C-Forum

picckd up a Hahn with a kneeling thwart glassed in, and even if Id use a kneeling thwart I cant fit my feet past it. The boat was set up for a small woman and theres just no way to work around it, that I can see.

so removing the thwart? If it was an ugly boat i'd just saw off what room I needed and glue a saddle in but,... Id like some advice.

No pretty way to do it...

Depends on how well it's glassed in to the sides.

I'd cut the seat down the boat's centerline and try and break each half out. If it looks like you'll destroy the hull in the process, you'll have to saw out each side individually, then grind out the remnants. No matter what, the process will probably get (fiberglass-dust) ugly. A Tyvek suit, respirator and goggles are highly recommended.

Cut and sand ... I can show you what it looks like in my downriver boat, which also had a thwart that I removed and replaced with a saddle. A dremmel tool of something similar is helpful.

When I bought my first-out-of-the-mold Dagger Zealot from Adam Clawson, I had the same problem. But it was not hard at all to remove the kneeling thwart and clean up the areas where it had been attached.

Putnam's suggestion of splitting the thwart and trying to lever out the pieces is good. Otherwise, you can look for or buy a relatively flexible saw that fits into the area, and saw out the ends. Also, you've seen those electric cutters (Porter Cable, Black and Decker, etc.) that cut by vibrating a wing back and forth. Those will cut close to the hull.

Best to get most of it out and then carefully clean up the remainder.