THE HAKA BENCH SEAT - AN ALTERNATIVE TO TRAMPS

Here's the flip side.

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The Wind Is Your Friend...

Nohuhu, I bet you could loose the cross pieces of wood and let the PVC do the job of spacing. Damn skippy you used PVC!!! I have a special chair that I want to show you that has some features you might want to incorporate into your design before you finalize it.

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2011 TI

Possibly one of these? >>>

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The Wind Is Your Friend...

Thanks for the measurements. 2.5"x3/4"x72" is 3x1x6 for those that go shopping for the lumber.
Sadly, pressure treated pine will need water seal over time. Too bad teak is so expensive.

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Correct. I might be inclined to try one more 1x3 slat. Or go with three 1x4s.

That would add strength and be a little friendlier for pasengers/ larger rumps. But I prefer keeping the weight down on these, to allow more speed.

The trick would be sizing them so that you could still get 2 on one side, should you want to use them that way.

These were originally cut a couple years ago and thompsons waterseal did a good job of preserving them, till they were neglected for awhile.

Anyone thinking about this, don't hesitate going with wood. Spar varnish (spray or brush) should keep them perfect for years. I believe varithane with crack and yellow in the elements.

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The Wind Is Your Friend...

There are other approaches too.

You might use aluminum beams, strung with lawn chair webbing, which happens to come in cool colors and patterns.

Or do them as mini tramps, much like Kayaking Bob did with his nicely rigged "Marlin Stretchers". (Can't find the picts)

The bench style seems best for sitting high and hiking out in comfort. Add a nice thick flotation pillow and it's even better.

Here's a couple more views from the water.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9jOnX1PeTM&feature=player_detailpage[/youtube]

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The Wind Is Your Friend...

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Hobie Island Sailing since 2006

Apparently, TREX is the way to go.


http://www.homedepot.trex.com/inspire/colors/trex-colors/index.htm

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Stick with wood or aluminum. Trex has little to no structural strength. On a deck this is OK as the joists below are spaced close enough to support weight. It would be a mess for this application.

Too flexible huh? Will have to go play with some. Could build it on aluminum rails.

They appear to come in 1x6" profiles (smallest). That's a problem.

And I would guess it's heavier than wood, but don't have those specs.

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Have to dig in the trex website and they still don't give specifics just say 50% to 75% heavier than wood. They also say as you already know it is non-structural. As an added advisory they say do not rip the boards to change thickness only width.
Playing with it in the store it is very flexible and you can feel the weight.

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Sounds like you could use the matching TREX railing pieces or aluminum to build a subframe.

Or even lay them out this way:


Lots of exposed edges that way though.

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Maybe the treated pine is the best material for the job. It is certainly durable. I recently dug some treated pine fence posts out of the (frequently wet) ground, that had been there for 30 years. They looked as good as new. The main reasons for painting or varnishing the hakas would be to prevent them drying out and cracking if left in the sun for long periods and to avoid parking your ass on a bed of arsenic.

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Not sure if pressure treated is still arsenic. Southern Pine yellow label isn't. Would have to get the individual manufacture's MSD to see what the chemicals are.

Plain white pine may do the trick if the end grain is sealed with epoxy and the other surfaces are water sealed or epoxy the whole thing at the expense of weight.
That way you have a durable, light natural material and no toxic splinters for the passengers.

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And it floats! Wood is a winner.

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The Wind Is Your Friend...