12-September-2012 – Stern Seats

Many newer sailboats have stern seats.  My brother and I thought it would be good for us to also have some.  It would provide additional seating room and make for a more comfortable and less crowded cockpit area.  We decided we didn’t need the davits and would use the same mounting holes so as not to add any additional holes in the deck.

Davits Removed
Davits Removed

I visited Kendore Marine Supply and found a couple of pieces of “King Starboard” that would do the trick for the seats.

I brought an old rectangular milk crate to the boat to use as a base to help determine what the height of the stern seats should be.  The milk crate has 3 different dimensions and we found that we liked the one that would put the top of the seat 13” above the deck.

Using milk crate to help determine height
Using milk crate to help determine height
Using milk crate to help determine height
Using milk crate to help determine height

I made a couple wooden bases out of plywood and 2x4s and brought them to the boat to get the exact dimensions needed for the design of the stern seat bases.

Wooden base mockups
Wooden base mockups

Once I figured out the final base design requirements (dimensions and angles) I drew it up using AutoCAD and the guys at work fabricated and welded the stainless steel pieces.

AutoCAD Design
AutoCAD Design
AutoCAD Design
AutoCAD Design

Last night after work my brother and I went up to the boat and installed them.

New stern seat bases installed
New stern seat bases installed
New stern seats
New stern seats
New stern seats
New stern seats

We still have a couple things to do before completing the project.  We still need to countersink the bolts holding the seats to the base and install the cup holders I bought for the seats.