rear bench seat help...newbie

[JKA22]

Hello, my wife and I are working on a 1981Sea Ray 190 open bow. The boat runs, but has no interior we have rebuilt it from the bottom up and would like to change from a doghouse style engine cover to a sun deck and bench. We have searched on the forum, but thought we would ask if anyone has bench seat plans we may be able to use or even use as a reference for what we are trying to accomplish. Thanks

 

[tinkeringwackyone]

Re: rear bench seat help...newbie

a lot of the searay's that had the doghouse for the engine cover, had the seats beside them that would remove and and fit higher up on either side of the doghouse to create the sundeck like what you are looking for. This gave the option of having both seats on either side or a sundeck. hope this helps. good luck and welcome to iboats.

 

[oops!]

Re: rear bench seat help...newbie

yep....welcome to i boats.

converting from a dog house to a sun pad is easy.....but you loose passenger space.

i removed my dog house.....put in a firewall/bulkhead. on the passengers side of the bulk head.....i built a bench seat.

in fact i am assembling the sunpad and interior at this time......see the hull extension thread.

this will give you insight as how to make a bench seat (you dont have to make it out of fiberglass....it can be painted plywood).

the sun pad is easy....a fiberglassed sheet of plywood as the pad...build supports under the edges. then upholster the top as you wish !

 

[JKA22]

Re: rear bench seat help...newbie

Thank you for the replies. When we bought the boat the only interior piece it had was a doghouse out of a much smaller boat, about 8 inches to narrow to fit across the back, didn't give too much to work with. Thanks again for the tips.

 

[Indymike]

Re: rear bench seat help...newbie

Here are a couple pics of my bench.

The bench is moved almost a foot aft from the factory location.

 

[Froggerman]

Re: rear bench seat help...newbie

Nice work there Indy. Ive never seen this conversion looks great and great idea.

 

[BigBoatinOkie]

Re: rear bench seat help...newbie

I have been comtemplating how to build my bench and sundeck as well in my 84 wellcraft 180. Would be great to see pics how others have done theirs, upholstered or not. Mike's design is interesting. I've never seen one actually sitting over the engine. Good way to gain a little extra space. I think it would be a good idea to use some of that silver insulation on the underside of that bench to reflect the heat. Keep the pics comin fellas. JKA22, I'm not trying to take over your thread, but it seems we're in the same boat. Pun intended.

 

[JKA22]

Re: rear bench seat help...newbie

That's awesome awesome Indymike thank you. BigBoatinOkie no problem at all, maybe we can make some progress soon.

 

[tinkeringwackyone]

Re: rear bench seat help...newbie

I like the idea you came up with, definitely want to insulate for noise and heat from the engine. maybe make a hole for a fire extinquisher. that would be easy to shoot into if need be. like the design..good job....tink

 

[MountaineerMiner]

Re: rear bench seat help...newbie

Though I am far from needing to think about seating I too was considering the bench/sundeck over doghouse/jump seats. I am afraid of how much space it would take up though; my boat is just less than 17' so space is at a premium.

Indymike,
Did you make your bench removable so the engine may be accessed for maintenance? If so, how did you do this? This was my second concern...

Mike

 

[Indymike]

Re: rear bench seat help...newbie

First of all it's not done yet. I can get to just about everything for general maintenance, but I am building it so it can easily be disassembled. The base unit will fasten to the sole with small angle brackets. The seat back bolts to the base VIA the stainless brace you see in the second pic and also the coaming.
The back will also get a stiffener across the width.
There is also a panel that fills the opening over the motor well. It serves to beef up the span across the opening and also provide a margin of safety in case something comes loose under your seat. Including the seat base there will be 1" of plywood between the motor well and your butt. The voids on either side of the motor well are storage.
Hope this helps.