F-32 Salon Pilot Seat Ideas

[bjanakos]

I know that most of you don't use the Salon Pilot area, but my F-32 is a hard-top. In fact, so far, I think I have the only hard top here....

The existing helm seat is a "Bar Stool" type of chair that has a chain to lock it down to the floor. I bought a new Wise Pilots Seat for it, but now that I started cleaning up the pedestal, it's a bit rusty and I am not sure I want to move forward with it. I've been looking around for options, but all I am really finding are the bolt down pedestals, which I actually prefer, but I am worried about ease of removal and the clearance it will have when I need to lift the engine cover.

I am wondering that you guys are using.... Must also be ABYC spec.

[captainmaniac]

Any chance you would entertain 'old school' seats?

http://www.trojanboats.net/wforum/viewt ... ats#p84424

[bjanakos]

I had seats like this in my Slickcraft (original) and they were OK. But I don't think this will work in the F-32 Salon as there is nothing to attach to; the side walls are actually sliding doors covering electrics, fuses, and such.

[captainmaniac]

I was thinking above the sliders, where you have the 8-12" or so of solid wood up to the windows.

[bjanakos]

I'll be honest, I am not that familiar with the boat, I'll have to take some measurements, but for some reason I think the seat will be sitting too high. My current pedestal is set to 24".

[adrewoh]

This is a link to show the helm seat from my f31--don't know if the f32 is set up the same way, but this worked great. The tube legs came off, and the hardware they fit into held up the engine hatch. I actually went to bar stools to update the look but still have the old seats and the hardware if you could use it. The only thing is the clamps that held the seat to the side were still on the boat when I sold it.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/3q59o561dis3t ... 7.JPG?dl=0

[mikeandanne]

It seems to me that ,if you are going to be out for many hours at a time drowning lures you would need something very comfy and that would swivel to talk and watch the action to handle the boat---I have seen seats like that but they are real pricey, but may be worth it---Mike

[bjanakos]

This is a link to show the helm seat from my f31--don't know if the f32 is set up the same way, but this worked great. The tube legs came off, and the hardware they fit into held up the engine hatch. I actually went to bar stools to update the look but still have the old seats and the hardware if you could use it. The only thing is the clamps that held the seat to the side were still on the boat when I sold it.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/3q59o561dis3t ... 7.JPG?dl=0

I am familiar with the seat style; I had them on my previous boat. They were good seats and unlike the pedestals, there was room underneath to stash coolers etc. but what I didn't like is that if I needed to get into the engine compartment, I had to get out the tool box.

[bjanakos]

It seems to me that ,if you are going to be out for many hours at a time drowning lures you would need something very comfy and that would swivel to talk and watch the action to handle the boat---I have seen seats like that but they are real pricey, but may be worth it---Mike

I do 6 hour trips. So it can be a 6, 12, or 18 hour day. I don't usually have my butt in the seat long enough to get uncomfortable, but yes, the swivel would be nice to turn around and chit chat.

I have seen the seats you are talking about.... They are nice, and spendy. The guys on the Deadliest Catch and the Tuna shows have them. But they are designed for being in the pilots seat for hours on end. A standard 18"-26" pedestal will do the trick I think and even the good ones are less than $200, but they bolt to the floor. I want to make sure I have clearance if I remove the upper half of the pedestal.

I'm headed up there in a bit, so I'll take a few measurements. Then I'll swing by Cabelas and see if they have anything on display I can measure.