Show Me Your DIY Upgraded Kayak Seats

[the reel ess]

Mine is a thin cushion that's fitted to the molded in seat with a back support, but I want to make it more comfy in lieu of actually buying a new kayak (cheapskate) just to get a better seat. I'm getting to the age where that seat gets pretty uncomfortable after a few hours. I've seen some good ideas on YouTube and I'm weighing the options.

[J Francho]

Commander 140.  Removed the seat!  I sit on the perch instead.

[Choporoz]

I fish from a Wildy Tarpon 100.  The back offers enough support (esp with PFD on), but the bottom is pretty bad.  This year, I've been tossing a throwable boat cushion on there and it made a world of difference.

[the reel ess]

1 hour ago, Choporoz said:

I fish from a Wildy Tarpon 100.  The back offers enough support (esp with PFD on), but the bottom is pretty bad.  This year, I've been tossing a throwable boat cushion on there and it made a world of difference.

I have the 10' Perception Sport Pescador, which is the old Tarpon mold. So that seat is what I'm trying to get away from. The back is okay, but the seat is causing my legs to get numb after a while. I have to squirm to keep blood in the lower legs. I've considered a NuCanoe Frontier or just getting a flat bottom jon, but I'll still want the ability to get into skinny waters.

1 hour ago, J Francho said:

Commander 140.  Removed the seat!  I sit on the perch instead.

What do you mean by the perch?

[J Francho]

There is a Wildy owners' group on FB, and I know more than a few guys have rigged seat upgrades on a few different models.  Take a spin around there, you might find some help.

 

Here's Jeff Little ina C140, seat removed, and using the perch:

 

 

You may actually want to contact Jeff, as I know he has used Tarpons in the past, and probably has some tips on seats.

[Darren.]

Oh I'm a DIY junkie for my kayak. I've done a bunch of

seat mods over the years and just built a new one this

past week.

 

I've got a Native Ultimate 12, similar to @J Francho's 

Commander, but I don't have a perch. That's one thing

I did like about the WS when I was deciding between 

the two.

 

PVC is a DIY'ers material of choice here  . I'll take some

pix and post the latest, but suffice it to say, I'm back above

the gunnels where I like to be. I prefer sitting up high in

my yak. Previous DIY had me just below the gunnels but

still higher up. Now I'm probably 6" higher. Lov'n it!

 

I should point out that my avatar pic is an older mod where

I was perched on the gunnels as well, but it was not a good

setup as it put too much weight directly on them. Now I'm 

perched via 1" PVC just above.

Ok, just took the pic. The mod is PVC welded together, but the

underside (what I'm going to do with that space) is a work in

progress...

Edited October 24, 2017 by Darren.
Added pic.

[the reel ess]

2 hours ago, Darren. said:

Oh I'm a DIY junkie for my kayak. I've done a bunch of

seat mods over the years and just built a new one this

past week.

 

I've got a Native Ultimate 12, similar to @J Francho's 

Commander, but I don't have a perch. That's one thing

I did like about the WS when I was deciding between 

the two.

 

PVC is a DIY'ers material of choice here  . I'll take some

pix and post the latest, but suffice it to say, I'm back above

the gunnels where I like to be. I prefer sitting up high in

my yak. Previous DIY had me just below the gunnels but

still higher up. Now I'm probably 6" higher. Lov'n it!

 

I should point out that my avatar pic is an older mod where

I was perched on the gunnels as well, but it was not a good

setup as it put too much weight directly on them. Now I'm 

perched via 1" PVC just above.

Ok, just took the pic. The mod is PVC welded together, but the

underside (what I'm going to do with that space) is a work in

progress...

Is this the seat that came with your boat or is it aftermarket?

[Darren.]

51 minutes ago, the reel ess said:

Is this the seat that came with your boat or is it aftermarket?

Same seat. Native's First Class seat.

[J Francho]

It'll probably take some mock up time, and time working with the salespeople at a brick and mortar, but I bet you can find an aftermarket, or other brand's seat that will work.  Just not too high, as to make your boat unstabe.

 

Very nicely executed mod, @Darren.

[the reel ess]

11 minutes ago, J Francho said:

It'll probably take some mock up time, and time working with the salespeople at a brick and mortar, but I bet you can find an aftermarket, or other brand's seat that will work.  Just not too high, as to make your boat unstabe.

 

Very nicely executed mod, @Darren.

Yeah, the issue is the seat area is molded "butt-shaped" and I live in the sticks. I'll probably do as @Darren. did but with PVC peg legs. The bottom of my yak is not flat at all. And I doubt it's stable enough to get the seat very tall.

[Darren.]

4 minutes ago, the reel ess said:

Yeah, the issue is the seat area is molded "butt-shaped" and I live in the sticks. I'll probably do as @Darren. did but with PVC peg legs. The bottom of my yak is not flat at all. And I doubt it's stable enough to get the seat very tall.

 

I wonder if you could use a heat gun to soften, but not

too much to compromise, the PVC in order to bend it to

your seat profile.

 

Maybe cut out a profile of the bend in the seat with cardboard

and use that to get the proper bend in the PVC. Unsure,

just shooting in the dark to give some ideas.

[moguy1973]

5 hours ago, Choporoz said:

I fish from a Wildy Tarpon 100.  The back offers enough support (esp with PFD on), but the bottom is pretty bad.  This year, I've been tossing a throwable boat cushion on there and it made a world of difference.

I think I may have to do this with my Ocean Kayak Trident.  The stock seat really doesn't bother my comfort-wise but I do get tired of getting a wet butt all the time.

[Subaqua Adinterim]

6 hours ago, moguy1973 said:

12 hours ago, Choporoz said:

I fish from a Wildy Tarpon 100.  The back offers enough support (esp with PFD on), but the bottom is pretty bad.  This year, I've been tossing a throwable boat cushion on there and it made a world of difference.

I think I may have to do this with my Ocean Kayak Trident.  The stock seat really doesn't bother my comfort-wise but I do get tired of getting a wet butt all the time.

Be very careful if you decide to do this.  My first kayak was a Tarpon 100.  Definitely not the most comfortable seat, however, by adding a boat cushion, you raise the center of gravity which will make you more prone to dumping if everything goes sideways on you at the same time- trust me, I know from experience. When bad things happen they happen fast.  If you decide to raise your seat in an unstable set up, make sure you have a PFD on, which should be a given anyway.

[moguy1973]

1 hour ago, RichPenNY said:

Be very careful if you decide to do this.  My first kayak was a Tarpon 100.  Definitely not the most comfortable seat, however, by adding a boat cushion, you raise the center of gravity which will make you more prone to dumping if everything goes sideways on you at the same time- trust me, I know from experience. When bad things happen they happen fast.  If you decide to raise your seat in an unstable set up, make sure you have a PFD on, which should be a given anyway.

I might try to do something like this.  It looks like it wouldn't raise me up much but it would allow the water that does come in get back out and make it so I'm not sitting in it when it is in there.  Right now I have my scuppers plugged with foam golf balls and it works to keep the water from coming up the scuppers but when it does get in there it can't get out unless I pull the golf balls out to let it drain.

 

 

[the reel ess]

So I bought this off Amazon Prime. It's a Cascade brand stadium seat. I needed one anyway because my daughter is playing travel volleyball and we have to sit hours in bleachers. It has rubber batting on the rails that run front-to-back. It's just the right width. The seat is very soft with a couple inches of padding. It does sit up a few inches higher than the old seat. But it gets my butt higher than my feet. The space between the seats will be good storage for bags of soft plastics. I'm hoping it will alleviate the feet falling asleep and the aching tailbone. I'll be sure to use the PFD.

 

[the reel ess]

On 11/1/2017 at 5:34 PM, the reel ess said:

So I bought this off Amazon Prime. It's a Cascade brand stadium seat. I needed one anyway because my daughter is playing travel volleyball and we have to sit hours in bleachers. It has rubber batting on the rails that run front-to-back. It's just the right width. The seat is very soft with a couple inches of padding. It does sit up a few inches higher than the old seat. But it gets my butt higher than my feet. The space between the seats will be good storage for bags of soft plastics. I'm hoping it will alleviate the feet falling asleep and the aching tailbone. I'll be sure to use the PFD.

 

I used the loose stadium seat this morning. It did fine. It raised the center of gravity noticeably and I had to take some time to adjust. I would not want it any higher than this. It moved me away from my rod holders and crate a little. I was unable to reach the two rods I stow in the back of the crate. It also shifted my weight a little bit forward and there was a little more water through the scuppers than usual. It did help with the tailbone and feet losing circulation though. Overall I give this upgrade a B.