Replacement of rubber blocks in riser retainers - 1980 13 Sport

[RVTracker]

I'm in the process of restoring a 1980 Whaler 13 Sport; at the wood removal/refinish stage now.

Inside the riser retainers (mahogany) there are pockets that contain what I am guessing are rubber blocks that are meant to hold the thwart seats down tight to the molded lip in the hull liner on the inwale. The rubber blocks are attached to the wood retainers by metal pins. I have not tried to remove a block yet, but they are pretty worn/compressed (and covered with varnish by whoever did the last revarnish job) and no longer hold down the thwart seats tight.

Are there replacements for the rubber blocks, or can they be fabricated somehow? What did they look like new?

I'm assuming I can punch/pull out the pins, remove the old blocks, refinish the wood, then replace the blocks with the originals (if they can be revived), or new/fabricated blocks with the same pins.

Thanks for replies.

[RVTracker]

To follow on - I removed one of the rubber "blocks"; they are essentially rubber disks (1" dia. by 5/16" thick) held in place by two steel brads through the riser retainer.

Some are a bit compressed/eroded on one edge, but they are in reasonable shape so likely I will just turn them 180 degrees and tap the brads back in. Will need to estimate the degree of "reveal" of the disks so that they apply adequate pressure to hold thwart seats down tight.

I have not found replacement rubber disks anywhere but imagine they could be fabricated from hard sheet rubber or 1" rubber rod.

-R

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