex because they don`t want call backs on cracking,worn leather if you want real leather for BMW you must buy all options than they give you full hide (really thick like old motorcycle jacket) cost $25,000 for that optional interior in X-5 sports activity SUV. along with back seat tv and other useless bells and whistles. i am not sure what the wear factor will be on helm chairs however bottom seating is 6" of quality foam and back is 4" of foam but as you mention material is thin like womens kidskin gloves .

HydroRacer · Post by **HydroRacer** » Sep 14th, '19, 08:44

correct bob , they developed UltraLeather for a smooth supple "hand" to duplicate the feel of calf skin ( which is also very thin ) . Calf skin and Cabretta are very soft but are very thin and have a very fibrous structure , they are not structural and stretch very easily and are lightly finished . This excessive stretching will cause the protective and decorative finish to stretch and fracture ( crocking ).There is a very high end furniture manufacturer "J Robert Scott" that loves to use calf skin on their products and they feel initially great but fail within a very short time frame . The leather is also difficult to refinish because it affects that " hand ". Leather is like wood and if you look through a jewelers loupe it is amazing how porous the leather is . Thicker is always better and the better leathers are denser ( always buy "top grain" leather ) . Thats why old leather auto interiors feel different than todays interiors . A good Connolly leather ( which was original for Rolls Royce, Jaguar , Ferrari ect.. ) will last a long time when properly conditioned ( with Connolly Food conditioner ) . The flip side with todays production cars is a very heavily finished leather ( for stain, body oil resistance ) that does not feel like leather at all because of that excessive finish. Then you have some manufactures that will use UltraLeather on seating for the good " hand" but at the cost of the thickness and longevity of the covering. That is why we never use it for seating ( unless the client signs off on that understanding ) .
So what have we learned ; Thicker is always better , and good " hand " is important ( but not at the cost of longevity ) - and that applies to leather also lol-

bob lico · Post by **bob lico** » Sep 14th, '19, 09:07

good informative post

Tony Meola · Post by **Tony Meola** » Sep 14th, '19, 23:47

Hydtoracer

Great information. I see you are a new member, I hope you stay around, i bet we can learn some new tricks from you.

HydroRacer · Post by **HydroRacer** » Sep 15th, '19, 09:43

Thank You Tony , I have been following the board for a while and i'm glad to be aboard ! I'll try to be of help whenever i can .