Removing Helm Seat on 26X.

[Jeff Ritsema]

I removed my back seat in 1998 and gave it to a fisherman on Hispanola, who seemed quite pleased with it. I kept the hinge and bolted a single burner gimballed Force 10 stove to it, which I use when at sea (nothing like having a hot cup of soup at 2am without having to get up from the cockpit wheel and going below to fix one). I do not use any type of protecting line across the space because I carry a Walker Bay Tender on davits & it provides all the protection I need to keep from falling out the back. 8) MM

Mike, we had an earlier discussion on how to attach a workable davit system for the dinghy and never reached any workable conclusions. Wonder if you have any pics of your setup with the dinghy attached. One of the most significant storage problems we have. Your thoughts are appreciated.
Jeff

[Frank C]

Mike, we had an earlier discussion on how to attach a workable davit system for the dinghy and never reached any workable conclusions. Wonder if you have any pics of your setup with the dinghy attached.

FWIW, I thought Bobby T's aft arch looked like a great foundation for davits. My fear though, is that hanging the Dinghy back there over a 50 hp motor makes for too much aft weight bias.

Seems that Mike's little 10-horse motors makes that a much smaller problem.

[Bobby T.-26X #4767]

my dingy weighs 41#.
added to the 315# 90-TLDI & i'm just about the same weight as a Suzi 70 4-stroke.

Bob T.
"DaBob"
'02X w/ '04 90 TLDI

[Jeff Ritsema]

Tend to agree with Frank, particularly since the dinghy weight on davits would be higher, only adding to the aft moment. I do wonder, though, about the setup Mike came up with. Sure would be nice to get the dinghy off the foredeck.

[maddmike]

Ok guys,
After a lot of experimenting, here is what I finally came up with; It is simple, effective, and works for me (and was used pre-twin engines) when the Honda 45 was on the boat.

First, my tender is a 8 ft. Walker Bay with a 2hp. Yamaha. The davits are actually 6ft. x 1 3/4 in. 6061 aluminum tubes with 4 ft. interior sleeves for reinforcement (salvaged from one of my old hangliders that tagged a leading edge during a less than graceful landing). I simply drilled 1 7/8 in. holes through the back seat supports (both sides, both walls) and reinforced them with extra glass. I usually pull the tender up into position by hand or by using a block to the radar arch when lazy. Once it is in position, I slip the tubing through the holes and under the tender, then lower the tender onto the supporting alumining tubing. So actually the tender is not suspended on davits, but rather rests on supporting tubes. It is then secured tightly to the stern rails. This makes for a very secure system that can take a nasty following wave without much problem. The tender has one of the blue Walker Bay covers which keeps it from filling with water during rain storms or from following seas. I store a number of light items in it during transits (trash, ropes, extra life jackets, etc.). Don't have any pictures with me but will post some once I'm back in the US after April. MM

[maddmike]

I forgot to say that when I know a nasty storm is approaching I turn the tender upside-down on the supports, which is really simple to do even at sea (you just pull it towards you, lift and flip it over). This way it can'y fill with water even if the cover fails. MM

[Jeff Ritsema]

Thanks Mike. Looking forward to some PICS of this.

[argonaut]

I voted for "stock" but once I get ahead of little nits I'm working on now that seat may become a project.
Mine is forever getting tangled in my bimini. In my recent MOB I had to unpin my bimini to be able to have enough room to swing the seat up.
My favor is a design with a back similar to stock but having a hinged seat that folds up against the seat back, allowing the whole mess to go up & down without touching the bimini.
My mate likes having the seat directly behind the binnacle so I can't pitch mine. Otherwise she "...has to steer sideways".. ??!

[Frank C]

argonaut,
When I finally do cut off the seat bottom (If & when) ... since voting in this poll, I've been thinking that it would be great to alter the seatback to swing gate-wise. Ergo, remove the hinge at top of seatback, replace with two hinges on the "face" of the seatback. This could eliminate my biggest gripe - the swing-up helmseat contacts my split backstay. I'd also choose to hinge the starboard edge instead of the factory's portside hinge.

Of course, this assumes that there is clearance for the seatback to swing past the steering wheel - just armchair musing at this point (need some cockpit musing time). Assuming it has the swing-space, after folding up your seat bottom, your's could also swing like a gate - just needs a couple of beefy hinges.

As a "boatshow special" some years back, I bought C-cushion's hump-seat for my 26X helmseat. It looks like Duane's seat but it's made from high-density foam with a shiny vinyl, enamel-like surface. Instead of using the fiberglass seatbottom to hinge-up, I might like to hinge a simple, light-weight space frame as a seatbottom .... sort of like a slat-style wooden shelf of 1x2s, on edge.

(Sorry, easy to visualize here, but hard to describe). Occasionally we see carbon-fiber space frames, kinda like the sides of an eggcrate, but very, very rigid. If you could buy it in sheets of 2' by 4', it might work great for several applications - visualizing a light-weight seatbottom, or an aft deck.

[Jeff S]

My seat is removed and it is nice to be able to have that standing room behind the wheel. The next thing I would like to do is get some HDPE board and install it in the lower deck area elevated to the same level as the main cockpit deck, still allowing drainage at the edges. Then I want to install brackets and a cooler with a cushioned seat high enough to see over the cabin, and a seat back. Here is an example This is pricey and I am not sure it would fit in width, but there are others that are less expensive and I could fabricate a seatback cushion. The only problem I forsee is free access to to the swim ladder, but I think I can work something out when fabricating the seatback.

Jeff S

[LOUIS B HOLUB]

My Mac X seat is just too low, and its difficult seeing over the bow when I crank up those 50 horses. Thats when standing up is necessary. But I cant imagine removing it because where would the Captain (thats me ) sit when I have guests in the cock pit.

[Bobby T.-26X #4767]

i've seen X's with the seat cut out (removed), but retaining the hinged back rest.
to steer...you stand, leaning against the back rest.
gives you more room behind the wheel which is rather limited in the stock configuration.
i've chosen to keep my X helm as stock, only moving the hinges to the starboard side.

[Trav White]

I just bought my 02X 1 month ago. The previous owner cut out the seat, leaving only about 8 inches of the back. Left the bottom hollow. Then built a wooden stand with a piece of marine plywood to even with the deck. Mounted a 50 QT ice chest to the plywood with the IGLOO mounts and handle straps. I didn't like at first, but it does sit up a little higher and your cold ones are right there. The ice chest can be drained right out the back.
http://www1.snapfish.com/slideshow/Albu ... 253907[img]

[craiglaforce]

I cut my seat about 18 months ago. One of the best mods I've done. I cut a simple 2X8 inch plank for a seat that is secured with a single bolt that just drops into a hole drilled on the port side of the the thing the seat sits on.
I kept the back portion, but removed the hinge entirely. In place of the hinge, I installed a large pad-eye which makes a good solid handhold when boarding. The padeye overhangs a bit which helps retain the seat back in place.

I shot the seat back full of expanding foam, just in case it ever gets dropped into the water, it will float.

Since the seat board is narrow compared to the orignial seat, I can easily stand between it and the wheel. And it is much easier to remove the seat or back independantly as needed to board or leave at the stern, and also to access the gas tanks. Plus to work on the engine, the seat board can be left in place while the seat back is removed. You can sit on the seat backwards, to work on the motor.

[K9Kampers]

This season, I've been running my boat with the helm seat removed. I found that I don't use it when sailing and rarely used it while motoring. For motoring now, I either stand or sit to starboard. It's nice having that stern access without having to flip the seat up or tie it up with the bimini up.