A25 Helm Seat

[dkirsop]

What does your helm seat look like? Does it fold, does it lift? Let's face it, the original seat installation was a less than stellar piece of engineering. Many members have modified their seats to provide easier access to the engine. The purpose of this posting is to have members share photos of their installations and provide ideas for those considering modifying their installations. The goal here is not to bury viewers in detail or description, just a few photos to get the ideas across. Here is my submission to get this thread started.

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[DesertAlbin736]

Ours is the stock seat like yours but without the fold down/flip up modifications. Neat idea though. I agree with your take that the OEM seat design is "less than stellar" engineering & not particularly comfortable, and of course cumbersome to open the engine box in the early models where you have to remove the seat. What I would like would be a seat where the seat back can 'flip forward' so that when docked or at anchor you could convert the seat to sit facing aft. This one is 41 inches wide, so I'd have to check measurements to see if it would work. But for now I'm not quite ready to plunk down $400 US for a new seat unless I could figure a way to modify the existing seat to work like this one.

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Anyway, as seen here in one of my holding tank project pictures, previous owners cut an opening into the top of the engine box for access to check oil (dipstick on Yanmar engines is on the right side) without needing to remove the seat and go through all the rigamarole of opening up the engine box. They fastened a piece of trim plywood, teak or something, on top of the piece they cut out, to allow the removed piece to be set back in place (not shown here). So unless I need to do some more extensive checks besides daily oil level dipstick read I can leave the engine box alone. As you can see here, the coolant expansion bottle is outside of the engine compartment, so I can check that by lifting the floorboard. I also keep spare motor oil in that space behind the holding tank.

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This photo shows the difference in sizes between the old 9 gallon holding tank and the new 20 gallon one, nearly tripling our holding tank capacity. That meant relocating the batteries to make room for it, but that's another story. That project was motivated by the scarcity of pump out stations up in your part of the world.

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[jcamill55]

I wish I have yours . I have the original

[Sunsetrider]

Mine had been cut down in width by a PO to free up the motor access. Regret, because my wife now has to stand on a stool to see over the windshield and navigate. She really wishes we had a full-width helm seat.

[WillieC]

I like the flip seat idea proposed by DA, except for the color. Was pondering this yesterday... when we were young bucks, my brother came up with the brilliant idea of wearing white pants whenever he went home to the folks place. I never graduated from work jeans, so guess who ended up helping dad changing the tractor oil or draining the radiators on the coldest day of the year? First we had to start those ancient engines, THEN drain them. It never occurred to dad to do this in the FALL, always waited until it dropped into the 20s. Then again, which kid learned how to turn a wrench and spend all winter overhauling the diesel, and loving (most) every minute of it?

A white seat will never do in my boat! Sorry!

BTW, mine is the stock full bench seat bolted to the aluminum frame next to the wheel. I'd show a picture but it is ugly. Some would call it spartan and utilitarian. I call it 1973 Albin chic. No fancy dan hinges, no quick disconnect latches just hard old pleather that takes grease stains very nicely.

My doghouse is not hinged either, it removes after you prop up the seat with a block of wood and sliding the cover rearward. It works, but gets old because you have to lift it over the alternator where the angle is toward the front port side. Doghouse is lined with the lead/foam/aluminum foil sandwich sound deadening panel and will tear up if you are not careful.

[Northern Spy]

We installed the flip bench that Desert Albin showed in his post on our 1975. the installation was as simple as six screws and the seat is very comfortable. We ordered ours from a company called Overton's and got it for $330 on sale (94046 Springfield Double Bucket Chair, White). The color is actually an off white, like bone or ivory and there is no gloss on the vinyl. As such it didn't take any time at all for it to match the "patina" on or original cockpit finishes. It has held up well in the year since we installed it.

[tego]

I have the single width seat, , only 2 of them, from Overtons. They work great on my 27 FC. They have a fold up bolster which makes a great leaning post at the helm and can flip the back forward to face the cockpit. I'd highly recommend them. The one pictured doesn't have the flip up bolster because of the double width. I also got them on sale at a significant discount. Ben

[OldDemps]

We installed the flip bench. the installation was as simple as six screws and the seat is very comfortable. We ordered ours from a company called Overton's and got it for $330 on sale (94046 Springfield Double Bucket Chair, White).

Hello Northern Spy
1) Do you have photo of you bench seat installed to post or pm?
2) how did you mount it to the bulkhead & deck? Pedestal, single leg on port side and wall bracket to starboard etc?
3) can you still access / remove the engine hatch rear half Cover to check oil on the A25 deluxe?

I’m strongly considering that flip bench or possible two single Springfield flip seats pedestal mounted. One at helm and other on the removable hatch. Your thoughts?

https://www.westmarine.com/buy/springfi ... gI1G_D_BwE

[Reckman]

We installed the flip bench. the installation was as simple as six screws and the seat is very comfortable. We ordered ours from a company called Overton's and got it for $330 on sale (94046 Springfield Double Bucket Chair, White).

Hello Northern Spy
1) Do you have photo of you bench seat installed to post or pm?
2) how did you mount it to the bulkhead & deck? Pedestal, single leg on port side and wall bracket to starboard etc?
3) can you still access / remove the engine hatch rear half Cover to check oil on the A25 deluxe?

I’m strongly considering that flip bench or possible two single Springfield flip seats pedestal mounted. One at helm and other on the removable hatch. Your thoughts?

https://www.westmarine.com/buy/springfi ... gI1G_D_BwE

For better or worse, I ended up buying NorthernSpy's boat. I attached two pictures of the boat when I bought it. I have since reworked the entire cockpit. It was originally mounted with aluminum heavy duty struts running under the seat. Two pieces of aluminum chanel were through bolted to the starboard gunnel, the aluminum struts sat
atop and were bolted vertically. There was a leg that landed right before the engine bay.

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You could open the small engine cover without removing the seat. Removing the seat was easy and only required the two bolts.

After the rework I used two heavy duty pedestals painted white instead of the leg. Not sure if the leg was the issue or other workmanship, but it is night and day more stable now. The legs come apart with pins so you can still remove the seat quickly. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001O ... UTF8&psc=1

Let me know if you have any questions or want any detail pictures.

[OldDemps]

Thank you Reckman. Enjoy your new to you vessel

[DesertAlbin736]

I would be tempted to get a seat like that. But in our case with the early model engine box where the seat has to be removed, lifted off, & set aside to get to the engine the extra weight of the seat might be a problem. Because of the stepped nature of the early style engine box the seat supports rest on the engine box & the first floorboard panel aft. In order to access the engine, one must first a)remove the set & set aside, usually set on top of the aft cabin; b)swing open the hinged section of the cabin bulkhead; c) remove the first floorboard panel behind the engine; and finally d) unlatch the box from inside the forward cabin & tip the whole box up to open.

The stock seat weighs about +/- 15 to 20 lbs (7-9 kg) So how much does this seat weigh?

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OldDemps & Reckman, you guys must be hard core to be posting on Christmas night!

[NickScheuer]

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We like our pair of swivel seats much better than the original bench, which did not fold flat nor tilt up to starboard. The seats swivel 360-degrees and lift off the post, so that the Mate's seat may be stowed separately when the motor cover is removed.

[NickScheuer]

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The previous pic was too old to show our current "Destroyer" wheel nor the Morse two-lever shift/throttle control.

[NickScheuer]

The new rim for our original spoked wheel is better when standing at the helm.

[OldDemps]

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We like our pair of swivel seats much better than the original bench.

Thanks Nick,
What is the height of those seat pedestals? They come in many heights. (18”?).

My boat is far away from where I live so I can’t go measure what I need. I try to amass needed parts prior so I have more hands on time on boat.