help with building a rear bench, please post photos!!!!

evolution1985

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Jan 29, 2012
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Hey guys hope everyone is doing well.

First off let me explain what im asking help with. I have already had my fears allayed in regards to the weight distribution and also feasibility of what i want to do, thanks to my fellow iBoaters. I am going to completely redo the interior of my boat by getting rid of the back to back seats and the rear engine cover and replacing them with a full L bench and a nice captains chair for the helm.

But here is my newest problem. Every boat that I have owned so far has either been an outboard or a direct drive ski boat. My parents have had Vdrives but to be honest I never payed to much attention to how the seating was set up.

I have no problem with the actual construction of the seats, but I Don't know how much engine access I need. I have seen boats with just the sun platform that lifts up and with fixed seats, but to me that seems a little silly in regards to accessing the front of the motor?

Can Anyone that has a rear bench on there boat please post some photos of their engine access and seat setup? I have tried to head down to the marine dealers where i am but Im out in the sticks, so there isn't much to poke around with here.

Cheers in advance guys, once i know how to set these seats up I can start construction.
 

oops!

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Oct 18, 2007
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Re: help with building a rear bench, please post photos!!!!

hi....welcome to iboats.

what kind of boat are we working with here?
 

evolution1985

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Jan 29, 2012
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213
Re: help with building a rear bench, please post photos!!!!

Hi oops, long time reader, HUGE fan. you have done some amazing work.
I bought a 1997 Wellcraft excel 21sx. Checked the entire boat so far Not a spec of wet rot, so pretty happy. but time will tell this winter when i do the tare down.

The boat is running a 5.7 mercuiser with the alpha drive. runs GREAT, had a little issue with a bit of porpoising but found out most of it was just user error :facepalm:

Basically just trying to work out the specifics of how to set up the rear seats, whether they should be able to be removable, or whether they can be fixed? etc etc
 

Bondo

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70,465
Re: help with building a rear bench, please post photos!!!!

Basically just trying to work out the specifics of how to set up the rear seats, whether they should be able to be removable, or whether they can be fixed? etc etc

Ayuh,... Welcome Aboard,.... There's no such thing as Too Much Access to yer driveline/ motor....

The Easier it is to remove yer seat to access the motor, the Better you'll love yer seat....
 

evolution1985

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Jan 29, 2012
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Re: help with building a rear bench, please post photos!!!!

Ayuh,... Welcome Aboard,.... There's no such thing as Too Much Access to yer driveline/ motor....

The Easier it is to remove yer seat to access the motor, the Better you'll love yer seat....


that is a very true statement........... i CAN NOT say how many times I have thought that when working on cars. esp the German cars, audis bmw etc etc.

my biggest problem now that i can not get my head around is how to make the rear portion removable, yeah securely fixed to the boat so as to not move whilst underway. i thought about hinges, snap plates, bolts.... but so far i just cant come up with something that doesn't' seem like it would rattle or squeak or just generally be a pain in the bum. im wanting to replicate a factory fit and finish as much as i can, but not having access to other boats to have a peek at it makes it a little hard. hence why im asking if any one has photos so i can understand how they're done at the factory.
 

LippCJ7

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Sep 20, 2010
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5,431
Re: help with building a rear bench, please post photos!!!!

Mine has the sundeck that rests on top of the back seat in fact the leading edge of the sundeck forms the top pad of the back seat.

When you lift the sundeck to access the engine, you flip the rear bench seat forward, there is a piano hinge on the front of the seat where it meets the floor and the back seat can be flipped 90 degrees from where it sits.

If you want to get really serious about it, my rear bench also slides down to make another bed/sun pad, the area where you sit slides towards the front of the boat and the back rest slides down and then flat to add area to the bed/sun pad

CameraDownload032011002.jpg


Sorry for the blue tint this is from last year under the tarp
 

evolution1985

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Jan 29, 2012
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213
Re: help with building a rear bench, please post photos!!!!

Fantastic thread with a wealth of information here.

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=524995

hey halfmoa, cheers for the reply. Yep i read that thread through about 6 times, He has done some awesome work to that boat. my only problem is its a completely different application that im trying to do. the construction techniques will definitely be a bonus but unfortunately it doesn't help to much with my layout problem.
 

evolution1985

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Jan 29, 2012
Messages
213
Re: help with building a rear bench, please post photos!!!!

Mine has the sundeck that rests on top of the back seat in fact the leading edge of the sundeck forms the top pad of the back seat.

When you lift the sundeck to access the engine, you flip the rear bench seat forward, there is a piano hinge on the front of the seat where it meets the floor and the back seat can be flipped 90 degrees from where it sits.

If you want to get really serious about it, my rear bench also slides down to make another bed/sun pad, the area where you sit slides towards the front of the boat and the back rest slides down and then flat to add area to the bed/sun pad

CameraDownload032011002.jpg


Sorry for the blue tint this is from last year under the tarp



hey lip yeah that is pretty much what im trying to work out. :D. Would it be to much of a bother to ask you if you might be able to scrounge up some photos of the seats in the different stages? how the backrests move, how the bottom folds up? etc etc? although With the one im planning on making mine will eventually be an L shape with the passenger side running straight up to the front and integrating it so it can be used as an observer seat for water sports. :rolleyes: so the misses wants anyway. haha
 

LippCJ7

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Re: help with building a rear bench, please post photos!!!!

I don't have any right now, I will have to knock the snow(26"s) off the boat and then uncover it but I may be able to get them for you tomorrow
 

evolution1985

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Jan 29, 2012
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Re: help with building a rear bench, please post photos!!!!

I don't have any right now, I will have to knock the snow(26"s) off the boat and then uncover it but I may be able to get them for you tomorrow

Hi again Lipp. yeah that would be great if you could. I knew you guys get snow at home but it still intrigues me. We only really get snow in the mountains here during winter. Its the middle of summer here in victoria (australia), and although its been a cool summer its still about 37 degrees(C) or 99 ( F ) at the moment (11:46am) :D
Mate if you could get those photos for me I would be forever grateful especially as it sounds like quite an undertaking just to get to your boat.

Let me know if there is anything i can do to make it a little sweeter for you to trudge out into the snow? maybe send over some Vegemite? ;) :D

Cheers Nick
 

LippCJ7

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Re: help with building a rear bench, please post photos!!!!

Don't you threaten me with vegemite I tried it, and it took me a month before things started tasting right!!

Don't worry about a return just pay it forward sometime for somebody else, that's payment enough
 

evolution1985

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Re: help with building a rear bench, please post photos!!!!

Don't you threaten me with vegemite I tried it, and it took me a month before things started tasting right!!

see I have always wondered about this? lols it wasn't a threat tho. :p I have always wondered just how much gets put on the toast? lols the trick is put a nice thick bit of butter down on the hot toast, then spread a LITTLE bit of vegemite, lols just enough to cover the toast. haha you definitely don't put it on like peanut butter or jam.

but yeah i can def do that.
 

LippCJ7

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Re: help with building a rear bench, please post photos!!!!

Do me a favor and PM Me a email address since this is likely to be a large file
 

JDA1975

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Aug 27, 2011
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1,385
Re: help with building a rear bench, please post photos!!!!

Mine does not cover an engine, but is used to allow a full sized 24 gallon tank to be installed under the center console of my bench, the way I assembled the seats allows easy removal of center console, to access tank if the need arises...while not exactly the same application, something similar may work for you....the entire seat build, which is still in progress is documented in my restoration thread in my signature, here is a picture or two though to give an idea

IMG_4021.jpg


IMG_4022.jpg


center console is stand alone, and removable

IMG_3982.jpg


when its all tied together I designed it to not look removable, or as closely as I could anyways
 

evolution1985

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Jan 29, 2012
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Re: help with building a rear bench, please post photos!!!!

G'day JDA, I have read through your thread. I must admit i have been a bit of a thread stalker for awhile now. Learning as much as i can and being mightily impressed by all the work that everyone's been doing. I was planning on stealing your idea for the locked storage locker. I do like that. I need to make a lock box for keys and wallets and such. :)
 

JDA1975

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1,385
Re: help with building a rear bench, please post photos!!!!

Thanks, and I am always happy to meet a stalker...its less creepy if I know they are watching! JK, if any of my stuff helps ya, then I have done good and given something back to the community that has given so much to me! good luck with your seats, I am sure yours is going to be a much larger scale, but its an idea...the nice thing is that the way I tied in the back rest, the console can be used as a 3rd seat (it holds my 200lbs no problem) at a slow cruise speed it should be safe....heck the lounge benches have less gunwale (before my mod to add 4" of height)
 

evolution1985

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Jan 29, 2012
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213
Re: help with building a rear bench, please post photos!!!!

yeah thats what i thought. I have to completely redo the entire layout so hence why ive been a stalker for pretty much every Iboats thread for awhile. haha well at least it beats facebook :facepalm: im itching to get stuck into the boat but the other half won't let me until the end of summer ;)
 

LippCJ7

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Re: help with building a rear bench, please post photos!!!!

Evo, its snowing still so it doesn't look like I am going to be able to uncover my boat, may be thursday or friday, I have to work the next couple days
 

evolution1985

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Jan 29, 2012
Messages
213
Re: help with building a rear bench, please post photos!!!!

hey again mate.

Yeah all good. Im not in a huge rush we still have a couple of months of warm weather here. So whenever you can will be brilliant.
when iBoats allow pictures to upload I will post the the photos of my boat now that im all moved into my new house and the main computer is working again. :p
 
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