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Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums

General Sailing Forum

Bench Seat for Inflatable

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Rich G
Navigator

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226 Posts

Initially Posted - 06/21/2005 : 11:39:11

So I just bought a used Westmarine by Groupe Zodiac 285-SB. The previous owner had lost the seat at some point and replaced it with a pine board, nicely stained and shelacked. I keep my boat moored at the 79th Street boat Basin in NYC so the dinghy is used everytime I need to get to the boat, and it says in the yucky Hudson River all season long.

I was thinking about getting a bench storage seat for it like this one:

They go for $115.99 at Defender. They also seem to weigh 30 lbs. and not have very much storage.

Then I had an idea: I could just get a cooler at K-Mart for $19.99 and a seat cushion/throwable type IV and have less weight, more storage and less cost. Of course it won't fit snugly between the pontoons, but some line could keep it secured in case of a flip.

Thrifty idea or rookie mistake?

Rich

Cerberus
Hull #4695
1984 SR/FK No Pop-Top

Edited by - Rich G on 06/21/2005 17:34:34

Bubba
Admiral

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USA
542 Posts

Response Posted - 06/21/2005 : 21:29:16

Seems like you could afford to lose quite a few of those coolers before even coming close to the $115 you'd spend on the Defender model. I'll bet you could shop around and find one that will fit snug. Just don't get one that sits you up too high. I have a 260 and they can be pretty skittish.

By the way, the "seat" that comes with the 260's and 285's is a little inflatable cylinder that you stuff between the tubes. It takes up a lot of space, you can't store anything in it, and it doesn't stay put. For what it's worth, you're not missing anything.

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lcharlot
Master Marine Consultant

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Antigua and Barbuda
1301 Posts

Response Posted - 06/22/2005 : 00:28:27

I have always used a old Igloo picnic cooler for the seat in my 10' Apex inflatable. It is one of the medium-large size coolers, that was getting old and kind of busted up to where the handles broke off one time, making it no longer any good for filling with ice and sodas. It fits almost perfectly between the tubes in the dinghy, and holds all the dinghy gear including the flare kit, anchor, pump, patch kit, and launching wheels. I don't even use a cushion on it, since I am rarely sitting on for more than a half hour at a time. And since the walls of the cooler are 3/4" thick styrofoam, it certainly isn't going to sink if it somehow falls out of the boat.

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Jeff McK
Captain

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USA
389 Posts

Response Posted - 06/22/2005 : 13:37:41

Larry,

Great adaptation. Your approach eliminates buying a bow bag for the stuff, keeps the load centered, etc.

My Avon redcrest has the inflatable tube (held to the floor by toggles) & a separate hard seat, but I like your idea a lot better.

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Notice: The advice given on this site is based upon individual or quoted experience, yours may differ.
The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.