New member with a seat question

[littlejohn]

Hello all. I bought the boat below just yesterday morning and happened upon your site about ten minutes after I got home with it. It's a 1972 14' made by Sears and has been sitting in a barn for the past three years.

The seller had it out in his back yard Friday and it stormed something fierce here. There was nearly two inches of water sitting in it when I got there. At least I know there aren't any leaks! I kept the plug out on the way home; people behind me loved me. I left it sitting outside all day and all of the water evaporated.
I ripped out the carpet this evening to find water standing under it. My problem is I can't figure out for the life of me how to get the seats out. There is an aluminum plate riveted to the factory aluminum. The swivel base is screwed into the plate. The carpet was then put down, then the swivel base was bolted down, then the seat was attached. Can anyone clue me in on what I'm missing?

The plans:
I'm going to apply several coats of Herculiner to the inside to cover all the aluminum and then will lay down perforated floor tile. I was thinking about gutting the front seat box to put my new Optima blue top in, but I discovered there's a giant foam block in there. I don't really want to sacrifice my flotation, so I'm trying to decide if I really want to do it or not.
I did find a few hole in the hull along the gunwale on both sides of the boat and plan to re-use them as mounts for my homemade rod holders.
Add some short risers under the seats. I would like them a little higher.
I have to build a front transom. I discovered after pulling the carpet that the rivets holding the handle to the front of the boat are starting to pull through and the aluminum around them is starting to crack. This is due to the boat being on a trailer set up for a V-hull boat. The handle rests on the wheel up by the ratchet and puts a lot of stress on it. The eye bolt you hook it to the trailer with is also starting to pull through. I'm going to cut a template and mount a piece of 3/8" plywood up there to strengthen it all up.
Other than that, I figured out last night I can put a 15hp motor on it. That's well into the future though. For now I'm going to run my great grandfather's 3hp outboard.

Great site here. I love seeing everyone's mods!

 

[thudpucker]

Some guys have all the luck.
That is ready to fish.
Go to your User control panel and fill out your location. I might want to know how close that boat is to me! :lol:

 

[littlejohn]

I wouldn't say all the luck.
I'm in Bethlehem, Georgia, halfway between Atlanta and Athens. I know where Cullman is; I'm an Alabama boy. Born and (mostly) raised there. I lived in Vestavia Hills when I was in high school.
Soon as I get the registration and all that stuff taken care of, it's going in the water. Hopefully I can get all that done by this weekend.

 

[Howard]

looks like a good boat for Yargo!

 

[littlejohn]

Precisely! I eat lunch in the park every day.

 

[wasilvers]

Your seats look pretty far back. Likely they are held onto the swivel by 4 screws. You should be able to turn the chair and remove the screws from the bottom. Then once the chair is removed, the other screws should be available for removal.

But I agree, that boat looks good enough to me!

Will

 

[littlejohn]

Thanks for the tip. I managed to get them out, but I can't figure out how in the world they were installed. The screws are 1" long and there's not enough room under there to get them in.

 

[Brine]

Thanks for the tip. I managed to get them out, but I can't figure out how in the world they were installed. The screws are 1" long and there's not enough room under there to get them in.

Welcome aboard littlejohn. If I understand you, it sounds like the 1" screws were used to attach the swivel base to the bench before attaching the seat.

looks like a good boat for Yargo!

looks even better for Tribble Mill :wink:

I moved from Dacula about 2 years ago after living there for 8.

 

[littlejohn]

Tribble Mill, Yargo - let's all meet up sometime.
An tips on covering the factory aluminum benches with wood?

There were 1" screws attaching the swivel to the plate and 1" screws attaching the seat to the swivel. I'm puzzled. But whatever. I'm probably going to fab some 3" tall stands out of some steel I have laying around.

 

[Brine]

If you haven't had a chance yet, go through the member's mods links. There is a LOT of valuable information in them.

Any tips on covering the factory aluminum benches with wood?

Here are a couple.

1. Don't use pressure treated wood. Buy exterior grade ply and seal it yourself with a spar urethane.

2. Make sure to use either aluminum or stainless steel hardware as fasteners to prevent corrosion.

Tribble Mill, Yargo - let's all meet up sometime.

I'm game. We've got a few GA TinBoaters on here, and we keep threatening to have a meet and greet. Tribble should be real good for a frog bite in July.