I need help with a Seat.......AHAHAHAHA

[Corbett8488]

Hi, I'm Andy and I'm new here.

Last month I sold my 36 foot Chesapeake Bay Deadrise (lot of work, very expensive to maintain).

My 5 year old wanted to go fishing so I jumped on Craigslist and bought a 12 foot Gamefisher that looks like France in 1945. The good news is it was only $150 and came with a trolling motor and a battery.

I have since taken that thing out like 15 times and realized I like freshwater fishing more than saltwater.

So I pulled the trigger on a Tracker Topper 1548 with a trailer an another motor so I can take 2 people with me. Here's the thing.....It has 24 inch wide seats and my plan was to put the clamp on seat in it.

Question 1) Does anyone know of a brand that make longer clamp on mount (everything I've seen just goes out to 19 or 20 inches)?

Question 2) Is it worth it go the clamp on route or should I figure something else out?

Question 3) Are there other options besides drilling into a brand new boat?

I figure since I have gone from no jon boat too 2 jon boats in a month I need to figure some of these things out.

Thanks in advance

 

[Johnny]

Welcome Aboard, Corbett.

yes, it hurts to start drilling holes in a new boat !!!!!!!!!!!!
like that first scratch on a new truck.
but, eventually, you will accept this is the way it is in order
to have a fishing machine that fits your comfort zone.
did you ever drill holes in your Thirty Six Footer ???

how do you feel about Velcro ??
fabricate a base for the seat, waterproof it, apply the "loop" side
to the base of the seat and the "hook" side to the 24" metal seat.
you can get 2" wide Velcro just about everywhere.
of course you would have to cover the boat Velcro when not in use
with something as simple as another board if you do not store your
boat under cover. (just an option - there will be several to choose from).



.

 

[Corbett8488]

That's not a bad idea except i'm a 6'4" 260lb linebacker, not sure 6 inches of velcro can hold me solid (without installing a seat belt).

I actually though about finding a way to mount a truck style bench seat back there....

 

[Johnny]

truck style bench seat ?? :shock:

ok - on the serious side: if you don't have any luck finding
something you can use without drilling holes, how would you
feel about modifying a heavy duty "clamp on" base to fit your 24" seats?
if you can find a good welder, cut and weld in the extensions as in the drawing.
your safety would have to be evaluated yourself to do something like this.
good luck in your project !



.

 

[Shaugh]

2" Industrial Velcro will work easily. No matter how big you are. Just make your base board large enough. If the bench is 24" deep, make your 3/4" plywood base board about 21" x 21". A strip of 2" Velcro front and back. With that kind of surface area It will hold no problem. You could even go to a double strip in front if you were worried... but you won't need it imo.

Put the fuzzy side on the top of the benches so it's comfortable to step on... you could even run the tape all the way across the bench so you could position the seat in different places..

 

[paper]

Velcro?? #-o

Why didn't I think of that?!?!?!

I've been waffling back on forth on deciding to buy clamps, or drilling, myself, and I never thought about the Velcro option!! Thanks Guys!!!! =D>

Now.. What seat?? Hmmmm

 

[Johnny]

the reason I mention the "loop" (fuzzy) side on the top
and the "hook" rough side on the bench seat is that the
hook side (hard side) is much, much more easier to keep clean
versus the smooth fuzzy side. when you get junk in the soft fuzzy side,
you will be picking it out with tweezers. junk comes out of the hook side
with just a quick brushing with a nylon scrub brush. Just a personal opinion.
your boat = your call.


Velcro = trade name
hook and loop = type of fastener (invented by NASA).
hook = hard nylon bristles with a hook on the end to hold the fuzzy side.
loop = soft nylon fuzz that is molded to the tape for the hook to grab hold of.

I'm sure that NASA has a formula for the holding power of Velcro somewhere in their archives.
shear strength per square inch at different angles.
holding strength (pulled straight up) per square inch. (if you were interested in the physical science of it).
yada yada yada

.

 

[Corbett8488]

You're telling me no one has ever dropped an old Bronco seal on their back bench?!?!?!?

 

[Corbett8488]

Okay I'm gonna try the Velcro route first and see if it holds under normal conditions.


I have a NASA calibrated accelerometer that should give me a horizontal g-force read out in weight per unit mass (but not the vector sum of non-gravitational mass--what's up with that?)

Thanks for all the help

Pictures to come

 

[overboard]

This may not be feasible, but this is what I did with the broad bench seat on a GRIZZLY. I used the parts from a slide on seat to mount the seat and it may not be pretty but it works!

 

[Shaugh]

Okay I'm gonna try the Velcro route first and see if it holds under normal conditions.


I have a NASA calibrated accelerometer that should give me a horizontal g-force read out in weight per unit mass (but not the vector sum of non-gravitational mass--what's up with that?)

Thanks for all the help

Pictures to come

You'll be surprised how little leverage you have when you're sitting in the chair. As long as you keep the base that large it will be very difficult to tip it over backwards. Imagine an office chair... that base is about the same 20" across.... nearly impossible to tip over backwards when you're sitting, even on a tall seat post...without velcro. The Velcro is really only there to keep it from sliding around .... It will actually be a lot more stable than those flimsy wire frames.

 

[.Mike]

If you are considering Velcro, also take a look at 3M Dual Lock. I first learned of it for fastening guitar effects pedals to a pedal board.

It is like Velcro, but instead of a hook side and a loop side, both sides are semi-rigid mushroom shaped plastic that interlock when pressed together. It has some benefits, and some drawbacks. Benefits are that it snaps in place, it doesn't fasten until you press it down, it holds 5x stronger than Velcro, and you have to use less of it than Velcro. Drawbacks are that it is more expensive, isn't as heat resistant, and can be difficult to separate.

 

[Shaugh]

Making a Velcro fishing rig is actually a pretty strong idea. Sort of a Molle vest system for your boat.... I'm sure there's about a hundred other ideas people could add:

 

[Corbett8488]

Thanks for all the help guys,

I'm getting the feeling that the Velcro is gonna work.

I'm gonna run strips the full length of the seats and hook everything to it. Thanks for the picture Shaugh, you sold me on it.

 

[paper]

One more question..
The base of most seats are plastic latticework (s?) and there's very little surface for velcro to adhere to. Are you guys putting a plate on the bottom of the seat to stick the velcro?
I was thinking I'd just make an aluminum plate with countersunk screws to give a flat, wide aheresion point..

Thoughts?

On the one photo I see the use of the flat pivot plates, attached to a board, which has the velcro.. Hmmm..
Me thinks me likes this..

Where's the spot for the cooler?? Fishing without a beer?? Blasphemy!! :lol:

 

[Shaugh]

Raising the seat up a bit is always a good idea imo..

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Five-Oceans-8-Marine-Fixed-Height-Seat-Base-Pedestal-W-360-Swivel-for-Boat/290911053796?_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&_trkparms=aid%3D555018%26algo%3DPL.SIM%26ao%3D2%26asc%3D41375%26meid%3D4272ffcb6ca64419a60012b6c7f219ee%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D3%26rkt%3D6%26mehot%3Dpp%26sd%3D182668309709

 

[Ipaddle]

Go to Walmart or Overton's web site and do a search for "Wise Sure Mounts" (italics not needed). This does require some small holes that to hold the aluminum in place, but it looks like part of the boat.
DuraCraft Boats had something similar installed on them years ago. These would probably be less expensive than the wide Velcro, and very strong.