Removable Seats that Won't

M

MontanaAardvark

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
Dec 12, 2011
Messages
49
I think it shouldn't be this hard.

I bought a used 2005 boat and it has removable seats. Three seats on seat posts that can be moved around the cockpit to fit the situation. Lots of catalogs show this sort of arrangement. The seat posts look like this:
seatpost.jpg
You should just be able to press that black button and pull the post out, right? For the life of me, I can't. I'm guessing some sort of corrosion has happened, not that the previous owner bonded it in place.

Does anyone have any tips on how to get that post out of the deck?

Oh, the seats pull off of the pedestals really easy.


Thanks,
Bob
 
catfish58

catfish58

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Jul 17, 2011
Messages
158
Re: Removable Seats that Won't

There should be a knob under the seat to adjust the tension for swiveling the seat. If you tighten it some the seat should stay on the post when you pull up on it. You may need to spray some lubricant at the base to loosen the post from the base.
 
M

MontanaAardvark

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
Dec 12, 2011
Messages
49
Re: Removable Seats that Won't

Don't know if it's bad form to reply to my own post, but I got it loose. There was no knob under the seat, so I pulled the seat, used a strap wrench to depress the button then a long screwdriver to pull the button into the tube and out of the way. That completely defeated the locking mechanism. The strap wrench would twist the post but not let me pull it, so now fully frustrated, I used the big heavy screwdriver as a lever with a chunk of wood, and pried it out of there.

Since I have a lathe, I think I'm going to take about a 32nd worth of diameter off that post.


Bob
 
F

fishrdan

Admiral
Joined
Jan 25, 2008
Messages
6,989
Re: Removable Seats that Won't

MontanaAardvark said:
I think I'm going to take about a 32nd worth of diameter off that post.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't machine anything off the post as they are supposed to have a tight fit, loose will be annoying and rock the post around. And, if you machine it you'll remove the anodizing, more change for corrosion to lock the post in the base. The post was probably wedged in the base from never being removed, dirt/debris packing it tight. I've haven't had an issue removing my posts, but I remove them a couple times a year.
 
M

MontanaAardvark

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
Dec 12, 2011
Messages
49
Re: Removable Seats that Won't

fishrdan said:
I wouldn't machine anything off the post as they are supposed to have a tight fit, loose will be annoying and rock the post around. And, if you machine it you'll remove the anodizing, more change for corrosion to lock the post in the base. The post was probably wedged in the base from never being removed, dirt/debris packing it tight. I've haven't had an issue removing my posts, but I remove them a couple times a year.
Click to expand...

Thanks for that. It is difficult to get back into position as is. Either the post or the base seems to have something wrong with it. I'm not 100% sure the post is round and true. Something is off.
 
A

advntrs

Cadet
Joined
Jul 9, 2012
Messages
17
Re: Removable Seats that Won't

What I do, is treat the posts once a year with vasoline. No oil stains and works perfect.
 
D

dlngr

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Jul 15, 2007
Messages
547
Re: Removable Seats that Won't

advntrs said:
What I do, is treat the posts once a year with vasoline. No oil stains and works perfect.
Click to expand...

I second the lube! Once I finally got mine apart,I sanded them a little and put a little marine grease on 'em.
 
M

MontanaAardvark

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
Dec 12, 2011
Messages
49
Re: Removable Seats that Won't

Thanks for that idea.

I'm not much of a machinist, but I'm enough of one to know that a few thousandths can make the difference between comfortable fit and way too tight (or way too loose). I thought about sandpaper, but I think I can control it better with the lathe. What's a lathe, after all, but a way to spin the work so that the sandpaper takes off a uniform thickness all the way around?
 
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