Shock Absorbing Seat Mounts For A Jon Boat

[Coast Ranger]

My girlfriend hurt her back over the winter. We like going out on our jon boat a lot through the rest of the season. I'm concerned that the jolt of a wave or wake might aggravate her back, so I'm looking for some input about shock absorbing seats. I'm narrowing in on the Attwood or Springfield devices that use springs, or the Garelick that uses the foam dampeners. Can someone offer some insight on these products?

Thanks in advance,

CR

 

[Tassie 1]

Totally different boat and conditions too soooo...

my son bought a set of Springfield bases and seats 4? yrs ago for his 5.7 half cab, mostly for my old geezer back problems,

the bases themselves worked well off shore

but l found the seat cushions far too thin for comfort,
l'm around 85kg too

look for a thicker seat base is what l'm saying
cheers

 

[Coast Ranger]

Thanks for the info, Tassie. I am getting new seats to go with the new mounts, and will get some that have 3 or 4 inches of padding. The seats I have now are thin, maybe 3/4 inch, and a bit worn.

I'm thinking harder about the Garelick's because I can add a 2nd set of dampeners. Someone in another forum did that and said it made a noticeable difference.

 

[jbcurt00]

What jon boat are you planning to add seats to?

 

[harringtondav]

I replaced my solid pedestal seat base tubes with a pair of Springfield "Easy Ride" cushioned bases. They work, and smooth out the shock. But they raised my seats about 3" higher than the original tubes.

 

[robert graham]

My Jon is an 1870 and it has swivel spring loaded seats, but for rough water I just put a nice foam cushion on the seat to sorta add to the cushioning effect...it helps a lot

 

[Watermann]

Another thought that will help out is to slow down and take the wakes below plane speed, nothing will soften that jarring at speed, not even $1500 suspension seats.

 

[Coast Ranger]

The jon boat is a 16' G3 with a 40 horse Yamaha. It moves along nicely with just the 2 of us. I always slow down for an approaching wake, and if it looks really big, I'll take it at an angle instead of head on. That's not always enough. Also, there are waves in the bay as well as wind driven chop on the river. Running at casual speed into the wind will jar your teeth.

I went with the Garelick's and an extra set of pads. We like to spend time on the water a lot. $200 to make her more comfortable is money well spent. If I have to get a seat for another $100, it'll still be worth it.