Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
 
Old 06 November 2014, 09:31   #1
Member
 
Country: UK - England
Town: Derbyshire
Boat name: Mallard Reach
Make: Ribeye
Length: 6m +
Engine: Outboard
Join Date: Oct 2014
Posts: 23
DIY Suspension seat?

Have any of you guys made your own suspension seat? I'm wondering about modifying a standard jockey seat using aluminium bar for the frame / strengthening and using an adjustable mountain bike shock absorber to offer the shock mitigation. Any thoughts appreciated...
__________________
Lark is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06 November 2014, 11:42   #2
Member
 
Country: UK - England
Town: Hoxne
Boat name: Southern Comfort
Make: NorthCraft 5.5
Length: 5m +
Engine: 150 Optimax
MMSI: 235033276
Join Date: Nov 2005
Posts: 122
Send a message via MSN to Under the Thumb
I've always thought one of these would be a good base to start from

Tractor Seat - Mechanical Suspension ALSO FITS FORKLIFTS / DUMPER / MOWERS | eBay

I know its not stainless and the powdercoating might be a bit rubbish, but the mechanism is very simple, robust and adjustable.

Take the big seat and back rest off, replace it with a jockey seat and back rest so it isn't so wide, then it will fit on to a standard pod base.

I keep eyeing up the one on my dumper, I might get round to it this winter.
__________________
Northern Exposure Rescue

Marine Safety / Photography / Event Management
www.northernexposurerescue.org.uk
Under the Thumb is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06 November 2014, 11:53   #3
Member
 
Country: UK - England
Town: Derbyshire
Boat name: Mallard Reach
Make: Ribeye
Length: 6m +
Engine: Outboard
Join Date: Oct 2014
Posts: 23
Quote:
Originally Posted by Under the Thumb View Post
I've always thought one of these would be a good base to start from

Tractor Seat - Mechanical Suspension ALSO FITS FORKLIFTS / DUMPER / MOWERS | eBay

I know its not stainless and the powdercoating might be a bit rubbish, but the mechanism is very simple, robust and adjustable.

Take the big seat and back rest off, replace it with a jockey seat and back rest so it isn't so wide, then it will fit on to a standard pod base.

I keep eyeing up the one on my dumper, I might get round to it this winter.
How does the suspension work on these?
__________________
Lark is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06 November 2014, 13:18   #4
Member
 
Maximus's Avatar
 
Country: UK - England
Town: Wild West
Boat name: No Boat
Make: No Boat
Length: under 3m
Join Date: Jan 2008
Posts: 5,305
Send a message via AIM to Maximus
Quote:
Originally Posted by Under the Thumb View Post
I've always thought one of these would be a good base to start from

Tractor Seat - Mechanical Suspension ALSO FITS FORKLIFTS / DUMPER / MOWERS | eBay

I know its not stainless and the powdercoating might be a bit rubbish, but the mechanism is very simple, robust and adjustable.

Take the big seat and back rest off, replace it with a jockey seat and back rest so it isn't so wide, then it will fit on to a standard pod base.

I keep eyeing up the one on my dumper, I might get round to it this winter.
Didn't Scots start out as Trcator seat makers?
The Marine ones don't look much like those ones though!...I'd be carful about trusting Poached technology and applying it to your Boat though....you may do more harm than good if you get it wrong!
I think Bedajim on the Forum made a decent "Self-made" version of Ulmann variety by all accounts...he is a Fabricator though.
__________________
A clever Man learns by his mistakes..
A Wise Man learns by other people's!

The Road to HELL ..is Paved with "Good inventions!"
Maximus is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06 November 2014, 16:42   #5
Member
 
Country: UK - England
Town: Enfield/Switzerland
Boat name: Zonneschijn II/Vixen
Make: Shakespeare/Avon
Length: 7m +
Engine: Evin' 175 DI /Yam 90
MMSI: 235055605
Join Date: May 2006
Posts: 1,436
A guy called iandl on here did it years ago.
He posted all about it.
I think bedajim used his moulds and modified his design to improve it.
__________________
Neil Harvey is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06 November 2014, 16:49   #6
Member
 
Country: Finland
Town: Helsinki
Boat name: SR 5.4
Make: Avon
Length: 4m +
Engine: Toh1 3,5 Yam 90/2S
Join Date: Oct 2009
Posts: 919
Wonder if this one is any good? Not like Ullman but possible better thab standards jockey ones? Wavesoft · Boat Seat Suspension Cushion for Powerboat Seats
__________________
fun on a boat is inversely proportional to size...sort of anyway
C-NUMB is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06 November 2014, 16:53   #7
Member
 
Maximus's Avatar
 
Country: UK - England
Town: Wild West
Boat name: No Boat
Make: No Boat
Length: under 3m
Join Date: Jan 2008
Posts: 5,305
Send a message via AIM to Maximus
Quote:
Originally Posted by C-NUMB View Post
Wonder if this one is any good? Not like Ullman but possible better thab standards jockey ones? Wavesoft · Boat Seat Suspension Cushion for Powerboat Seats
...You kidding?
Reckon you'd be better off with a whoopee cushion!
Or go a Crash weight GAIN Diet!
That thing would Bottom out slipping off the Trailer!
__________________
A clever Man learns by his mistakes..
A Wise Man learns by other people's!

The Road to HELL ..is Paved with "Good inventions!"
Maximus is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06 November 2014, 17:00   #8
Member
 
Country: UK - England
Town: Surrey
Boat name: Fugly & Rokraider 1
Make: Pac 22 & Porter 6.5
Length: 6m +
Engine: Ford 250 & jet,DT140
Join Date: Jun 2008
Posts: 681
One the problems with a suspension seat is getting a setup that can stay in synch with the crashing motion of the boat. On the off roaders, we don't use them anymore as if it gets out of synch with the vehicle and bottoms out whilst the vehicle is travelling upwards, the shock is enough to really hurt your back. Although I have not looked closely at the proper seats for boats, I imagine they have quite a long travel and very progressive damping.
__________________
Rokraider is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06 November 2014, 19:39   #9
Member
 
Ribochet's Avatar
 
Country: UK - N Ireland
Town: Rostrevor
Boat name: Ricochet
Make: Redbay
Length: 7m +
Engine: Twin F115 Yams
MMSI: 235083269
Join Date: Oct 2011
Posts: 930
Here's one I made earlier

Click image for larger version

Name:	SANY0012.jpg
Views:	3018
Size:	119.2 KB
ID:	100684

Seriously these are potentially dangerous pieces of kit and can cause severe injury if they are not "fit for purpose".
__________________
Maximum Preparation - Maximum Fun
Ribochet is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07 November 2014, 07:09   #10
RIBnet supporter
 
bedajim's Avatar
 
Country: UK - England
Town: Rutland
Length: no boat
Join Date: May 2006
Posts: 2,500
Yep here's a couple I threw together too

Dampers took some setting up but good now
Attached Thumbnails
Click image for larger version

Name:	Shock Jock.jpg
Views:	2330
Size:	188.8 KB
ID:	100687  
__________________
bedajim is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07 November 2014, 17:47   #11
Member
 
Country: France
Town: Cherbourg
Length: 5m +
Join Date: Jan 2009
Posts: 39
Hi, nice post, I'm actually doing a couple of suspended seat. It's a long job, but they should be confortable. With a fox Shock and cushion, It would be better!
__________________
tom's is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08 November 2014, 19:12   #12
Member
 
Country: UK - England
Town: I.O.W
Boat name: Danger Donut
Make: 6.0 rib
Length: 6m +
Engine: Mariner F60efi
Join Date: Nov 2003
Posts: 185
Saw these in Athens this very comfortable in moderate sea
Attached Thumbnails
Click image for larger version

Name:	1415477526231.jpg
Views:	1006
Size:	52.6 KB
ID:	100718  
__________________
Jim Robinson is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08 November 2014, 19:13   #13
Member
 
Country: UK - England
Town: I.O.W
Boat name: Danger Donut
Make: 6.0 rib
Length: 6m +
Engine: Mariner F60efi
Join Date: Nov 2003
Posts: 185
Also folded down so you could stand
__________________
Jim Robinson is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08 November 2014, 21:01   #14
Member
 
Country: France
Town: Cherbourg
Length: 5m +
Join Date: Jan 2009
Posts: 39
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jim Robinson View Post
Saw these in Athens this very comfortable in moderate sea
Yes, but the damping is still limited on these seats. In fact the kinematic is not optimal because the damping is thanks to the rotation of the seat about an axis ... is far from the comforts of Ullman's or Scott 's seats with 150 mm damping.

What's this Rib? Technohull?
__________________
tom's is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09 November 2014, 11:16   #15
Member
 
Country: UK - England
Town: Derbyshire
Boat name: Mallard Reach
Make: Ribeye
Length: 6m +
Engine: Outboard
Join Date: Oct 2014
Posts: 23
http://www.coastalpro.co.uk/mech.html this is the kind of thing I'm thinking of making.
__________________
Lark is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11 November 2014, 18:04   #16
Member
 
Country: France
Town: Cherbourg
Length: 5m +
Join Date: Jan 2009
Posts: 39
What's the price for the Coastal pro mechanism?

Are you CNC machinist to doing this job?
__________________
tom's is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11 November 2014, 18:10   #17
Member
 
Country: UK - England
Town: Derbyshire
Boat name: Mallard Reach
Make: Ribeye
Length: 6m +
Engine: Outboard
Join Date: Oct 2014
Posts: 23
A bit over £900 I think Tom. No I don't have access to cnc and I don't think I would need it. Aluminum castings are available 'of the shelf' and can easily be cut and drilled as required.
__________________
Lark is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12 November 2014, 20:46   #18
Member
 
Country: France
Town: Cherbourg
Length: 5m +
Join Date: Jan 2009
Posts: 39
Interested to see how will you doing the mechanism.
__________________
tom's is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 15 November 2014, 15:05   #19
Member
 
Country: UK - England
Town: Derbyshire
Boat name: Mallard Reach
Make: Ribeye
Length: 6m +
Engine: Outboard
Join Date: Oct 2014
Posts: 23
The current Facebook status for powerboat and rib magazine gives me some pause for thought. Injury caused by a seat bottoming out and I think that was a Scott seat....
__________________
Lark is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 15 November 2014, 18:20   #20
RIBnet admin team
 
Poly's Avatar
 
Country: UK - Scotland
Boat name: imposter
Make: FunYak
Length: 3m +
Engine: Tohatsu 30HP
MMSI: 235089819
Join Date: Sep 2005
Posts: 11,622
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lark View Post
The current Facebook status for powerboat and rib magazine gives me some pause for thought. Injury caused by a seat bottoming out and I think that was a Scott seat....
Not really the injury would have been caused by driving hard off the top of a wave and landing in a big hole - skipper error not the seat. The downside of suspension seats is they lead you into a false sense of security by compensating for lots of minor bangs, but they aren't miracle machines and if you go off a cliff its still going to hurt. They aren't really intended to avoid the massive big shock - they are to avoid the repetitive low-mid level stuff that fatigues you on a long bouncy day, or adds up over a long period to sustained damage.

They are nice bling in leisure boats but I'm sceptical that most weekend leisure users really need them.
__________________
Poly is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off




All times are GMT. The time now is 10:36.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.