Seat height

R

Roy & Dixie

New member
I wanted to increase my over the bow visibility for both the operator and passenger. I am 5' 11" and wife is 5' 3". I removed the 4ea 2" long bolts that hold each seat on my 1999, 22ft CD and purchased 5" long bolts and 2ea 8' long spruce 2x4's. I cut 8 ea 16" lengths of 2x4's and nailed together 4 pairs side to side. A finished 2x4 is actually 1 3/4" x 3 1/2". So I ended up with 4 ea 16" long sections that are 3"x 3 1/2". I replaced the seats on top of the timbers (2 timbers under each seat, run just outside the bolts) and found the 5" long bolts would reach the nuts in the bottom of the seat with plenty of threads available with the timbers positioned to raise the seats 3 1/2". This makes a big difference in visibility over the bow when underway. I have an autopilot that positions the wheel a few inches closer the the operator, and that results in a tight squeeze for my right leg between the wheel and front of seat, but it is worth it. Is something like this a common pratice on a CD?
 
Some have raised the seat, but I would suspect most have not. At 5'11" you are in the upper average height. I was 6'2", probably slightly under 6'1" now. The visibility from the seat is not ideal, but as you get used to the boat--much of the line of vision is well forward, not right in front of the boat you adopt and work with the line of vision. There have been a few times when I have had to stand up or even move to the center to get a better sight line. Also a lot has to do with the running angle of the boat. With time you become used to what the sight lines are, and learn to make the best of it for safe boating.

It is a very personal decision--and what works for you is the best.
 
I haven't used my boat enough to know what I'll want, but I made a mental note when I saw this photo in 3rd Byte's album because I thought it was nifty. The seat was raised 2-1/8" and the new riser is also a drawer.

Helm_seat_riser_with_drawer.jpg


Drawer_works.jpg


You must have a Sport Pilot? I do too, and it does move the wheel a bit aft. On the other hand, it looks like the (now) common Baystar hydraulic steering moves it aft even more; hence (in past reading) I've found quite a few threads discussing various wheel "shrinking" fixes. Some ideas were a smaller-diameter wheel, a wheel with no offset, raising the wheel (so the shaft comes through the bulkhead higher up), installing a tilt wheel, insetting the wheel further (forward), or mounting the wheel at an angle. (Whew!)

Hopefully before too long I'll get a chance to use my boat (on the water!) and find out what will suit.

Sunbeam :hot

PS: By the way, if your wheel has a lot of back-and-forth slop on the Sportpilot mount, you might want to take a look in my album for a potential fix. It vastly improved mine.
 
I raised my seat two inches, and made it removeable for more counter space when camping. The steering wheel was close so I added a angle adaptor to it.
Photos are on my album if interested.
Jerry
 
I raised mine about 2 inches with 3 boards (1.5 x 2) and a cover on the isle side so I have a small storage space for manuals. Also refoamed the seat as I also bottomed out and I'm only 170 pounds; first I got "high density" foam at JoAnn's and it made no difference. Then I took it to an upholsterer and he said here's real "high density" foam, it seemed way to stiff but I had him do it anyway for $40 complete and it's great; no sore butt after 2,3 or 4 hours at the helm. I also raised the seat back up one screw hole with an aluminum flat bar for support on each side and that made it more comfortable too.

Jay
 
Thanks Jay, I will look into that real high density foam.


C-Green":1dkad3mc said:
I raised mine about 2 inches with 3 boards (1.5 x 2) and a cover on the isle side so I have a small storage space for manuals. Also refoamed the seat as I also bottomed out and I'm only 170 pounds; first I got "high density" foam at JoAnn's and it made no difference. Then I took it to an upholsterer and he said here's real "high density" foam, it seemed way to stiff but I had him do it anyway for $40 complete and it's great; no sore butt after 2,3 or 4 hours at the helm. I also raised the seat back up one screw hole with an aluminum flat bar for support on each side and that made it more comfortable too.

Jay
Click to expand...
 
Bill K":1vq1rzes said:
My problem is I hit bottom, ( need new foam ) and I haven't even had the boat in the water yet. LOL
Click to expand...

The foam quality S.U.C.K.S. It's not just you. It's been one of my "to do" list items for a while. My ass bottoms out on the foam in no time, and I "only" weigh 190. It need to be denser. This spring it is coming apart and some more dense foam will be installed. I'd advise a real foam shop; they will have the correct foam. I went to one in Seattle and they had samples to feel.
 
I'm not a foam expert, but... here are a couple of amateur tips:

There are two different factors to consider, and you can get varying combinations of both. I like the numbers because then I have something to go on. Some places don't give you the numbers but use more subjective terms; other places will give you the numbers.

"ILD"
This stand for indentation load deflection, and it's basically like if you press down on the foam, how "soft" or "hard" it feels. Something like an 18 is quite soft; 30-ish is medium, 40+ is firm, and so on.

Density
I usually see density measured in pounds per cubic foot. At any rate, this is a measure of "how much foam is in the foam." A denser foam (say a 3 lb/cu.ft vs. a 1 lb/cu. ft) will be higher quality, heavier, and last longer than a less dense foam. At extremes, you could have an 18 ILD that was a 3 lb. density (soft but heavy and long lasting) or a 50 ILD that was a 1 lb. density (very firm but not that heavy or long lasting).

When I've purchased foam I've always gotten the highest possible density, for long life/better quality. Sometimes I'll just choose one ILD, but other times I'll make up layers, with a really firm on the bottom (to avoid bottoming out), a medium in the middle, and a soft/thin layer on top, just for a bit of cush.

Maybe more than anyone wanted to know, and possibly with slight inaccuracies in some terms, but I think I have the basic concepts right.

Sunbeam
 
I raised the helm seat in Valkyrie and have a sub album in our album showing the steps and material needed. Also, I had my local canvas guy add denser foam to the helm seat, which cost less than $50 and made a big difference!

Nick
"Valkyrie"
 
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