268 Sundancer Rear Seat Project

[plumbhappy]

Hi, I wanted to post some pictures of my seat project. I have searched for several years for a way to improve the rear jump seat on my 1986 268 Sundancer, but I never found a seat project I liked. The jump seat from the factory is way too low and needed to be raised up, but how do you raise it up without getting in the way of the engine hatch?

The answer I came up with is to make the seat removable, but this wasn't as easy as it sounds either. I wanted the seat to hinge up so I could easily access ice chests underneath the seat, but finding hinges that were removable proved expensive at best.

So, I used a piano hinge to mount the seat to a removable piece. Then the seat assembly can be removed when access to the engine is needed. I could have used the original seat but it needed recovered anyway. I've replaced the ice chests with marine elite ones that are 15 1/2" high, the perfect size for a seat. I removed the old seat and the old mount including everything along the bottom. The only original piece I kept was the cover and screwed it to the locker floor. The seat is mounted to a piece of 3/4" plywood covered with vinyl and trimmed with 3/4" x 1/2" wood trim.

My next project is the helm seat. I don't like the little rear facing jump seats and want to have a bench seat at the helm and a rear facing bench seat. With a new rear facing bench seat and the new seat I just finished we'll have seating for six. I'll try to post more pictures.

Rob

 

[HUMPH]

Brother, you need to post better pictures than that! I sat on that seat and it's a great idea for folks with the same boat! Fun times this weekend!

 

[plumbhappy]

I'm at my limit! I can't load more pics.

I'll keep trying.

 

[plumbhappy]

BTW, thanks for the props!

 

[HUMPH]

Sponsor the site and you can post more or at least drop them into photobucket and post the link...

 

[plumbhappy]

 

[hamrick]

Good morning, I have been looking at the photos of the transom bench seat, that you modified. Can you provide me with some lager pictures and the material you used to install it.
Thanks

Scott, my email is Landcastles@hotmail.com

 

[plumbhappy]

Hi Hamrick, that's about all the pictures I had, but I'll look. I sold the boat a few years ago, so I can't take more.

The seat was made from 3/4" plywood. I trimmed it with 1" x 1" poplar trim, so that means I cut the plywood 1 1/2" smaller on the sides. The seat itself is the width of the opening and the depth of the ice chest it sits on. The seat is hinged in the back on an upholstered piece of plywood. This piece of plywood is the width of the opening and the height is from the bottom of the transom seat opening to the height of the ice chest, but only 3/4" thick (maybe a little more after it's upholstered).