SEAWEEDER RAKE HISTORY

When we first moved to our waterfront home in 1993 we were confronted with the same problem that many waterfront property owners have. Too much seaweed. We couldn't fish from our dock, let alone swim. I would use a garden rake and twist it around the weeds to grab and pull them from the water. But this would only grab large clumps, not individual plants.

I started thinking about how best to remove seaweed without using chemicals. One way was to cut them, but this isn't easy. Think of a single plant rooted on the bottom and extended upwards. Without constraining the top, a cutter rake can easily slide up and leave the plant intact and still rooted to the bottom. If the blade is very sharp and it is jerked, perhaps the weeds can be cut. But this leaves them floating on the surface to be further removed. The roots still remain planted and ready to quickly grow again. It is best to pull the weeds out by the roots. I started thinking of ways to make a rake to do this. Should the rake have tapered slots or spring loaded fingers to grab the plants? Although these two approaches are included in the approved claims of my patent, I found that a rake with slots about 1/16^th inch wide did a great job in removing the seaweeds that I encountered. Many weeds are inadvertently cut, but depending on bottom material, a significant number are pulled out by the roots. Most all are attached to the rake for removal from the water and don't create a mess for your neighbors.

Once it was determined that 1/16^th slots worked well for "grabbing" seaweed, a rake configuration was devised which could be manufactured in small quantities and still provide the functional requirements. This resulted in a 30 inch wide rake head made from pre-plated steel to prevent rusting. It has 1/16^th inch wide slots, spaced ½ inch apart, with a "V" notch proceeding each to guide the weeds in. The surface opposite the slots is bend over to a 45 deg. angle. This provides for rake rigidity and a surface to mount the handle to allow the rake to be pulled toward you. Combined with a wooden handle that floats, the rake is properly balanced to gently bounce along the bottom as it is pulled toward you with the attached rope.

In the beginning, hundreds of rakes were hand made and sold locally. Starting with 4 x 8 foot sheets of pre-plated steel, 30 inch wide strips were cut, then sheared into 4" by 30" blanks. The (4) holes for handle mounting were then drilled into stacks of (10) blanks. Next, the short rake head edge was bent over to 45 degrees in a hand brake. Then, using a home made fixture with two pneumatically driven hand punches, (60) "V" notches were manually punched in the lead edge of each rake. Another fixture was fabricated which incorporated (6) saber saws mounted upside down and at the correct spacing to saw (6) 1/16^th inch wide slots in the "V" grooves at a time. Since significant force was required to cut the (6) slots at the same time, a pneumatic pusher was incorporated to force the rake head into the blades. Compressor pressure was regulated to provide the proper force to minimize blade breakage and maximize their life. It was now fairly easy to make (10) passes on the fixture to cut the (60) slots required on each rake head. Next came the mounting bracket. They were blanked on a metal shear and the edges rounded on a grinder. Then stacked and the holes drilled. Wood forming dies were attached to an arbor press and used to manually form the brackets.

Today, all of the rake heads are produced at a sheet metal shop in Rochester, N.Y. We purchase handles in quantity from a wholesaler in North Carolina and drill the holes, install the mounting insert and attach the rope ourselves. We purchase special shipping boxes to stay under the 84 inch length/width/girth requirement of the post office. Although some rakes are sold in the local hardware store, most of our sales are over the internet. We do this to eliminate the middleman and keep the retail price as low as possible. We are set up to maintain a consistent quality product and can produce unlimited quantities in a timely manner.

A most recent improvement has been a bright yellow powder coat finish on the rake head and mounting bracket. This is an extremely durable and aesthetically pleasing finish, provides visibility in the water and makes removal of harvested seaweed from the rake somewhat easier.