Seaweeder 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 1/16th 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 1/16th 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 1/16th 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 made by hand and sold locally. Today, all of the rake heads are produced at a sheet metal shop in Rochester, N.Y. Although some rakes are sold in a local hardware store, most sales are over the internet. This is 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.