Bow seats

[tgebler]

I have a 2000 396 Aft Cabin. The admiral really wants a seat or two on the bow. I recently saw a seat on the aft rail of a sail boat which connects to the rail on the back with a small leg on the front. Has anyone installed such a seat on the bow rail.

A company (www.zarcor.com) that makes such seats for sail boats sent the following response to my question:

"For several reasons, we do not custom make seats for the bow of power, and Sailboats. Thank you for your interest."

I found a site which described a DYI solution instead of a custom seat as well as a company out of Australia (http://www.hitekmarine.com.au/bowrailseat.htm) which makes an easily removable seat.

[Viper]

Have you considered something like this for sitting right on the deck? I folds up and is portable:
https://www.westmarine.com/buy/west-marine--go-anywhere-low-back-seat-2--10385656?recordNum=1

[g36]

Here's another option for portable seating......https://ocean-tamer.com/

[Cooler]

Visit a Cabela's or a high end hiking/camping store. They have a plethora of protable seating options that feature space sensitive bases. Was walking through a Cabela's yesterday and saw a really intersting bucket type seat that was really portable. You may be disappointed if you install something more fixed, as you will impact crew walking access for tight maneuvering while docking. That is one of those reasons Zarcor stays away from bow rail seating. er

[chpsk8]

That Aussie solution is interesting. Obviously not something you'd want installed when moving, and based on physics you'd want to be careful how large of a person would sit on it. Seems like a stanchion bender if a bigger person used it.

I have the folding stadium seats for sitting up front. For us they were a better solution than the a bow pad since they have back support. Being 3" off the floor and getting older makes it fun to get out of them sometimes, but I can still keep it classy!

[tomschauer]

Those rails are designed for safety purposes only. I would think three or four times before attaching anything that would put them under any type of continued load.

[Viper]

I second what Tom said. One has to wonder how long it will take before your stanchion bases start moving, break the seal, and start leaking.

[bud37]

I also agree....those railings can be easily damaged, even by someone casually fending the boat off while docking..

Looking at the pic of that seat, it appears that it would be very easy to fall backwards off the boat...even in a calm anchorage there can be a boat wake.....just not a good idea all around IMO.....we just brought our regular folding chairs up front, but that would require a flat area up there on your model.

[tgebler]

Thanks for all the comments. Unfortunately, the bow area on the 396 is not flat and the admiral doesn't like getting up and down to a flat seat or sun pad. The bag chairs would work but no place to store them.

We have been thinking about a stainless steel bench permanently attached to the area in front of the window and before the nonskid. That small area is sloped but I assume something that would work could be fabricated.

[tgebler]

We are still looking for a seat on the bow of our 2000 396 aft cabin. I found a seat which would require an attachment to the sloped area below the salon window. Has anyone installed anything on this area of the boat?

Any thoughts would be appreciated.


https://wiseseats.com/collections/swing ... seat-frame

Swing back seat from Wise.jpg