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gentlemen,
I've been trying to find a heavy duty pedestal for the helm chair. When we're in Greenport, Charlie measured the length of his, and I think that it was 36"'s, but, I was sporting a pretty good beer buzz and might have been a few inches off. I'm finding a bunch of 30"ers but not anything 36 that can handle the likes of big Eddie. Would you guys mind putting a tape on the length of the pedestal and diameter of the base the next time you're at the boat? I'd appreciate it, and I want to double check the measurements before pulling the trigger on having something fabricated.
Much thanks.
John.

john
ill take the measerments on the way home from work later, john we might have measered to the top of the seat that would give you approx 6"
ill pull the seat off and give you the measerments

john
with the chair off, from the deck to the top of the pipe 30"
base is 9" wide
with the chair on its 36" to the top of the cushion.
hope this helps

Charlie,
Thanks for checking it out for me. It's going to make things alot easier and cheaper for me. I hope that it wasn't too far out of your way.
Thanks again.
John.

no trouble at all john

John,

Since you seem to have gotten the response to your question, I hope you don't mind if I piggyback on your thread to inquire about the engine boxes. On most of the Bahia Mars I've seen, the engine boxes are four-sided stand-alone boxes, with a space outboard of the boxes for storage of boathooks, gaffs, etc. On a few Bahia Mars I've seen, the engine boxes are integrated into a factory built structure outboard, similar to all the other models. Any thoughts as to why there are two different setups on the model? I've always like the openess of the Bahia Mar model.

Thanks,

Tommy

One last question before putting this to rest...are the pedestals on most bahia's made out of aluminum or stainless? Thanks.
Tommy,
My engine boxes are made by Cabrera, and are made for the sportfish model and go all of the way out to the gunwale. There's no space between the box and the side of the boat. I was on Brian Barragy's boat and his was set up like that, and I liked it...no wasted space and more room to sit or lay down on top of the box...also, more room underneath for easier engine access.

John,

Lee Irvin's "Sea Horse" was like yours also. Maybe the factory built all Bahia Mars with the stand-alone engine boxes, and the others I see are after-market Cabrera systems. I like your setup for the reasons you mentioned. Thanks for the response.

Tommy

tommy
i have the original engine boxes stand alone
john alum pedestals

I have stand alone engine boxes.
My helm seat is mounted on a 5 drawer tackle center that I believe was an original option.
My companion seat is mounted on a "U" shaped aluminum leg that goes from the wall to the end of the seat and then bends 90degrees down to the floor.
I think all is stock.

Charlie,
Thanks again.
Bertram,
When I first got the bahia, I had a teak tackle station on which you could sit on facing front or back with a back rest in between. I had one port and starboard...Looked like it came from the factory that way. For my helm seat, I thought about 2 aluminum 1 1/2" pipes bolted to, and, coming from the side, parallel from each other and about a foot apart, and then bending down 90 degrees and bolting to the floor...imagine an upside down "L". Then I'd have a 1/4" plate welded on top which the helm chair would be mounted.I thought that this would give me room underneath for a big cooler, and, I thought it might be a stronger setup for the helm chair. Would you mind taking some pics, whenever you get the chance, of your pipe setup? I'd like to know where and how it bolts up to the side and also to the floor. No hurry.
I really appreciate it.
John.

I'll gladly send some pix .... please give me your email address, I'm "photo challenged" on here.
bertramp1@aol.com

Bertram,
I'm computer challenged. My e mailis: john.cranston62@gmail.com
Much thanks.
John.

john on the chair subject i should have mention when you were on the boat at greenport ; the chair is a tracy and your feet go on the floor taking advantage of the low gunnek height of 31 bertram . you could customize your new chair and cut down pedestal to attain correct seat height without footrest. i am concern the footrest would be a serious tripping hazard.

Bob,
That's what I liked about your setup...no foot rest. My chair is a 80lb Pompanette with the retracting foot rest...It's a smaller chair than their international 80lb class chair. I'm probably just going to take the foot rest off and mount the chair like you did yours..I like the extra room.
Thanks.

john with this chair a fellow could face the gunnel and fish and another fisherman can walk right past him to net or gaff a fish. i must add , with the fisherman`s feet under the gunnel that adds to the room from gunnel to edge of chair about 40".

Bertram,
I got your pics...I'm going to get McKinney to take a peek and fill me in on the details.
Thanks a bunch.
Bob,
I'm going to copy what you did...hope you don't mind.
Thanks, sir.
John.

john of course i don`t mind if you copy it thats why i posted it. anything i could possibly help you with i will.

John,

I just went and measured my helm seats. They are both 36" tall from the floor to the top of the aluminum structure (bottom of seat cushion). They are definately original consisting of U shaped extruded aluminum from the floor up to an aluminum rectangle that the cushion sits on welded to the U shaped support. The other side of it is mounted to side of boat with a bracket that allows it to slide for and aft for adjustment. They do seem a little too high though, so 30" might actually be a little more ergonamically better unless you are much over 6' tall. I'm 6" tall and its a little bit of a jump to get on the seat. My dive buddy who isn't much north of 5' has to use the foot rest to climb up into the seat. As far as my engine boxes, I have the original stand alone boxes, but they appear to have been raised about 4" (compared with Bertramp's) probably to get the required clearance for my Merc 454 EFI MPs. I like the original design for ease of maintenance when changing plugs, manifolds risers etc.