Marinetech Industries suspension seat pedestal installed

[thylacene]

Having broke a short seat post due to flex in the top of the seat box and having a partner who has a dodgy back, I went hunting for suspension seating, and ended up at Marinetech. I purchased two of their box top suspension pedestals, and have installed the first, after grassing some braces across the offending flexible panel of glass.

First test this weekend just gone, took a 100 Kmh detour chasing bft to end up with a feed of flathead, and the wench disembarked with a smile on her face. Her comment, takes the "jar" out of the odd pothole, and that her back felt much better than normal. We travelled 50k's east to not turn a reel, and it was a bit sloppy on the way back.

1st impressions are good, and at around 300 permside plus fitting, appears to be a reasonable proposition based on the feedback from the tester. Height adjustable, but lose some shock absorbing capability when lowered.

Will provide feedback in a few months.

Thy

[johncar]

Well all boats bang and anything that takes that shock out of a bad landing has to be good. I am sure back surgery or just the discomfort makes it worth doing for any of us who spend a few hours travelling at sea especially getting more into my senoir years . I am too on the lookout for something to fit on top of my seat boxes so I will check them out. Thanks for the report.

[thylacene]

Yep, both of us are far from young, fit and resilient, and an average days fishing means a couple of hours in 2m swells, usually Half of it in the wrong direction.

The pedestals sit 170mm from the top of the seat box and intrude 200mm inside.

Longevity will be the question, and even if I need to get them rebuilt very two or three years, from initial trials it appears worthwhile.

Bloody cheap in comparison to back surgery or being forced to be fair weather fishermen on south coast NSW. We don't go ocean racing, but 15 knots in the wrong swell can be bad enough. Planning to give it another run next weekend ;^)

[LittleSkipper]

Photo's would be great?

[cormorant]

Set em higher to get full affect and put a box under the feet would be loads cheaper than modifing seat boxes and still give firm footing for different weights / heights. . Lifting half a dozen staples and slipping in some decent variable density foam into the seat itself makes a huge difference as well. To say boat seats are made to a price and the foam is the thing they skimp on is a understatement.

Hope they last and you get your moneys worth. Once you have used something that takes the fatigue out of a trip you never want to go back to solid seats - same for some antifatigue matting under the feet to stop vibrations. Seeing it now with gel seats on motorbikes as well. On long runs I still wear shoes as feet seem to get better support that helps with the pounding they cop.

Fabric covers on seats , with decent armrests make a difference as well as they have more grip and stop the fatigue of sliding a little all the time on slippery PVC.. Easier in a cabin boat as they stay dry but have seen some custom canvas ones that velcro on tight.

[johncar]

Been having a look at mine today and don't think it will be easy to fit that type without a fair amount of rebuilding to the top of my Ally seat boxes and even then I will have to scrap my good slides and use theirs to maintain a sensible seat height. It would suit me better to find a surface mount suspension that would fit in a 160mm vertical space, so I don't have to modify the boxes and can reuse the slides I have. I will be interested in hearing how yours go just the same.

For shock absorption on the floor underfoot I bought a pack of those cheap clip together mats and a tin of contact cement. About $40 all up, but have seen them cheaper, Glued the 4 pieces together to make a thick 55mm floor mat then cut it into two pieces which end up at about 300mm x 600mm being one for each side. You can just buy the big thick fenders to do the same thing for more $$$ but these clip together ones are cheaper and I think they work better perhaps due to all the holes, very light weight, easy to clean or store. I also like the extra standing height I get being a bit vertically challenged or could be just a compacted spine from 40 years of trade work and boating..You would think that they would be an off the shelf item for us boaties..

[thylacene]

Little Skipper,

Will pop some phootos up shortly, I have photos of the pedestal pre-fitting, haven't taken any of the finished item, will do that next weekend. See the link further down this post for a better phot of the unit than I took.

Cormorant,

Yep, have them fitted at the highest setting, have a grab bar fitted to the dash and another to the bulkhead to support feet. Seats already have a nice amount of good foam, over 50mm thick, and good side support. Not really enough room for armrests. Agree that once you have something that makes it more comfortable, going without in the future is a real imposition.

Johncar,

Fitting was extremely simple, 90mm holesaw through the top of the box and six 1/4 stainless countersunk bolts with nylocs below. I ordered a backing plate to spread the load across the galss and prevent the bolts from crushing the glass.

The intrusion is 75mm diameter, used a 90mm holesaw to allow for the weld aroudn the lower collar. The top is the same as a normal pedestal, I used the standard seat mounts & seats. You can see a photo of the unit and specs here http://www.marinetechindustries.com.au/media/products/options/d5599a3e-f4fc-4da5-b2c9-8e8c59c75571INVER220%20Inverted%20Softrider%20Spec %20Sheet.pdf

If your seats were previously mounted on a 75mm dia post, then it is a straight replacement. If the top of your seatbox is solid (5 or 6 mm or better) then they should be fine without reinforcing.

Hope this helps

Overall we did some 190 kms on the weekend (for a dozen flathead and a snapper) in some ordinary conditions and the wench came away smiling (the important bit).

[OPTI]

i told you so;D,should have a video up soon of my rig running at 40 mph getting the props out etc and sitting down the whole time ,even i was impressed.
glad your happy with them

[thylacene]

i told you so;D,should have a video up soon of my rig running at 40 mph getting the props out etc and sitting down the whole time ,even i was impressed.
glad your happy with them

Yep, thanks for the heads up mate, thougth I was out of luck after Rae-Line advised they don't do the box mount anymore.

MarineTech were very good to deal with as well.

Have a set of 12 x 9 trim tabs to fit once the weather warms up (and I can get resin to go off in blind holes, canberra winters suck), so that will also assist reducing the "bang" due to list while travelling, should be the nuts once its all done. Not a 233, but a competent offshore boat nonetheless, and with a half a century of bodily abuse behind me, getting to like the creature comforts. I do the fishing & boating thing for fun, not to prove how tough I'm not anymore, if it becomes an endurance event the shine might wear off quickly.

Just have to stash the cash for a set of Reelax Reef Riggers and we should be close to having the mini game boat we set out to end up with.

As an aside, I filled the void around the inset tub at the back of the seatbox with pour in eurathane foam, with a patio heater set up above it. Put a drain in the bottom and use it as the drinks esky, three days on and still holding most of the ice, but it is only 17 degrees at the hottest part of the day. Works well and good fun to do, but if you're gunna have a go, cover up, that stuff woudl stick turds to blankets.

Cheers

Thy