86 268DA - Rear Seating Area (New Project)

L

lv2bunderwater

Member
May 8, 2009
128
Chicagoland
Boat Info
86 268DA
Engines
Twin 4.3s
Hello everyone,

I’m looking to redo my rear seating area and would like to raise it a foot or so. I thought maybe I could make a new SS railing for a back rest and do a wrap around seating area across the back and the rear corner of the port side. The new seating would have to be easily moved/raised so that I could get to the engines without having to bust everything down every time I raised the engine hatch.

The original seating design has the rear bench sitting way to low and the bench is not very comfortable for seating or for my wife as she trys to lay out in the sun. If I do this job right I would still be able to maximize the storage space behind a new seat. Hey, I might even rework the front bench seating if this turns out the way I hope it will.

Has anyone attempted this before? If so, do you have any pics?

Thanks!
 
I had the same seat on our 87 250 DA. It was low, but tucked away nicely into the transom area for storage. Sometimes we just used dock chairs instead or sat on the cooler. I guess a real seat with storage underneath would have been nice as long as you could swing it up and over the transom to get to the engine.

Keep us posted! I still have a similar seat on the 300 DA. It's a smidge higher, but I wish I had the European sun pad. It had a pull out section the doubled the size and turned it into a nice place to lie down. Someone on the board had pics. It's great until you have to get to the engine!
 
I just use dock chairs, the seat is a little to low. Dock chairs work well. Raising the seat seems like a big job that would take a lot of time and money to look right and function.
 
Thanks guys for your feedback. I need to replace the rear bench seat anyway so thought it would be a good time to build something a little more functional. Also, we are a family of 6 so every available seat on the deck is required.

I will keep spinning it around in my head to see if I can think of a better and more functional design.
 
I replaced the folding legs on the bench seat of my last 'dancer with folding stainless steel legs I got from West Marine. As mentioned it sat way too low. I added 3-4" in height and it made it much more usable.
 
I was reading another post of yours and you were thinking about removing your radar arch? I am in Mi and would be interested buying it. I have a 87 268 and would like to place a arch on it. thanks jeff
 
I redid the rear seat on our 1989 268 Searay. The seat was raised by about 4 inches. A new back was fabricated from ½ inch plywood for the back with new foam and upholstery attached. T nuts and ¼ inch cap screws were used to fasten the back to the transom. The seat bottom remained the same. A 1 ½ inch x 1/8 inch angle aluminum frame is used to support the seat bottom. The frame is in the shape of a wide H shape. Stainless table latches support the back of seat and the original support legs had to be extended the extra 4 inches.
The good point:
Lots more storage underneath
More comfortable sitting position
The seat tucks completely into the transom for storage.
The short coming:
The seat bottom rear mounts do not latch at the rear attachment point. If you sit on the corner of the seat, the opposite end coming unlatched. A spring loaded pin or moving the legs closer to the edge of the seat would help.
The rear wooden railing was too low to be useful. The front edge was cut so it could still be used for a hand hold. I could increase the length of the spacers to raise it above the rear of the seat or I also considered making a stainless steel railing to replace the wooden one.
I will try to get some pictures posted.
That’s my take on it.
 
Pictures
 

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A little higher would be nice but the 250DA does not fold flush to the transom. My wife's complaint was the seat being too narrow. I added 5" to the width, IIRC from 18" to 23". She was very pleased and it didn't make the cockpit feel more cramped because it has always felt cramped.
Eddie
 
Thanks for the info and pics Charlie! I removed the rear bench seat over the weekend and was surprised by the orignal simplistic construction.

Eddie, do you have pics of your upgrade?

Thanks again everyone for your help!
 
Eddie - Do you have any pics of the deeper bench seat. I'm having the exact same complaints with our bench seat. We don't even use it.
 
I'm going with Deck Chairs I think it will be safer for my Grand Daughter and make it easier to get in to the engine compartment, there might be times when you have to get there fast.
 
Never used we just removed all the cushions from ours on our 270DA. It is now used for storage of our canvas tops, dock lines swim toys etc... Very convenient.
 
Capt RJJ said:
I have to remove the helm bench from my 86 268. Can anyone tell me how to do that?
Click to expand...
I haven't removed mine, but am planning to. It appears to bolt through the ceiling og the aft cabin
 
Does anyone have any pictures of an '87 268DA with the original rear seat still in place? I'd like to see what the original factory seating looked like. Ours has no rear seat.....hoping to design something for it next spring but I'd like to see what the original looked like.

Thanks.
 
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