need help with mounting seats

hey yall...been a while since i've been around....or posted anything for that matter....

can yall point me in the right direction on mounting seats on my benches.... i have an riveted alumacraft 1542...
i have mounted a deck in front and my fishing partner 'wife' says she would stay out longer if we had seats. lol...

soooooo....ive searched the site and cant really find an instructional on how to mount seats......
im just concerned that moving around in the boat will be even more limited with seats in the way and i cant decide if i want to sell my current setup and get something with steering and open floor or just add seats to mine and use it for a few more years and get a better boat.....so having said that...can yall point me in the right direction on how to do this...i dont want to use the posts... all we really need is to have seats that sit on the bench....are the clamp style mounts worth a darn or should i cover my benches with ply and add the slip in swivel mounts?

im at work now and about to head out but i will post a pic of my boat on this post when i get home....

thanks for any links you can provide or tips / assitance....

Clamp-ons tends to unclamp and I doubt you'd be Mr. Popular with the lady if she flipped off the bench into the bait bucket going up river

I would suggest the swivels on a 8" post, they give you height to swing around the bench to get at the fishies. You can do plywood or rivet a 1/4" plate to the top of the bench.

BTW, the wife doesn't want to go out with me anymore. She didn't want to look like a dork wearing safety glasses while running the water. My 14x48 flatbottom IB jetboat will run 50mph, the first mayfly hit her left eye, the second was close to the other one, the third mayfly ended up somewhere in her left lung and yes, she looked like a dork with here shirt collar pulled up to her eyebrows...

Jamie

Ranchero50 said:

Clamp-ons tends to unclamp and I doubt you'd be Mr. Popular with the lady if she flipped off the bench into the bait bucket going up river

I would suggest the swivels on a 8" post, they give you height to swing around the bench to get at the fishies. You can do plywood or rivet a 1/4" plate to the top of the bench.

BTW, the wife doesn't want to go out with me anymore. She didn't want to look like a dork wearing safety glasses while running the water. My 14x48 flatbottom IB jetboat will run 50mph, the first mayfly hit her left eye, the second was close to the other one, the third mayfly ended up somewhere in her left lung and yes, she looked like a dork with here shirt collar pulled up to her eyebrows...

Jamie

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:wink:

Steering is going to take up more space. A tiller is the best option for least amount of "in boat space taking up" <---- highly technical term.

You should look at pin type pedestal mounts. You can then add/remove seats as needed for the people in the boat at the time.

I use cuda spring clamp on mounts from Cabela's and love em.https://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/...ounts&cm_ite=netcon&rid=2146251080&hasJS=true

You could try this. https://www.overtons.com/modperl/product/details.cgi?r=view&i=25211&aID=601C7&cID=FROOGLE_25211

My boat actually has the channel that runs the whole length of the bench (could not finad a link but most marine stores can get it for you) so the seat can be slid from one side to the other and I use an 8" pedestal with swivels at the front so I can sit and control the TM.

Doug

I've never found the clamp on seats to be very comfortable. I've got a G3 1544 and we just added pin type pedestal mounts with folding seats. I usually fish alone so I've just got one seat that I move from the rear bench to the front deck once I start fishing. I've got a second seat that I put in the boat when I have a fishing partner with me.

deadmeat----- how did you mount your pedestal bases....i know the g3 has thicker alum than my boat....but did you just screw it through the top or did you use some sort of backup under the benches? this is where i really need the guidance....

There's no way to get under the benches to mount a plate but there's a think piece of plywood under the aluminum. We used heavy stainless steel screws to go through the aluminum and into the plywood, and with 6 holes in the base I think it will hold really well. For the pin part, bored a hole in the aluminum about 3 inches in diameter, I think, and that's where the pin part goes into the bench. On my old Grumman 1542 we mounted a piece of plywood across the top of the bench and used it to mount the base using the same method as above. The Grumman didn't have any plywood beneath the metal so we figured it would be better to have something more substantial for the base. We carpeted over the whole thing and it looked really good. I'm finishing my mods now and should have them ready for posting later this week, I hope. Hope this helps.

Doug said:

You could try this. https://www.overtons.com/modperl/product/details.cgi?r=view&i=25211&aID=601C7&cID=FROOGLE_25211

My boat actually has the channel that runs the whole length of the bench (could not finad a link but most marine stores can get it for you) so the seat can be slid from one side to the other and I use an 8" pedestal with swivels at the front so I can sit and control the TM.

Doug

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I was looking at these but, how would it work when using 8" pedestals....I want to be able to lean back and be comfortable while fishing and not worry about going overboard.

Walmart sells pedestal seat bases, my Lowe 1448 came with those installed from the factory, I suggest those. Lowe riveted steel to the bow of the boat and mounted the base to that, it will not give at all.

thanks deadmeat....you have helped me with my decision....have a good week

If the goal is to get the wife to stay out with you longer, go with the soft seats and pin-type mounts. To me, there's nothing that makes a day on the water longer than sitting on an uncomfortable seat--and I've spent the day on many of them. On the other hand, even a lousy day of fishing can be at least more tolerable if you're nice and comfy. It's going to be more work to mount the pin-type bases than clamp-on seats, but in the long run both of you will enjoy your day on the water more if you do.

In looking your boat over again, it looks like you have a bit of a lip of the edges of the bench seat. If the lip is wide enough you could probably mount a piece of plywood the length and width of the seat and run the attaching bolts along the edges of the upper part of the lip so that they come out on the bottom part of the lip. I've seen this done a couple times and it worked really well. It should make for a solid mount for the base and then all you'd have to do is drill a hole large enough for the pin to go through.

I have had really good luck with the pin style seat bases. Even on boats with no way of getting to the fasteners from below. I take a large hole saw and cut out a hole for the seat base to mount flush, use 3M 4400 sealant/adhesive applied to base, and secure with #14 stainless screws. Use a 3/16 bit for the screws. The last set I did like this was on a Polarkraft which had no wood backing under the aluminum. It's been 5 or 6 years now and the seat bases show no sign of loosening up.

Oddagus said:

I have had really good luck with the pin style seat bases. Even on boats with no way of getting to the fasteners from below. I take a large hole saw and cut out a hole for the seat base to mount flush, use 3M 4400 sealant/adhesive applied to base, and secure with #14 stainless screws. Use a 3/16 bit for the screws. The last set I did like this was on a Polarkraft which had no wood backing under the aluminum. It's been 5 or 6 years now and the seat bases show no sign of loosening up.

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i would go with this idea, its what I was talking about a few post up, The manufacturer riveted a square piece of steel larger then the seat base to the aluminum then screwed the seat base to it, it will never give away

awesome and thanks for all the tips....keep them coming cause you never know who has a great idea..... hopefully i can get this done within the next couple weeks so we dont miss any of the spring fishing we missed last year......

thanks to all of you....

Truckmechanic,

The seat bracket has a "c" bend on the leading edge that fits into the locking guide rail. You have to raise the seat bracket up a little over 90 degrees to place it into the locking guide rail, then let it back down and it is locked into the channel of the rail and can slide to either side of the bench seat. With the 8 in base I sit very comfortably in the front of my boat with my foot on the TM foot control and cast all day long.

Doug

I used pedestals in my lowe 1436. I drilled holes in each bench and removed a minimal amount of foam. I used some 1/2'" poly plywood and cut it into 3x8 strips and drilled holes in them to match the bases and installed tee nuts in the poly pieces. I then used the same poly and cut a piece to cover the bench. Attached the poly to the bench and installed the bases thru that into the pieces slid under the bench. Tighten the bolts to the tee nuts and done. I am 6'2 and go about 240lbs and can lean back in confidence with 11" pedestals. Basically I sandwiched the aluminum bench top between 1/2" poly plywood. Strong as heck.