Ever since I noticed these rail seats on newer boats at the boat shows, I had wanted them on Bremer Speck.

This remained wishful thinking for a couple of years because it would mean a complete reconfiguration of the aft deck railing system.

By chance, I heard about a retired, professional welder. After some discussions, I decided to go for it.

This project was tackled in the Spring of 2008.

It meant a complete rework of the existing rails, starting with the removal of all the teak. They were replaced with stainless steel tubing and the upper sections were extended beyond the stern to create the framework for the seats, which overhang the stern and do not take away space from the aft deck.

While this work was in progress, I also took a careful look at my tired lifelines and decided that they had to be replaced, too.
Instead of installing new lifelines, I had the welder install stainless tubing. The result is a very stiff rail system.

This project is incomplete but I hope to have it completed in March\April of 2009, in time for the sailing season.
I still have to install the teak for the seats. I created the seating by cutting and shaping a bundle of teak T&G flooring strips.

Do not worry about the teak hand rails! This will be a proper Nauticat! The rails will be put back in place. I am a sucker for teak.

As always, a picture tells a thousand words. So look at and click on the thumbnails here below.