Plastic boat seat

Chopperbill

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Mar 26, 2014
Messages
389
Are these things durable? I'm always leery of anything that supports weight made of plastic.

seating-platform-02.JPG
 

Sinistre1

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
May 18, 2010
Messages
298
Re: Plastic boat seat

They are stronger than you think and since the boat adds some shock absorption you should be fine at least to the lower 200's (I own one , well 2 actually and I used them when I was 230ish) with no problem... Long term I can't say since I stopped bringing it along
 

cablebandit

Seaman
Joined
Nov 2, 2013
Messages
54
Re: Plastic boat seat

I thought about getting one of those for my Achilles and mounting it to the bench seat
 

ronaldj

Senior Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Apr 1, 2013
Messages
655
Re: Plastic boat seat

I used one of theseimage.jpg

And this mount

image.jpg
 

cablebandit

Seaman
Joined
Nov 2, 2013
Messages
54
Re: Plastic boat seat

question...if i wanted to permanently mount that plastic seat to my bench seat....how do i do it with a swivel and not have it stick up some ungodly amount...id like it as short as possible
 

gm280

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Jun 26, 2011
Messages
14,585
Re: Plastic boat seat

Are these things durable? I'm always leery of anything that supports weight made of plastic.

View attachment 230949

Actually a lot of new boat seats are built on plastic frames these days. I bought two high-end bass boat type folding seats and they are built on plastic frames. So I guess they will hold the weight and work nicely. I think they even make some nice seat cushions for those seats you have to make them more comfy. And if you want to change the color, I think Krylon Fusion will take care of that as well...
 

ronaldj

Senior Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Apr 1, 2013
Messages
655
Re: Plastic boat seat

question...if i wanted to permanently mount that plastic seat to my bench seat....how do i do it with a swivel and not have it stick up some ungodly amount...id like it as short as possible

If you want it permanently mounted use one of these

image.jpg

It will still stick up which is why I went with the clamp on mount.
Sometimes you just want the padded bench seat
 

Chopperbill

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Mar 26, 2014
Messages
389
Re: Plastic boat seat

Actually a lot of new boat seats are built on plastic frames these days. I bought two high-end bass boat type folding seats and they are built on plastic frames. So I guess they will hold the weight and work nicely. I think they even make some nice seat cushions for those seats you have to make them more comfy. And if you want to change the color, I think Krylon Fusion will take care of that as well...
Actually it's hard to find them without the cushions. Not much more money but I'm not sure if the cushions would hold up.
 

Sea Rider

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Sep 20, 2008
Messages
12,345
Re: Plastic boat seat

I thought about getting one of those for my Achilles and mounting it to the bench seat

Bad idea, the bench is probably not that wide to fully support the mounting, besides bench seat could flip along. One thing is seating on it, other adding extra gadgets on top.

Happy Boating
 

Sinistre1

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
May 18, 2010
Messages
298
Re: Plastic boat seat

I used the lazy susan style swivel that RonaldJ shows above. it only adds about 2-3 inches in height and the swivel feature adds functionality on a bench mount otherwise you must ALWAYS be facing straight ahead or in the position you mounted it... very hard to do for any length of time. As for sea riders comment about support, that is ultimately why I stopped using mine. When the boat is stationary (at anchor or drifting but not underway-no motor power) the seat is fairly stable, but once moving at speed, there are a lot of rotational/ torsion forces acting on the bench and transferring to the mounting points on the boat. Since there is overhang on the seat... the lever moment forces are greater than those produced by the plain bench alone, and I was afraid to tear the patch/ mount from the hull. I am 220lbs, so my concerns may be different from yours... at say 150#, I would likely not even have thought about it.
 
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Chopperbill

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Mar 26, 2014
Messages
389
Re: Plastic boat seat

I was worried about the seat bench being floppy if you attached a seat to it. So, I have this mount as my next purchase.
Platform_DWF3.jpg
 

ronaldj

Senior Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Apr 1, 2013
Messages
655
Re: Plastic boat seat

I used the lazy susan style swivel that RonaldJ shows above. it only adds about 2-3 inches in height and the swivel feature adds functionality on a bench mount otherwise you must ALWAYS be facing straight ahead or in the position you mounted it... very hard to do for any length of time. As for sea riders comment about support, that is ultimately why I stopped using mine. When the boat is stationary (at anchor or drifting but not underway-no motor power) the seat is fairly stable, but once moving at speed, there are a lot of rotational/ torsion forces acting on the bench and transferring to the mounting points on the boat. Since there is overhang on the seat... the lever moment forces are greater than those produced by the plain bench alone, and I was afraid to tear the patch/ mount from the hull. I am 220lbs, so my concerns may be different from yours... at say 150#, I would likely not even have thought about it.

That is the very reason I went looking for the cooler.
The issue with the cooler is fitting it into the vehicle.
Not when it is empty, but when it's full
I made a bench that lays on top of the tubes and I tie it down with rope straps and eye hooks

The test I'm going to do today or tomorrow is to use the seat cushion /under seat storage as a cooler and storage.

The problem with all the seating options appears to be the stress of the back rest on the mounting points.
 

Sea Rider

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Sep 20, 2008
Messages
12,345

Chopperbill

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Mar 26, 2014
Messages
389
Re: Plastic boat seat

Would preffer 2 alum bench seat and corresponding side holding patches and 2 alum squares, each bolted to both bench ends and middle bolted mount chairs for better ballance of boat, as opposed to side mount as in attached picture. You can even install same way with wooden standard benches.

Happy Boating

There is more than what I sent off the site. They have four seats bolted to two benches. Passenger pick the seats to balance the load. I only have concern for one seat for me as my wife could care less about a seat, dog even less LOL. Thought it would be a cheap and good way to solid up my seat.
 

Chopperbill

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Mar 26, 2014
Messages
389
Re: Plastic boat seat

Emailed to see if I could use a higher pedestal on the adjustable seat frame as the shown is only 7 inches. Hip problems prevent me from sitting that low. I got an honest response so I am glad they are not out to just sell products like some dealers. Thought I would pass along that info.

"I am not sure if it would be safe to use higher pedestal. We only tested that frame with lower pedestal. Frame itself is strong, and I don’t see it break because of higher pedestal, but then if you will be riding boat sitting higher, frame can pop out from boat on a wave or at higher speed, and you can get injured. It is up to you how you going to use frame, but for legal reasons we can only advice using regular short pedestal."
 

ronaldj

Senior Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Apr 1, 2013
Messages
655
Re: Plastic boat seat

Emailed to see if I could use a higher pedestal on the adjustable seat frame as the shown is only 7 inches. Hip problems prevent me from sitting that low. I got an honest response so I am glad they are not out to just sell products like some dealers. Thought I would pass along that info.

"I am not sure if it would be safe to use higher pedestal. We only tested that frame with lower pedestal. Frame itself is strong, and I don’t see it break because of higher pedestal, but then if you will be riding boat sitting higher, frame can pop out from boat on a wave or at higher speed, and you can get injured. It is up to you how you going to use frame, but for legal reasons we can only advice using regular short pedestal."


I like their honesty.
I also like the confirmation on seat height in an inflatable boat


Btw
I also like the steering console
 
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