Bowriders with super low seats!

[saxrulez]

What is the deal!? I rode in a friends 19' capri this past weekend and both seats were practically on the floor! It is not the first boat I've seen like this, but how do people stand it!? I felt like I was barely able to see over the dash and there was no possible way to sit there comfortably.

Just blew my mind that he has been boating like this for a good while now.

 

[oldjeep]

Re: Bowriders with super low seats!

Maybe you need a booster seat? I've got the opposite problem in my bayliner - the top of windshield frame is in my line of sight. Unless you put in height adjustable seats, you are not going to get everyone looking through the center of the windshield on a low windshield boat.

 

[saxrulez]

Re: Bowriders with super low seats!

Maybe you need a booster seat? I've got the opposite problem in my bayliner - the top of windshield frame is in my line of sight. Unless you put in height adjustable seats, you are not going to get everyone looking through the center of the windshield on a low windshield boat.

My boat is similar to yours in seat height. I look just slightly over the top of the windshield or through it if I slouch. I prefer it like this though as I get a nice breeze being slightly above it when cruising around in the summer. In the fall/winter I just slouch to get out of the wind!

 

[oldjeep]

Re: Bowriders with super low seats!

My boat is similar to yours in seat height. I look just slightly over the top of the windshield or through it if I slouch. I prefer it like this though as I get a nice breeze being slightly above it when cruising around in the summer. In the fall/winter I just slouch to get out of the wind!

Must not be since I've got a 19ft Bayliner capri

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Bowriders with super low seats!

It's because some boats are designed to look like luxury cars, to sell them to people who think boats are like cars. Experienced boaters know that they aren't like cars, nor are they comfortable to drive in low seats, but those boaters are not the target market for those boats.

Then you see people driving and doing anything they can not to sit in the low seats: sitting on the seat back, standing beside, sitting on one leg, etc. This demonstrates the design flaw.

Just because it's popular doesn't make it a good idea!

 

[oldjeep]

Re: Bowriders with super low seats!

It's because some boats are designed to look like luxury cars, to sell them to people who think boats are like cars. Experienced boaters know that they aren't like cars, nor are they comfortable to drive in low seats, but those boaters are not the target market for those boats.

Then you see people driving and doing anything they can not to sit in the low seats: sitting on the seat back, standing beside, sitting on one leg, etc. This demonstrates the design flaw.

Just because it's popular doesn't make it a good idea!

LOL - you would really hate driving a tournament ski boat.

 

[robert graham]

Re: Bowriders with super low seats!

What is the deal!? I rode in a friends 19' capri this past weekend and both seats were practically on the floor! It is not the first boat I've seen like this, but how do people stand it!? I felt like I was barely able to see over the dash and there was no possible way to sit there comfortably.

Just blew my mind that he has been boating like this for a good while now.

Lower seats are safer for kids and folks..less likely to be thrown out of the front of the boat, then under and into the prop! Say you hit a sandbar or another boat...it happens!

 

[2ndtry]

Re: Bowriders with super low seats!

My boat has a flip up bolster, which I use all the time. I have sat in the low "seat" less than a dozen times, each time it is either below 50 degrees or pelting rain, and I needed to hide behind the windscreen.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Bowriders with super low seats!

LOL - you would really hate driving a tournament ski boat.

no, since that's a specialized boat for specialized use. And I don't mind "sitting low" once my boat is planed off and running in open, smooth water. Or as 2ndtry said, in weather conditions it's good to get low; I do a lot of winter boating and i get behind the windshield once I'm set.
I've had 2 boats (starcraft alum bowriders) that sat low and now have a dual console that's on the low side.

From experience and observation, most people like to start off standing up to get a better view while the bow is up, stand up while docking or other manuevers, and stand up to read waves, watch for crab pots, or deal with other surface conditions. A good set-up is where you can easily move from sitting to standing, and reach the wheel and controls while standing, which is often not the case in low, cramped bucket seats.

 

[mnypitboat]

Re: Bowriders with super low seats!

Lower seats are safer for kids and folks..less likely to be thrown out of the front of the boat, then under and into the prop! Say you hit a sandbar or another boat...it happens!

If you hit a sandbar fast enough to knock somone clean over the windshield and off the front, then are still able to continue going so as to run them over, then I think you have bigger problems.

My driver and passenger seat in my Tahoe were way low. They were only 6" off the floor. I put Regal seats with the flip up bolster and taller pedestals in it to fix the problem, but then my shifter was down beside my seat and very hard to shift. My Monterey has proper height seats, and they are already adjustable with the flip up bolster. But others have said it, they market these to people that think they are gonna be driving a "carlike" vehicle on the water. Most that actually use their boats more than holidays, find out real quick that this is not the best way to sit.

 

[oops!]

Re: Bowriders with super low seats!

you wont sit in a capri like you would in a 22 foot cuddy.


the bayliner had lower freeboard......so the cg of the people has to be well within the hull of the boat.....having the people sit at the same height of the gunwhales would be unsafe
in fact....the bow of the capri is about as unsafe as it gets......i would not allow people to sit in the bow of mine at speed unless they were hanging on....they were told of the dangers and how to sit in the bow at speed before hand.....kids were roped in with a make shift seatbelt

 

[LeeCeeB]

Re: Bowriders with super low seats!

I have the flip up bolster on my seat which I use all the time. even planed out I can't see past the bow sitting low as I am 5'3. Even with the bolster, if someone is sitting in the bow seat in front of me I can't see a dang thing! Of course, sitting up above the windscreen means I end up with wind burn on my face. I don't care though because I am usually having the time of my life!

 

[FlashJim]

Re: Bowriders with super low seats!

Sainthood is in store fore whoever invented the flip up bolster. I still remember the very first time I saw one. Apparently I have no life and seat design floats my boat. So to speak.

 

[jkust]

Re: Bowriders with super low seats!

My driver and passenger seat in my Tahoe were way low. They were only 6" off the floor. I put Regal seats with the flip up bolster and taller pedestals in it to fix the problem, but then my shifter was down

There are some boats such as Tahoe, that sit really low in the water where the waterline is half way up the hull. These are new Tahoes but I'd swear they sit like a boat that is overweighted. That is how they sit even in the Tahoe weekly circular picture. I wonder if that is a function of their fishability? It is actually a pain sometimes to have a boat with a high freeboard. I can't reach the water out of my sig boat unless I am almost falling overboard and the kids can't reach it at all unless they on the platform making it useless for fishing. The fact is, I stand 80% of the time at the helm and the other 20% am on the bolsters.

 

[mnypitboat]

Re: Bowriders with super low seats!

There are some boats such as Tahoe, that sit really low in the water where the waterline is half way up the hull. These are new Tahoes but I'd swear they sit like a boat that is overweighted. That is how they sit even in the Tahoe weekly circular picture. I wonder if that is a function of their fishability? It is actually a pain sometimes to have a boat with a high freeboard. I can't reach the water out of my sig boat unless I am almost falling overboard and the kids can't reach it at all unless they on the platform making it useless for fishing. The fact is, I stand 80% of the time at the helm and the other 20% am on the bolsters.

Exactly. My Q7 was not as bad as my Dad's 215 deckboat. That thing sits so low in the bow that you WILL get wet up there, even on a smooth day. If its rough or you go behind a large boat, and you are not careful, you will swamp it. I think you are right though, because it seems like the boats they make into a fish and ski model have very low gunwales. I like my high gunwales on my Monterey now. I dont fish that much and when I do, I suppose I could stand on the swim platform if I really wanted to fish.

 

[mpdive]

Re: Bowriders with super low seats!

What is the deal!? I rode in a friends 19' capri this past weekend and both seats were practically on the floor! It is not the first boat I've seen like this, but how do people stand it!? I felt like I was barely able to see over the dash and there was no possible way to sit there comfortably.

Just blew my mind that he has been boating like this for a good while now.

First thing I did when I bought my Stingray was to replace the captains pedestal with a taller one. No way I am looking through a windshield to drive. Too many blind spots. I am well up over winshield now and I really look like a Captain Now.

 

[Icyharp]

Re: Bowriders with super low seats!

I can agree with a lot of the statements posted here. Guwhale heights are a huge factor in the height of a seat. My boat too has very low seats, being a cuddy I only have the 2 that are inches off the floor.

I am one of the drivers that stand up when I get going, then down to one knee, and once on plane and at a nice pace I can sit in my chair, but the widshield is not what I am looking through. Not that it bugs me, cause I have glasses on, but in the rain or cold I do slouch behind the glass. I have been looking at the bolster style seats and wonder if that will help? Right now I really dunno, once I am moving on the river I am pretty comfortable and can well get to the point I forget about the PITA seats I have and just enjoy the boat.

 

[jkust]

Re: Bowriders with super low seats!

Exactly. My Q7 was not as bad as my Dad's 215 deckboat. That thing sits so low in the bow that you WILL get wet up there, even on a smooth day. If its rough or you go behind a large boat, and you are not careful, you will swamp it. I think you are right though, because it seems like the boats they make into a fish and ski model have very low gunwales. I like my high gunwales on my Monterey now. I dont fish that much and when I do, I suppose I could stand on the swim platform if I really wanted to fish.

Good point, I don't know that anybody has ever gotten wet in the bow in my sig boat. Sometimes you almost want a little mist on your face but it takes a lot to get it. Your Monterey I bet is really similar to my sig boat. If you fish at all, I could see having a nice tinny as a dedicated fisher where the kids can't do any damage to the interior.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Bowriders with super low seats!

high freeboard/gunwales are fine for fishing, in fact, often better b/c you can lean against them for stability. To land large fish you are going to use a net anyway; small ones you just sling aboard.
To solve the problem of not reaching the water, to get the bait off your hands, I put a short piece of hose on my wash-down and hang it over the side under a cleat.

 

[JWFails]

Re: Bowriders with super low seats!

Hey mpdrive,

Where did you get your new seat. I have a Stingray also, and my seat is too. Thanks