The two stern aft-deck seats on the early Luggers have always been my preference for having access to the Lazarette storage area, rather than the face fitted ‘Tea tray’ that followed it with the Mk2 Lugger onwards.
However, there were several issues in their manufacture. Firstly, and for my Luggers with the Mainsheet traveller tube fitted across the beam of the boat as opposed to the older version where there was just a slack wire from side to side to act as a traveller for the Mainsheet block, the glass fibre moulded seats would not easily slide in and out under the traveller tube, note in pic 1 how close the tube is to the seat.
Another downside was their size and weight to have inside the cockpit, leaving the possibility of tripping over one if left on the floor boards, or in my application with Dragon Drascombe Luggers in the South Ionian Sea people without shoes on could easily damage their feet if accidentally in contact with this moulded seat.
So it was time to rethink this design whilst keeping this access from the topside and having a much easier seat to access.
To start, in the first picture I have cut away the upstand flange of the deck internal moulding, which leaves me with just a flat surface.
The second picture shows the completed framework in white that I have made to sit on this flat surface of the internal deck moulding. This framework which is bonded into the internal moulding allows a seat to sit on its top surface, the seat being flush with the aft deck area.
I have made these 2 deck seats out of Iroko and Ash and protected with just Teak Oil. Yes this oil does burn out slowly and will require a rub over from time to time. As an example, my Lugger Angie has had two summer charter seasons out in the South Ionian Sea. The first picture shows her as she was in late September 2022 having been used for 5 months and then the second within a week after a good clean and re-oil pic. This is very good considering the constant use and time subjected to these harsh marine conditions, sun, wind and salt water.
To make these Lazarette areas more useful and dry, I have made 6 mm marine ply raised floors, some 80 mm at the keel line off the floor bottom; there is always a drop of water sloshing around to the aft of the boat, so it’s good to have a dry area for storage.
I am in the process of jigging up this modification so it can be manufactured as a kit for your own home fitting, for those with suitable skills.
However, for those who would prefer this modification to be carried out professionally, Dragon Design at NP22 4 LA could undertake this work in just 3 days maximum, cost on application with a few photographs of your boat please.
This is a great modification to the MK1 Lugger