R-21EC's sliding helm seat's control arm/lever

[baz]

Subject: R-21EC's sliding helm seat's control arm/lever

This lever sticks out too far IMO. It easily gets tangled into my trouser's belt buckle and loosens it... :roll: :lol:

So, I started to devise a method to shorten it so it sticks out far less and in fact is kind of hidden under the seat when not being used.

At first I presumed I could simply unscrew or pull off the lever's black handle so I could cut off around 3" of the round metal lever... but alas, it does not screw on and so far does not want to budge and pull off easily.

Has any one else tried removing this black handle, and if so, what method did you use ? I'm not wanting to break or destroy the lever/handle in any way in my attempt to shorten the lever.

If this handle is somehow glued on or press-fitted to the metal rod making it impossible to remove I may simply cut it off to make the round metal lever a suitable length and add a new handle. 😉

BTW... this seat slides back a full 5.5 inches which is more than sliding seats in previous R-21EC's from my inspection.

Thanks... 🙂

 

[Captain Nice]

I, too, could not remove the plastic piece, so I cut the SS rod off just behind it and rounded the end - the perfect length and no need to add a handle (I removed the seat to do this).

CN

 

[baz]

CN: Good idea. I got too hung up on needing/having a handle and your suggestion/fix relieves me of that. Thanks... 🙂

[EDIT]

Yesterday I got out my handy hack saw, removed the sliding seat and hacked off the black handle plus 1". That SS was hard to cut through and filing the rough edge was necessary as you mentioned. The handle/lever is now nicely hidden and no longer attacks my belt buckle. :lol:

 

[Capt’nKarl]

What was wrong with the older model design? IMO this is a good example of sometime the enemy of good is better. I've never caught anything on the helm handle because there isn't one and I've never needed to adjust the helm seat cause that wasn't even an option. I stand when I need to and sit when I need to. I think modifying the V-berth to make access underneath easier and moving the placement of the bow thruster to the inner cabin are better improvements. Both of which I have done BTW. One thing continues to stand out on the 21 is the uniqueness of her lines and the beauty of her style.

Captn'Karl

 

[baz]

If you have the Raymarine SmartPilot installed the wheel is moved toward the helm seat by as much as 3". This can for many people mean knees will be hard up on the wheel and thus very uncomfortable. Ranger came up with a sliding seat to address this as well as for Captains with long legs etc. In my case, I have the AP installed and even though I'm not a big person my knees were up against the wheel.... so the sliding seat was necessary. It provides at least 5.5" of travel and must be brought forward in order for it to be lowered. Some of the earlier sliding seats had a lever underneath at the front of the seats edge and was hidden... the newer sliding seat Ranger is using has this seat adjustment lever on the side as I've shown.

 

[Capt’nKarl]

Always two sides to every issue so I'm happy you have the adjustable sliding seat to meet your needs. Where we live in Florida the distance between stopovers is short enough an autopilot is not necessary and I love piloting our boat.