Teak Mystery rails in cockpit of H-23

[Dave Mosley]

Just bought a 1985 Hunter 23 today, and have been stumped by those rails on the seats of the cockpit. They dont really fit my foot for hiking purposes,and they dont hold a beer real well. What am I missing (other than the owners manual!)Dave Mosley

 

[mike]

beat's me

I've wondered the same but they seem to be only for looks.

 

[Jon Bastien]

This has come up before...

...and no one really knows. I used them as hand-holds, bungee attachment points, and a convenient place to put the empty beer cans (on their side) until I could properly crush them and chuck 'em in a trash can. They also hold tubes of sunblock or bug spray pretty well... Winch handles will fall out of them though (as the small chip in the cockpit floor will attest to). They'll hold sail ties, wet towels or clothing, and were a great way to hold the sawhorse I used for a mast crutch... There was another thread started in October of 1999, titled 'Whatizit', that asked the same question. Apparently, according to Hunter, they serve no real functional purpose.--Jon BastienH25 'Adagio'

 

[Dave Laing s/v WindSong]

Check The Photo

If you check the photos of the h-23s elsewhere on this site you will find an original h-23 brochure. In one picturea lovely young lady has her feet under these rails as the boat heels over. They were probably meant to be for hiking but didn't work out in the real world.

 

[jcherubini]

'For looks.'

Sounds to me like the mighty marketing-run 'Hunter Design Team' had their head up their bum when committing this faux pas. [laugh]L Francis Herreshoff once said, 'That which is put on merely for style has no style.' Now compare every production house, boat, car, and whatever else on the market and see how failed attempts at misinformed aesthetics have permeated our lives so that many of us don't even realise what good design style IS any more. We just accept what's out there and move on. I'd like to think the more thinking amongst us should be insulted by marketing's ideas of what makes us happy.I assume (remember the connotation of that word) that the teak strips were supposed to be chicken steps, those things to keep your feet from sliding on angled surfaces. But I'm afraid to rely upon that.JC