Seat base for 18' 2+3

[Conquistador_del_mar]

Since I am not crazy about the old seat base on my 1971 18' which I am restoring, I looked around for something different. I found these bases. Has anyone tried one of them? Good replacement? Bill

http://www.boatingseats.com/Boat-Seats/434-Deck-Mount-Seat-Slider.asp

[gcarter]

I did a thread on mounting some Garelick sliders on the existing bases on the Minx.
I'll try to find it.

BTW, the Garelicks were great.

[Conquistador_del_mar]

I went ahead and ordered a pair of the bases that I asked about in the thread. I will try to report on their usage - pros or cons. Bill

[maddad]

Bill, those bases look solid, and if you don't need the rotating part will work fine. I do get chills thinking about the first time someone gets the edge of the mounting part between their two little toes from the back seat though.

[Conquistador_del_mar]

Bill, those bases look solid, and if you don't need the rotating part will work fine. I do get chills thinking about the first time someone gets the edge of the mounting part between their two little toes from the back seat though.

I'll bet that only happens once - lol. I doubt that they will cause any problems since they will be tucked fairly well under the seats. I hate drilling more holes in the floor, but I like the ease of the seat adjustment better than my old worn out bases. I'll report on them at some point. The 4.5" height seems about right. Bill

[Madcow]

Bill, those bases look solid, and if you don't need the rotating part will work fine. I do get chills thinking about the first time someone gets the edge of the mounting part between their two little toes from the back seat though.

I don't see where I need swivels or slides so I made some seat bases out 3" X 1 1/2" aluminum C channel. Welded into 12" boxes and mounted to the floor. Then drilled & threaded the seat to bases. Polished and clear powdercoated them. Works great, and is going nowhere. Another nice thing about this is now ny seat is only 3" off the floor so I'm not so high out of the boat.

[Conquistador_del_mar]

I don't see where I need swivels or slides so I made some seat bases out 3" X 1 1/2" aluminum C channel. Welded into 12" boxes and mounted to the floor. Then drilled & threaded the seat to bases. Polished and clear powdercoated them. Works great, and is going nowhere. Another nice thing about this is now ny seat is only 3" off the floor so I'm not so high out of the boat.

If I would get the equipment for aluminum welding, I would be able to fix quite a few aluminum pieces and fabricate things like you did. All I really need is an aluminum spool and the argon (I think it is argon) to go with my wire feed welder, but I never seem to get around to it so I use a local welder for aluminum and SS welding. Thanks for the idea though. Bill

[BigGrizzly]

I have been looking into doing the same for the Corsican. In that boat swivels are useless no room.

[gcarter]

I found my thread, but for the time being, the pictures aren't there.
But what I did was to saw a 3 1/2"-4" hole in thhe top of the pedestal, then match drilled a hole pattern into the bracket and pedestal. Folloiwing that, I inserted TEE-nuts from the bottom side of the pedestal. Then bolted the base down into the TEE-nuts.

[Conquistador_del_mar]

I have been looking into doing the same for the Corsican. In that boat swivels are useless no room.

I think the new 4.5" tall bases will work perfect and will be strong with the stainless steel base. I really liked the ease of being able to adjust the seat with the quick locking lever without reaching under the low seat to loosen and retighten the locking screw mechanism. Yep, no room for swiveling anyway. I'll let you know how they work out. Bill

[Conquistador_del_mar]

I found my thread, but for the time being, the pictures aren't there.
But what I did was to saw a 3 1/2"-4" hole in thhe top of the pedestal, then match drilled a hole pattern into the bracket and pedestal. Folloiwing that, I inserted TEE-nuts from the bottom side of the pedestal. Then bolted the base down into the TEE-nuts.

Thanks for looking it up, George. I also have noticed that most of the older pictures are now gone - bummer! Bill

[Conquistador_del_mar]

I think the new 4.5" tall bases will work perfect and will be strong with the stainless steel base. I really liked the ease of being able to adjust the seat with the quick locking lever without reaching under the low seat to loosen and retighten the locking screw mechanism. Yep, no room for swiveling anyway. I'll let you know how they work out. Bill

Yesterday, I checked out the old bases and realized that mine were angled blocks which angle the seat a little towards the rear. There is a good chance that I will have my welder change the height and angle of the new bases by cutting and rewelding the stainless steel bases to my preference when I get around to fitting the seats. This will be a small price to pay for getting the seats exactly where they feel the best. If it turns out that I really like the old base height and angle, I will at least have gotten new quick adjusting slider mechanisms. I believe the first owner fabricated the angled bases out of solid mahoghany and then had them laminated with white Formica so they are solid bases that look "factory" made. Just a quick followup. Bill

[Conquistador_del_mar]

I wanted to make a follow up on the bases that I just ordered. I received an email from the company that those bases are no longer available so I will be getting a refund - bummer! Bill

[Conquistador_del_mar]

I wanted to make a follow up on the bases that I just ordered. I received an email from the company that those bases are no longer available so I will be getting a refund - bummer! Bill

One of the representatives of the company called me and then sent some pictures of some alternative bases that I ended up ordering. I like the quick sliding bases with the lever in the front center instead of the old screw down adjustments. They are heavy duty and should work well, but I will have to disassemble them to mount them to my block bases in the boat. Once done, I know I will like them. Just a quick update. Bill