Mounting a seat on my Jon Boat

[airborne_angler]

Currently my 12' Jon has those seats with the clamps on them. It is my understanding these are not the best,and can(and will) cause a person to fall overboard.

Im looking for a more permanent mounting solution.

How about taking these fasteners and installing them on the benches,and then mounting my swivel base and seat to these fasteners?

Think these would pull out? They have the "claws" you see to keep them from spinning when a fastener is installed,but im not sure these wouldnt lift out if pressure was applied to them on a hookset..

Pictured is the side of the fastener that would go down into the bench of the Jon Boat

Any thoughts on this idea?

[airborne_angler]

The side that the swivel seat base would attach to.

[Wayne P.]

That fastner is designed to go UNDER the surface that your seat is attached to. The tightening of the 1/4" bolt pulls that faster into the mounting surface and the "seat" is pulled towards that fastner. Basically the mounting surface is sandwiched between the fastner and the attachment.

In your senario, their only grip will be the sharp points into the mounting surface and will easily pull out IF you can even get the points to go into the aluminum (if that is want your boat has).

Do you have wooden seats in your jon boat that the fastner can be installed beneath?

Your orientation of the fastner to the seat is backwards to it's function.

That fastner is not a surface connection, but is a subsurface connection and not made for use in metal.

You won't have to worry about it pulling out on the hook set, the seat will fall off if you even touch it.

[zerofivenismo]

I agree those fasteners wouldn't be effective under constant stress and load.  I would cover the top of the benchseats with 3/4" plywood sealed with water sealer or exterior paint.  The plywood would be secured to benchseat via screws.  That'll give you a sturdier base than the thin benchseat aluminum alone.  From there, you can mount swivel seats of your choice.  Others have used toggle bolts directly on top of the benches, but I don't trust the thin alum on my benches to hold my heavy butt.  Good luck to you.

[Bassin_0502]

Those fasteners would be fine when mounted as WayneP describes They will have essentially the same holding power as a nut/bolt/washer fixture with the washer having the same diameter as the large 'flange' side of the fastener. Failure would only happen if you strip the interior threads or if you pull the whole fixture through the mounting board.

[dixieboysles]

install carpeted boards on top of the bench like I did and install the seats to those:

[B-Dozer]

install carpeted boards on top of the bench like I did and install the seats to those:

Neat job Dixie   

[dixieboysles]

thanks!  these pics are actually a little misleading!  i had to add a 1/2" piece of carpeted wood inbetween the bottom board and the swivel after these pics were taken.  the back of the seat would scrub the top of the carpeted board when resting back.  so OP, if you do it my way, hit me up and i can help ya out.

also here is my build thread man if you missed it:

http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1266949833

[B-Dozer]

thanks! these pics are actually a little misleading! i had to add a 1/2" piece of carpeted wood inbetween the bottom board and the swivel after these pics were taken. the back of the seat would scrub the top of the carpeted board when resting back. so OP, if you do it my way, hit me up and i can help ya out.

also here is my build thread man if you missed it:

http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1266949833

Wow! you did a lot of work on that boat. came out beautiful. I hope you married that nice looking young lady by now.    Great looking Lab. too. I wish you many good times with it.

[dixieboysles]

thanks, wedding is in August of next year, house searching now, and yeah i love my lab..lol

[SoFlaBassAddict]

Adding the plywood is the way to go. Just make sure you buy untreated wood and coat the snot out of it with water sealer.  If you've got the cash, starboard is ideal.  It will never rot, get misshapen, etc etc.  That stuff can be expensive though.

[dixieboysles]

Adding the plywood is the way to go. Just make sure you buy untreated wood and coat the snot out of it with water sealer. If you've got the cash, starboard is ideal. It will never rot, get misshapen, etc etc. That stuff can be expensive though.

Any wood in my boat was coated with two coats of fiberglass resin, so I should be good to go!

like he said, you cant use treated because it will pit and oxidize aluminum real bad.

[Ann-Marie]

And check every fastener you use to make sure it is stainless.  I just about completely rebuilt one seat replacing steel fasteners with stainless.  It is hard to believe that manufacturers of marine products will save a few cents but ruin their reputation making products that have no business on a boat.

[Fishing Rhino]

Stainless is definitely the way to go.

Never, never, use brass, especially if you are going near salt water.

In my youth I made that mistake.  It didn't rust, but, brass is an alloy of copper and zinc.

Zinc is the stuff of which sacrificial anodes are made.  The zinc gets eaten away, leaving only porous, crumbling copper remaining.

Bronze is OK, but more expensive than stainless, and not as readily available.