Lounge seat base bracket padding advice needed

[am_dew]

I had someone build and install 2 new lounge back-to-back seats into my 17' runabout. They turned out really nicely but I have one issue that I would like to nip in the bud before it makes a bigger issue. Mounted to the floor with two screws at the stern end of each lounge seat is a 3/4"W x 3/4"H x 6"L x 1/8" thick aluminum "L" bracket. The bracket keeps the seat from laying down flat when someone is sitting in the front seat of the lounge seat. In order to lay the seats down flat, you have to lift the rear seat up high enough to get it up and over the bracket. Then conversely when you want to raise the seats so they are back-to-back again, you have to do essentially the oppposite of what you did when you laid them flat. The new seat bases are covered with the same carpet that they also installed in my boat. What is happening in the few time the seats have been raised to either lay them flat or access the storage in the bases, and then put back into place is that the carpet is getting damaged because it makes contact with the top of the L bracket when you lower the seat onto the bow side of the bracket so the bracket stops the seat from laying flat. The carpet is not wrapped around the bottom of the seat base so what is also happening is the carpet seems to be already losing it's bond to the seat base near the bottom of the seat base in the area it makes contact with the L bracket.

I have been thinking about how I can protect the seat base carpeting so it does not start coming off the seat bases in the area around where it comes into contact with the bracket when you raise and lower the seat. A couple things come to mind:

1. Wrap the L bracket in carpet. Then I would have carpet against carpet.
2. Mount a small thin piece of oak or other hardwood over the carpet at the bottom of the seat base in the area where it comes into contact with the L bracket.

I am leaning towards doing item 1. Any other ideas? If it will help, I can post a few pics later tonight. Thanks.

 

[am_dew]

Re: Lounge seat base bracket padding advice needed

Here is a pic of the old seats showing the L brackets that I am referring to above.

 

[64osby]

Re: Lounge seat base bracket padding advice needed

Staple the bottom edge of the carpet with stainless staples.

 

[am_dew]

Re: Lounge seat base bracket padding advice needed

Staple the bottom edge of the carpet with stainless staples.

Thanks, that would probably help to keep the carpet attached to the seat base. Someone suggested attaching a suitable length of aluminum "U" channel to the seat base where it comes in contact with the L bracket. I also got another idea -- attach a suitable length of plastic wall corner protector to the seat base.

 

[64osby]

Re: Lounge seat base bracket padding advice needed

Alum trim U or L would work much better then the plastic corner piece.