Stern Seating question

[TheMaestro]

Im starting to plan for a second 'phase' of my build fromlast year. Im revisiting installing a seat at the stern. Ive seen a lot of people mount their seats dead centre, and im wondering how would you operate the tiller from that position? Wouldnt an offset be better? I was going to initially order a G5 slider which would allow flexibility, but there are no distributors in canada and the shipping is the same cost as the slider. So i guess i have to work with a fixed position. Thoughts?

 

[rickybobbybend]

Your phase one was a great success and very pretty. I would think mounting a seat where you have the stadium seat now would work best. I find that center seating necessitates too severe a rotation to operate the tiller and gets uncomfortable very quickly. And I think you will really like a swivel seat rather than the stadium seat.

 

[TheMaestro]

Hey thankyou i too was thinking that keeping the seat off to the side like the stadium seat was the best. And you are right, i did miss being able to rotate with the fixed seat. Im thinking of mounting on a short 7"pedestal, but i wonder if thats even necessary.

 

[rickybobbybend]

Your boat would certainly be stable enough for a higher seat when stopped or moving at slow speed. And a raised seat is nice for casting and fishing. I see two issues. Most folks are more comfortable with a seat height of 19 inches or so for proper knee angle. You might measure existing bench height and add pedestal height to see how close you would come to about 19 inches. Secondly, on my boat (12 ft, seat on the bench) I can almost throw myself into the water with aggressive maneuvering at hi speed. Sitting higher would only make it worse. Just my 2 cents; your preferences may well be different.

 

[TheMaestro]

Hmm, yes I was worried about being thrown as well. The height from my deck/bench seat is 17" already to the floor, so a 7" would put me at about 25" including the swivel. So im thinking more and more to keep the seat low. This is where having the G5 would have helped. I just cant believe the shipping was like $60.. I wonder if I could make one.....

 

[Scott1298]

Look at the Action/Wise sliders in Canada. I was hard on them when I described mounting them because one was bent, but with a little modification I can move 8-9 inches by just leaning forward and pushing sideways. And they stay put when my weight is on them. Because of the convenience I find myself moving to adjust to kids, dogs, or anything else that can't be trained to sit in one spot!

Cheers,

 

[Driftingrz]

first off Great build i like how you setup your tin. the stern seat was the first problem i encountered when i bought my boat last year. previous owner had an outboard but used electric only most of the time so he had these 7" pedestals mounted ontop of the benches Dead center :shock: .. rediculously unstable and impossible to drive with. i sat at the boat ramp on my maiden voyage with a pair of pliers trying to rip the things off..

after i started building i messed around without a seat to see where i felt good and stable along with plenty comfortable to operate the tillers on the outboard and trolling motor. i ended up opting for one of the spring mounts that have something like a 3* tilt, though i mounted them backwards on both seats since the cheap seats already flex, didnt wanna feel like i was reclined

i see boats with seats way above the gunwhales but im too top heavy for that nonsense.. im plenty comfortable at this height. can measure tomorrow if you'd like

when i got it

how it sits now, i ended up adding a passenger seat which i trimmed the post down so it would sit same height as the rear, both on spring bases

 

[TheMaestro]

Look at the Action/Wise sliders in Canada. I was hard on them when I described mounting them because one was bent, but with a little modification I can move 8-9 inches by just leaning forward and pushing sideways. And they stay put when my weight is on them. Because of the convenience I find myself moving to adjust to kids, dogs, or anything else that can't be trained to sit in one spot!

Cheers,

Hey, that looks really promising! I will search on google for them. Where did you get yours?

first off Great build i like how you setup your tin. the stern seat was the first problem i encountered when i bought my boat last year. previous owner had an outboard but used electric only most of the time so he had these 7" pedestals mounted ontop of the benches Dead center .. rediculously unstable and impossible to drive with. i sat at the boat ramp on my maiden voyage with a pair of pliers trying to rip the things off..

Thankyou Im a big guy too (seems alot of us are on here!), and I too just cant see being up that high while underway. And as you say, impossible to drive without reaching behind you. If I can get the wise slider mentioned above, I will mount it still slightly offset to the starboard side, and keep it the level of the benches.
Thank you all for your ideas, Im watching the snow dissappear and getting ready to make space in the garage!

 

[Scott1298]

Wholesale Sports out here in the West, I'm sure somebody will carry them in your area though. Check my thread for pics, I took somebody's advice and added a strip of aluminum (Home Depot) under the back channel; spreads the load and no bottoming out when sliding (Big guy issue :|). I also put the supplied screws in so that I can slide further than designed for so I can slide the length of the extra aluminum strip. As a result I can sit pretty much in the middle, offset for the tiller, or with my legs fully extended on the bench when relaxing/trolling (Very Important :!: ). With the 1.5" thick bench and big cushy seat, I'm plenty high enough for comfort!

 

[TheMaestro]

Hey I looked at your build, and I remember it. It got later in the summer and I wasnt following tinboats as voraciously, so I never saw the rest. Very well designed! I see how you did the slider, and I will do the same as you have already worked out the kinks in it. Ill be at my local boat shop this week and ill see if they can get those in

 

[Scott1298]

One other advantage of going this route is that if for whatever reason you go out without a dedicated seat, you can still sit reasonably comfortably on the bench between the mounts. Wholesale Sports keeps a dozen of them on the shelf year round, hopefully you find them. Basspro has them too; Read the reviews, I took the second guy's advice by grinding the edges and adding the aluminum strip and it's just what I needed! I'm waiting for warmer weather too... I keep finding things to add/do to the boat!

https://www.basspro.com/Wise-SureMount-Seat-Brackets/product/10210432/