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My 60" wide bench helm seat is shot. I'm thinking of buying one of these 60" Wise bench seats, removing it from the box mount provided and attaching it to the struts on my flybridge. Anyone have any experience w/ these seats?



Thing is, I'd like to raise the seat maybe 3-6" off the struts. I'm thinking about two strips of wood, painted white, running across the struts from left to right. Would be curious what my other options might be(?)

I'm in the same situation, though my 75' B28 is configured a little different than yours.

I don't need to do it right now but when I do I'm going to check with a marine upholstery shop about fabing what I want and like you use the exsisting base.

I've been invloved with hotrods for years and it's amazing what a good trimer can fabricate.

I like you want a little more height. Maybe buy making a thicker base and adding alot of foam. That way on a 200 mi. tuna trip you don't come back to the dock with a raseberry on each cheek!

I don't have any suggestions; I'm just going to watch this thread 'cause I'm in the same boat.

Cheers!

John

Well, here's how the numbers stack up:

60" bench seat on-line ranges from $300 - $500.

I was quoted $300 / section to recover my current seat and add some padding. Its a three section seat (seat plus two backs) so thats $900. A little steep I think. Alternately I could forgo the split seat back and be in for $600.

If I was 100% confident in the upholstery guy I'd go that route and have him carve a section out of the front of the damn seat so it didn't dig into my calves when I stand at the helm. But I'm not (100% confident), so I'm exploring other options.

Shimming up the $300 factory unit is a pretty attractive option, assuming it can be done right.

I had aluminum seat built similar in design as a center console seat. 600 bucks. had a flip seat made with 4 inch foam. that was about 400. The seat is centered instead of to the side. I have just enough room to squeeze in from either side. I can also seat three very comfortably and four will fit. There is also a flip down foot rest. No problems with the calfs being butchered. I have no regrets with the method I chose but that is just me. I need to post some pics for one of the guys who was also interested but still need to find the pictures on my computer. Better yet I will just take new pics and post.

I just put much better and thicker padding in, and carved out a little U shaped area for calf relief immediately aft of the weheel. Just raised the seat back (mine is one part) a bit to acoomidate the thicker lower pad.

For me, the height is fine when kicking back and much higher, you might get some spray. I drive standing most of the time, especially in close quarters or if its rough, so the calf relief was the key. But, but, but, the distance b/w the wheel and the forward lip on the hatch is not that much. Think about the angles. Too big a U and one can't sit in the area of the U OR use all the U because of your shoes hitting the lip of the hatch.

Kevin wrote: Better yet I will just take new pics and post.

Would like to see the pic's Kevin.

http://s189.photobucket.com/albums/z170 ... filter=all

Try this link for pics

Explanation of some pics.

Bench seat: 4" foam, aluminum frame with foot rest. Seat is hinged but have not got around to building box for underside. I am 6'3" tall and have snoozed on this seat. Yes my feet hang off but with the right weather you could sleep on this thing.

Gunwhale shot: I ommitted all the clam shell vents; AKA trip hazards or toe busters. I think it looks alot claener without them. There is an vent in the hull for air, not that these things are air tight anyways.

Pulpit: Butler marine solid fiberglass. 600 bucks but well worth convenience for anchoring and not having anchor mounted next to hatch.

Helm: Not finished with that either. Currently made of starboard, I do not recomend that. Will replace with fiberglass eventually. the angle is far better than the stock variance. I can lean on the helm when standing.....I stand most of the time. The throttle and tranny levers are much more pleasant to use and not in the way.

Cockpit panels: They are the originals to my knowledge. Sanded, primed and painted just like the rest of the boat. Surprized it came out that well.

I might try to directly post the pics rather than using link. Getting photobucket link was a big step for me in the computer world.

Matt, let me know if you want any specific pics and I will post some more. Sorry it took so long. Carpenter is coming over today to start building my interior.

Kevin,
Those pics look awesome. Thank you. As most have figured out by my last post, I am busy as hell with some more pressing issues right now (floating and moving), but those pics helped out a ton. I'm soaking it in right now. I'll have to brainstorm a bit more after seeing yours and get back to you. It looks like alot of thought went into your design, so hopefully you can catch a potential pitfall I might encounter. Looks great!
Thanks again,
Matt

Kevin,

Thanks for the pics, very nicely done!!