zodiac modifications

I have modified my zodiac a bit. Hope this post is at least entertaining! Looking forward to seeing others inventiveness. I had removable plastic lifters on my boat. They performed great, but came loose off the bottom clip and tore off, twice. Maybe that says something about my boating habits? I replaced them with these trim tabs and they adjust up for trailering and beaching.

It's a bouncy ride out there. I found suspension seats for tractors on e-bay for $85 a piece. They have six inches of travel. Replaced all of the original bolts with ss. Have stayed on top of the rust when paint chips or gets scratched. Plush ride! Removed the sliding adjustable bottom bracket and replaced with lighter aluminum brackets.

Liked the adjustability of the track system on the benches from Zodiac. But needed to stick the 10 gallon gas tank under the console/seat bench. Purchased aluminum C section and cut to make this support. The bottom of the bracket is bolted to aluminum plates that key into the edge of the flooring, locking into the side rail.Very sturdy. Hasn't flexed the thin floor like it would have just bolted through. The rails and pipes in the photo are for lashing gear, protecting my tank and there are racks for surfboards that extend out over the side tube. In the picture the front rack is turned in a bit for trailering. Loosen two set screws and the whole thing comes right off. Gotta love Speedrail aluminum connectors!


Used the same concept to install a cross plate on the floor in the back. I have a pole for towing a wakeboard installed. Don't expect any problems, but will post after I corral a wakeboarder and a spotter. Works great holding my rod holders when we fish...



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Re: zodiac modifications

Thanks for sharing the mods nobrainsd, I'm thinking about what I'm going to do with my inflatable now. Keeping things interchangable is going to be key. That way I can use it for different uses such as fishing, river running, running about at high speed, and water skiing.

Re: zodiac modifications

I agonized over doing the console/bench seat as a fixed install, but I really needed to carry a bigger tank without having it suck up all the room in the boat! I used to slide the bench back and put some seats in front of it to carry four people, oh well. The pole in the back installs with plunger pins, very easy to remove. Haven't nailed my toe on the plate yet. My favorite thing about the futura is the track system for holding down gear. The zodiac original track slides are a special order from france with at least six weeks delivery time. I made some slides from a sail stop, a bail bracket and a d ring. I use them to strap down my battery, my anchor/line bucket and camping gear when needed. Nice to be able to move them all around for different set ups. Be sure to post some pictures of your boat!

Re: zodiac modifications

I need to come up with a better way to anchor things down. Right now I have small loops of rope which come through the floor boards in various places. They are tight to the floor so that they don't get in the way. My seats, for example, are mounted on some tubing. When I want the seats in I just put the welded metal tubing into the boat and tie it down using the rope loops on the floor. This method does work, but it takes more time than I want it to.

My home remodeling project is, unfortunately, coming ahead of the boat remodel. The changes to the boat will be far more interesting!

Re: zodiac modifications

Ease of use, always hard to attain! If I didn't have a futura I might put some sail track on the sides of the floor boards just to have the adjustable attachment points. It works so well with anything you can throw at it. The rail to seat set up on the futura is nice, but the supports slant in and suck up too much space if you need storage or tank room. Dream big!

Re: zodiac modifications

Sail track is an idea, I'll look at that. I do need to keep the floor open and comfortable to sit on for speed runs.

Are those fishing rod holders mounted to the ski pylon? Looks like you are ready for offshore fishing.

Re: zodiac modifications

Great looking mods nobrainsd!

While waiting for my new/old inflatable, I have been thinking about the same things you guys are doing. Last night I was surfing for ideas when I found this seat system. I like it because of it's simplicity and ease of removal. It is simple enough I probably could make it myself.

Re: zodiac modifications

Vid: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGOtlj7ObTI

Re: zodiac modifications

I like this thread, you guys have posted some good mods. This seat setup is similar to the one the previous owner did on my inflatable. As long as you have a pipe bender and some welding experience it seems pretty easy. I really like this type of seat setup. The folding fishing seats are great because they fold down for towing and storage. Great for fishing and going slow but they definitely have to go for river runs and going fast.

Re: zodiac modifications

Consider mounting your seats to a tube mounted frame like this.



That way the entire weight of the frame, seats, and passengers is all on the tubes (where it's supposed to be) and not on the floor. It makes for a much smoother ride and gets you up higher so you can see better. You don't feel like you're in a low rider.

That cooler is also suspended and does not touch the floor.

Re: zodiac modifications

So cool to see what everyone else is doing with their boats. I'm always open to a new insight. Hopefully a few more pics will hit the thread. Thanks to all...

Re: zodiac modifications

all you need is a couple of foot-straps, foam padded cushion for you behind and a back cushion .......

Re: zodiac modifications

Drowned Rat said:

Consider mounting your seats to a tube mounted frame like this.

That way the entire weight of the frame, seats, and passengers is all on the tubes (where it's supposed to be) and not on the floor. It makes for a much smoother ride and gets you up higher so you can see better. You don't feel like you're in a low rider.

That cooler is also suspended and does not touch the floor.

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I will probably follow your example Drowned Rat. I am picking up a soft bottom SIB on Monday and with out the rigid flooring , I have no choice but to mount it all to the tube itself.

I would like to drop the center of gravity as low as possible though. If I flip it with my girlfriend in it and dump her in the river , well, you get the picture I think.

I hope a frame such as yours will also add a little stability to the little boat.

Re: zodiac modifications

First I'd like to say, this is an awesome Forum. I have bought my 2001 Zodiac Futura S Mark 3 new and have been modifying it ever since. I use my boat mostly in the ocean for charting to islands, dropping from hoists, wake boarding, and general use.

Right now I'm going to talk about seating. I've tried many different seating techniques including the standard bench, the zodiac inflatable bench, floor seating (air, pads, and kayak seats) and now using my own modified seat. The seating has always been a big issue for me as I ride my zodiac in the ocean and travel across large swells to get to the channel islands from Santa Barbara. My back just can't take hours of jolting and bad posture, so I've been working on the seating most recently.

Problems with seats: The inflatable (deflatable) bench seats that Zodiac sells can't take a beating. I broke 2 of them and spent more money than I want to post on this forum. Most of the floor seating ideas I've tried put you to low to have a good visible range of whats in front of you, especially if your wake boarding and need to hit the gas for the take off. When the bow goes up, you can't see anything. Finally the stock bench seats hurt and have no back support.

My newest creation is using the bench seats that came with the Zodiac. I stripped off the padding that was glued on, sanded it down, and repainted it. Then I attached a swivel mount to some $40 seats I bought at West Marine and attached it to the bench. Its an easy fix that doesn't cost much. However, I haven't tried it yet as I just finished, but I'll repost after this weekend to let you know how it works. Heres a couple of pics.

Re: zodiac modifications

Here is a photo of the rear seat frame which came with my used inflatable. With the fold-down fishing seats out of the picture, you can see the frame more easily. What I like about this setup is that the driver's seat is a little farther back than the other seat - thus allowing for easier access to the outboard tiller.

Re: 北京世创万达经贸有限公司2

Re: 北京世创万达经贸有限公司2

what the hell is up with this dude .....

Re: 北京世创万达经贸有限公司2

Re: 北京世创万达经贸有限公司2

080711jk said:

北京世创万达经贸有限公司在生产经营地板、楼梯家俱等实木制品十年的基础上, 楼梯成功开发引进了欧洲具有先进生产工艺的西班牙数码实木楼梯楼梯,国内注册商标“世创雅居”。楼梯并接受西班牙Frank .Xie. Wei先生的指导,专业生产制造、安装各式楼梯梯柱。世创雅居实木楼梯的原材料选择楼梯,是完全通过外贸渠

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He is trying to sell us wooden staircases made in China, to install in our inflatables.

I hate this s***!