I bought a used kayak yesterday, and got a great deal on it because it doesnt have seats. Previous owner had intended to upgrade the seats but never got around to it, and I guess he was moving to a smaller place so I got this old town dirigo tandem plus for 250. Figure I can take the wife AND kid out in it, or just kid and some camping stuff if I decide to go wild.
But lil dinky neoprene kayak seats go for about the same price as lower end folding bass boat type seats (academy has some for $35 each!). I wanna use those instead, be more comfy. I've got a few half decent ideas for how I'd custom install them, but I was wondering if anyone had successfully done something similar, so I don't need to reinvent the wheel. Ive got a few other cool mods in mind, rod holders everywhere, a fish finder etc., but seats obviously take precedence. I know this is not the easiest solution. But when has that ever even slowed me down?
Here's what I put in my 1st yak, a 10' inflatable. It's a portable stadium seat sold by Costco. Will eventually corrode due to the cheap metal and finish, so it definitely needs a post-use rinse ASAP, and does need lube on the hinges. Good support though when compared to the inflatable seat that came with it. Relatively easy to secure and adjust if you go crude and cheap like me.
This kayak is 22 yrs. old now and has numerous pin-holes that I patch and then cover with duct tape, once/year. Lotsa great memories with this baby.
I decided not to go forward with the idea. It was brought to my attention that the reason that I don't generally see this done is that I'd be adding about 30# to the weight of the yak. Phrased differently that increases what I need to lift to my roof by nearly 50%
I may go back and add it as originally designed, around the point where I add a trolling motor and suddenly don't care as much about paddling effort.
Also if anyone cares, the roof rack performed flawlessly. I have already tested it at highway speeds and it was solid didnt budge an inch. I'm sure the half hour it takes for me to feel its strapped down solidly will reduce as I get more practice.
Now I just gotta get it wet.
not just 50% more mass/bulk to lift, but 50% more for roof-rack to handle, PLUS extra wind resistance
might want to make whatever seats you choose, easy to detach & install on arrival
to travel inside vehicle for highway speeds, at least -- if not, local jaunts
Jason,
I have an Ascend FS12T I bought at the Bass Pro Shop in Brandon. It was in my budget and worked great in the Tampa Bay, and even took it out off Honeymoon Island. The seat it came with did not like the salt water even though I rinsed it off each time. It must have gotten saltwater inside the metal tubular frame and corroded it that way. Anyways I never really liked the stock seat too much anyways.
I bought a little folding Jon boat seat off Amazon and used aluminum angle stock to create a mount. It is still removable using wing nuts. For me I just slid it in the bed of the truck or upside down on the ladder rack when towing the camper.
It will be delivered to me at my new duty station tomorrow and I am happy to take a few photos when it shows up for you. It does add weight putting on the swivel seat but not too much, kayak anglers tend to put way too much gear on the yak anyways. I now try to minimize what's on board, not taking a huge cooler with ice in the hopes of really getting into the fish and opting for a cooler bag with a couple bottles of frozen water tends to make up the weight difference for me.
Nick
Quote from: ReelFishingProblems on July 27, 2021, 02:59:23 AM
I now try to minimize what's on board
I'm with you on that Nick. I scrutinize every little item and decide whether it is really needed or not. Every bit of extra weight means you have to paddle a little harder.
Yup. A flexible insulated bag can hold ice and lunch and fish and bait. I experiment with new stuff, get ridda stuff I don't use, but the yak always gets a little heavier...
I decided I'm doing it. This project got shelved for a year in favor of using my one seater. But I've been working on it again so the wife and kid can come out with me.
For the front seat I used a tow strap stitched with 30# braid at the intersections to put under a normal EVA replacement kayak seat. But that took forever and for the seat I'm likely to sit in, I went and bought a seat on Amazon,and I think I'm just gonna screw it in from the bottom with some gnarly caulking, and hardware i add to try to suspend it from the sides is just gonna add weight. The new seat is under 10#, so it's not so bad. The EVA seat I intended to use for myself will be used for my kid to sit in the middle. It's a so called "2.5 seater."
I was gonna use the so-called 'gasket maker' to seal the bottom. But is there a better option?
I would not drill holes in the bottom to mount a seat. Maybe mount to wood and fit it to the hull .
Quote from: oldmanjoe on August 19, 2022, 12:33:51 AMI would not drill holes in the bottom to mount a seat. Maybe mount to wood and fit it to the hull .
Not the worst idea. Maybe screw it to a board and put a whole tube of epoxy between the board and the hull
Maybe put a big garbage bag down first in the hull than use expanding foam from the can to form fit the bottom of the seat to the hull. The bag will keep it from being a permanent mount.
Is there any hardware from the factory seats ? Were they tethered strap in place ?
It's got 4 holes for pedestal mount, 1/4 x 20 screws. I'm kinda leaning toward punching thru the hull and using big stainless washers and a ton of PC7 on either side of the hull and just consider it a permanent install.
I would be getting someone to plastic-weld a "board" across the 'yak and then screw the seat down to that. Shouldn't cost a whole lot in either parts or labour.
Or is it fibreglass? Hard to tell from the pics. If it's glass I'd just glass in a plank.
::) How heavy is that wet seat going to be at the end of the day , when you can`t remove it to lift onto the roof rack ? O yer times 2
Shouldnt be that heavy, not much foam.
But yeah I went and did it. I used big ol SS washers on either side of the hull with a ton of pc7 in between. When I tightened it down it went out the sides so I just spread that around. I may paint it blue if I decide I care. I have every reason to hope this'll be water tight.
And it's almost centered.
Let's ignore the garage background. Its pretty rough.
You do not want to sit higher than what the boat was designed for. A couple inches of more height will make the boat noticably more tippy. Your stroke will be completely different too. You will either change the angle of attack or require a longer paddle.
I don't like kayaks in general because I'm not comfortable paddleing with my legs outstretched with heels at almost the same height as my butt. A one-man outrigger canoe will put your heels about eight to ten inches below your butt and they are designed to be paddled with you knees bent and a more upright stroke. That lets you throw you whole torso and the large muscels of the back into the stroke so you're not just paddling with your arms.
Don't have the guts to drill through the bottom of my Hobie. I do however, end up with about 1/2 a gallon of seawater in it at the end of most trips. Depends on the sea conditions. Person in the back with that nice comfortable seat should do the paddling.
Quote from: oc1 on August 19, 2022, 05:51:12 AMYou do not want to sit higher than what the boat was designed for. A couple inches of more height will make the boat noticably more tippy. Your stroke will be completely different too. You will either change the angle of attack or require a longer paddle.
I don't like kayaks in general because I'm not comfortable paddleing with my legs outstretched with heels at almost the same height as my butt. A one-man outrigger canoe will put your heels about eight to ten inches below your butt and they are designed to be paddled with you knees bent and a more upright stroke. That lets you throw you whole torso and the large muscels of the back into the stroke so you're not just paddling with your arms.
Yeah i was hesitant to raise the seat too much, which is a benefit of the way I mounted it to the floor. I know from my other yak that if I raise my knees up I immediately feel the massive stability difference.
My butt sits about 2" off the floor as installed. There's a stack of SS washers between the seat and the hull providing about a half inch of space between the bottom of the seat and the hull so any water that gets in can move back and forth and not get stopped at the seat.
Suspect this will be used with my wife and kid as passenger, or taking inexperienced folks out on the water. Either scenario will see me doing most the paddling. At least i have a comfy seat. Gonna test the seal tomorrow if I can. Maybe get my neighbor to go out on a nearby lake for a trial run.
I will say that going solo in a tandem is not a fun ride , you do need forward weight
Gregg,do you trust that 1st yak with sharks under you... 8)
Ha🤪! No, the Sharks are prolly mostly waiting for bait or the fisherman to bring-up a nice one they can get 1/2 of. You never know though. On that unstable thing, I hadda drape a leg over either side while casting. They "seem" to be able to tell when a boat is fishing rather than sport-paddling, and sometimes come around me when I'm out early and by myself. If the snorkelers, divers and surfers only knew... I only use it now to follow along with people I have using the Hobie. Gotta look-out for tip-overs and people forgetting to pull-up the rudder or peddles when they come in.
Jason, any updates on your yak?
Thank you for reviving this thread.
This is where the kayak has lived since I put the seat in. I haven't tested the seal yet. The opportunity to use a kayak is rare and has always been spent using the other one that I know works well.
I need to change that.