Swivel seats on a Tinny

[san dimas]

Hello everyone;

I have a 14' Valco that came with swivel chairs mounted to the bench seats. I took them off because the center of gravity of the boat seemed kind of high, but maybe the extra comfort is worth it. I just wanted some opinions from people who have experience with them.

 

[erwinner]

Re: Swivel seats on a Tinny

I've got them on my 14' Grumman and they're not too bad about tipping. Nice to have a backrest, too.
It's not a craft to take a hard turn at WOT, but they weren't designed for that anyhow.
If you have a tiller motor I'd offset the back seat some so the tiller handle isn't right behind the seat.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Swivel seats on a Tinny

You seldom see the "high chairs" among salt water boaters and that's due to the compromise in stability--as you saw. I also think they're scary for if you hit a sandbar, and generally get in the way. The fold-down seats on the benches are popular; I like the ones that slide on a track and are easy to remove.
I know it's a matter of what you're used to and the water; I can see why those who fish small lakes and rivers would like them on smooth water.

 

[Davem3]

Re: Swivel seats on a Tinny

You seldom see the "high chairs" among salt water boaters and that's due to the compromise in stability--as you saw. I also think they're scary for if you hit a sandbar, and generally get in the way. The fold-down seats on the benches are popular; I like the ones that slide on a track and are easy to remove.
I know it's a matter of what you're used to and the water; I can see why those who fish small lakes and rivers would like them on smooth water.

X2 and here is what i did on my rig .............

 

[san dimas]

Re: Swivel seats on a Tinny

I only used them once and then took them off. They sit right down on the benches so they are not too high (very similar to Davem3s'). I may put them back on. They can be located anywhere across the bench, center,right or left. I'm not a young man any more and after fishing without them for a couple of hours my back was a little sore

 

[fishrdan]

Re: Swivel seats on a Tinny

Post up a pic of what you are dealing with.

I have seat swivels on my 14' jon boat (narrower and less freeboard than your Valco) and I'm not worried about the 1" of added height from the swivel. The seats/swivels probably 2-3" above the seat bulkheads and I never feel unstable sitting in them.

 

[san dimas]

Re: Swivel seats on a Tinny


I noticed there is a sticker under the chair that says "for trolling speeds only"

 

[san dimas]

Re: Swivel seats on a Tinny

The lower brackets clamp onto the bench seat so the seat sits on the black plastic swivel base. 5" from bottom of plastic seat base to top of cushion.

 

[Mel Taylor]

Re: Swivel seats on a Tinny

Since I'm not familiar with Valco boats and you don't list any model number or specs it is a little difficult to say what might or might not work. However, FWIW, I've used swivel seats on a 14 ft. 1984 Mirrocraft V hull tinny hull since the boat was new with no problems. While the method of attachment is considerably different from that of Davem3's the height appears to be almost exactly the same.

My son has a 1957 Lone star 15' tinny V hull with essentially the same set up that he has used since around 1991, again with no problems.

I've seen multitude of boats over the years with swivel seats mounted on the benches and never have I heard of any issues of instability with that type of set up.

 

[lncoop]

Re: Swivel seats on a Tinny

If that were my boat I wouldn't hesitate for a moment to use those, but you're the one that has to be comfy with the setup, whatever it may be. I'd probably just have them on the fore and aft benches because I don't like stuff in the center, but again, to each his own. I do think those are fine though, and I like the fact that they don't require any permanent installation measures.

 

[Mel Taylor]

Re: Swivel seats on a Tinny

View attachment 149256View attachment 149257View attachment 149258
I noticed there is a sticker under the chair that says "for trolling speeds only"

AHA! I just noticed the pictures of the seats complete with the clamps that hold them to the benches. That is exactly the set up I used until I located just where on the benches I wanted the permanent mounts to be located. The clamp mounts worked like a charm and I could have easily kept them as permanent mounts had I wanted to do so. I replaced them because I already had gotten better and sturdier permanent mounts from one of the mail order houses.

 

[fishrdan]

Re: Swivel seats on a Tinny

I noticed there is a sticker under the chair that says "for trolling speeds only"

That's probably because they are not permanently attached to the boat and could slip off if you lost your balance, manufacturer covering their butt.

Here's how I have the seats attached to my jon boat, the swivels are attached to the seat lids. Though,,, you probably won't be able to so the same thing with your boat and it's totally enclosed seat bulkheads...