Grady Lounge/Sleeper Seat

[mboyatt]

I am looking to have all my cushions redone before summer. Has anyone removed a sleeper seat from their Grady? I assume you have to somehow remove the upper seats in order to get down into the base to unscrew or unbolt the base. How is this done? I would like to remove it without damaging anything so I can recover it and reinstall. The boat is a 1994 Tournament 192. Any help will be greatly appreciated!

 

[DennisG01]

Is this a "back-to-back" seat? The kind that pulls out and lays flat? Open it part way and you will be able to see in there. On any back-to-seat I've ever seen you will be able to access the screws that attach it that way. By the way, there's typically some storage space available in there.

 

[mboyatt]

Thanks DennisG, you are the man. Always very helpful. Yes, it is the back to back seat that you can lay flat as a sleeper. I wasn't sure if those seats somehow came off to access the mounting hardware. I will partially recline it and get in there as you suggest. Do you see any issues with me remounting it using the same holes and hardware? She seems solid as a rock, so I am guessing the hardware is fine. I like the storage idea. Hadn't thought of that, buy you are right. All the newer boats have the hatch and storage under the sleeper seat. I will ask the shop for an estimate on that while I am at it. Thank you for the help! I will pull the seat tomorrow.

 

[DennisG01]

You're welcome, M - and good luck - I think you'll find this is easier than you might think (other than the slightly awkward working angles).

99 times out of 100 you can resuse everything and it'll go right back the way it was.

You certainly could have a door installed (VERY easy to do yourself, by the way). Chances are you can even take the whole box off the boat - they're usually only screwed down to the floor with somewhere between 4 to 8 screws. Sometimes there's a combination of screws an bolts, but if it's bolts, the bolt is "captured" in the floor and all you're doing is removing a nut. In other words, the bolt sticks up through the floor.

But, you can use the storage just the way it is, too. Just open the seat a little and you can put stuff in and out.

 

[mboyatt]

Thanks again Dennis! You were spot on. Took me 5 minutes to remove. Held in by 6 stainless screws and washers. All in great shape. The box appears to be made of some kind of heavy duty plastic. Looks really tough and durable. Going to drop it off next week to get it recovered. Has the original stuff from 1994, which is toast.