Chieftain Raised floor or not?

[mnmattie]

I have a 71 22' Chieftain and it doesn't have a raised floor whereas alot of others I've seen do have a raised floor. What's everyone's opinion on having a raised floor vs not?

 

[Bondo]

Re: Chieftain Raised floor or not?

Ayuh,.... Why, would ya want the deck higher than it is,..??

The center of gravity goes Up with it ya know...

 

[InMotion]

Re: Chieftain Raised floor or not?

I have a 71 22' Chieftain and it doesn't have a raised floor whereas alot of others I've seen do have a raised floor. What's everyone's opinion on having a raised floor vs not? View attachment 179980

For clarification... are you speaking of the floor that is effectively under where the driver sits? Or the floor that you walk on?

J.

 

[elkhunter338]

Re: Chieftain Raised floor or not?

Mine has raised floor under the driver passenger seats because the fuel tanks are there. If I had no fuel tanks I would still want raised floor and create storage.
I personally would not raise the floor because in rough weather you have a harder time falling out of the boat. I almost fell out a few years ago when I leaned over the boat to release a fish and feet slipped on a wet/fishy floor.
I have thought about if I redid the floor in the cabin to actually lower the cabin floor if possible by a few inches to give more head room. Leave the seats at their same height. But now since I have an infloor fish box in the cabin I would not lower the floor in the cabin either.
I really like that I have my cabin door swing into the cabin. Make it nice for fishing to leave the cabin door open and you can still use the passenger seat.
I modified my extra seats as fold down as shown in one of the pictures, they used to have legs as shown in another picture. Love the fold down modification.

 

[jasoutside]

Re: Chieftain Raised floor or not?

Yah, you must be talking about the seat boxes huh?

With the seat boxes your cockpit will "feel" a little more cramped than without. But, they provide good storage eh.

 

[Weep'n Willy]

Re: Chieftain Raised floor or not?

My Chief looks pretty much identical to yours. The floor itself is not raised at all but does have boxes under the seats where the fuel tanks are. I believe it once had seating similar to yours and you can see where it attached to the side (non painted area with holes drilled in). I still will leave the original floor down low as it is but will create new set boxes with storage. I like the depth inside the boat and will make me much more comfortable when I take the grandkids out as they won't be able to lean over the rail and touch the water.

 

[Stevens520]

Re: Chieftain Raised floor or not?

If mine didn't have a raised floor, it would be a good drop out of the seat and if the seat was lower i wouldn't be able to see to drive.

 

[mnmattie]

Re: Chieftain Raised floor or not?

Well I plan to stick with the original floor, but I've seen pictures where the cabin is a step down from the floor. Similar to stevens520 picture above looks like. I was just curious if some came this way or not. Seat boxes will be a for sure thing though!

 

[lakeerienewbie]

Re: Chieftain Raised floor or not?

Well I plan to stick with the original floor, but I've seen pictures where the cabin is a step down from the floor. Similar to stevens520 picture above looks like. I was just curious if some came this way or not. Seat boxes will be a for sure thing though!

stevens520 has the big 24 footer, it comes like that. i have the exact same setup in my 22 and wish my seat was just a few inches lower.

 

[Stevens520]

Re: Chieftain Raised floor or not?

stevens520 has the big 24 footer, it comes like that. i have the exact same setup in my 22 and wish my seat was just a few inches lower.

yup, mine was built like that. underneath the carpeting on the stairs is all aluminum; it part of the bulkhead.

 

[mnmattie]

Re: Chieftain Raised floor or not?

yup, mine was built like that. underneath the carpeting on the stairs is all aluminum; it part of the bulkhead.

Would you happen to have any pictures of the aluminum stairs? I'm just curious how the factory did that as I've never seen the aluminum steps in builds before. Thanks!

 

[Stevens520]

Re: Chieftain Raised floor or not?

Don't have any now, but I was planning on climbing aboard and do some checking on it tommorow. i'll grab some pics for 'ya.

 

[Stevens520]

Re: Chieftain Raised floor or not?

Got those pics you were looking to see:

Everything with the carpet missing is aluminum except for decking.

View out front standing on the deck without seat box in place.

view out front standing on middle step.

 

[mnmattie]

Re: Chieftain Raised floor or not?

Wow that's crazy, I never knew! I'm guessing aluminum stringers come up from the hull to the steps then? Man, now I want a big chieftain to go with the 22 footer!

 

[Stevens520]

Re: Chieftain Raised floor or not?

Don't know about the stringers part yet, haven't gotten that far. I did find a twin to my boat in Florida for sale if you are looking.:joyous:
http://forums.iboats.com/starcraft-boats/starcraft-c-list-ebay-428279-193.html

 

[mnmattie]

Re: Chieftain Raised floor or not?

Ah, gorgeous! But it's a bit of a drive as I'm up in Minnesota. I'll still keep my eyes open though! (eventhough I'm looking for a boat to put a mercruiser 120 setup into, perfect if I can find a bare hull)

 

[Stevens520]

Re: Chieftain Raised floor or not?

Found this one up in your neck of the woods last summer

'25 Express Hardtop w/ twin 120's. The year escapes me, but I think they were asking around 8k for a freshly rebuilt boat.

 

[mnmattie]

Re: Chieftain Raised floor or not?

Its still for sale up here

25' Starcraft

I seen it, (outta my price range) and questioned it cause the cabin didn't look like it was a Chieftain

 

[mnmattie]

Re: Chieftain Raised floor or not?

*double post*

 

[Stevens520]

Re: Chieftain Raised floor or not?

It's a cheiftain, just the express model with smaller cabin and more cockpit space. After spending some time on mine on the water with people on the boat, my biggest gripe is the lack of cockpit room/seating. The express looks to be more functional in that area.
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