Seafarer 226

mmiela

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I have a Seafarer and love it, fishing machine. But, the biggest issue I have is my wife says it isn’t comfortable for her to go on so she doesn’t really like to go. I did buy her a nice folding chairs from west marine and she has used that. This kind of makes me a little sad bit it also works to my advantage.

Any suggestions on making the boat more comfortable for her? I was thinking upgrade the helm chairs, better cushions or replacing the cushions for the fish boxes and stern seats.

Maybe just buy a Freedom 235 instead. Lol.
 

root

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What is it about the seafarer that makes her uncomfortable. The seating, nausea, the head space, while underway or while anchored? There are a lot of different things that could be done to make her more comfortable. This is a topic I've spent a lot of time thinking about and researching as my wife gets seasick and is sensitive to a lot on the boat. I've recently purchased a Seafarer 226 and It's much more enjoyable for my wife than our previous center console.
 

Ky Grady

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Mine suffers from the same issues. Gets queasy pretty easily. Best thing I've found is a beanbag. Bought a E-Searider and she has done better.
20180429_120651.jpg
 
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mmiela

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She doesn’t get sick just feels uncomfortable in the chairs or the seats. I think she likes the fold out chair. I think some nice ladder back chairs with nice cushions and arm rests might make it better.
 

Doc Stressor

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You can't sit in the seats in any kind of sea or chop. You would need suspension seats, but I don't think they could be adapted to a Grady.

I use folding chairs near the stern if it isn't too rough. When it's bumpy and wet, a bean bag between the helm chairs is the best seat in the house.
 

Ky Grady

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I've got the folding chairs also, but like Doc said,, the beanbag is preferred. For wine and cheese cruising, the fold ups work well.
 
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bFransen

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I have three bean bag chairs on my 228. Very comfortable. I wouldn't put a folding chair on the deck of my boat due to worry about it eventually damaging the deck/gell coat.

The small bean bag seat/chair I have is for pools. When we anchor up it doubles as a float. I learned this trick from guys sailing across the Pacific to Hawaii. They used bean bags.

Many price points to choose from if the E-Searider seems expensive so you can test out the concept first. West Marine does put them on sale occasionally.
 

mmiela

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Wife said today the biggest complaint is the helm chairs. So maybe that is the next upgrade I do.
 

NHAngler

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Bean bag chairs are super comfortable and might fix this for your wife.

One thing to point out as a consideration with them is that they can take up a bit of space on and off the boat. I returned mine because of this but would not hesitate to get another if I had a more frequent need and I had a bigger boat.

I also got sqeemish seeing my fishing buddies handling them along side hooks, knives, spiney fish, and blood. In fact, depending on who I bring, a portion of my cushions will stay stored for trips.
 

Uncle Joe

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I installed this for my wife....she always looked uncomfortable sitting in the seat by the helm. Now she will swing the back so she can sit facing forward while running and she faces back and watches the rods for me while trolling.
Cooler Serat.jpg
 
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Doc Stressor

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I did a similar thing with a cooler seat on my old 204C. It makes for a nice ride since the position is well behind the splash point where the waves hit the hull and aft of the center point so movement is lessened. The seat takes up less fishing space than you might think.
 
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mmiela

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So I took the back rest off the port side fish box so the helm chair now spins so you can ride sitting backward with your feet on the box. We will see if that makes a difference.
 

Ky Grady

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So I took the back rest off the port side fish box so the helm chair now spins so you can ride sitting backward with your feet on the box. We will see if that makes a difference.

That was one of the first things I did when I bought mine. Wasn't conducive for my style of fishing.
20180520_103732.jpg
 

mmiela

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KY Grady

Love those seats where did you het them or are they stock?
 
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mmiela

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Had an idea but not sure how much it would cost.

Close the transom, install a bracket, mount the engine in the bracket and make a bench seat across the stern with access to the bilge from the bench seat. While I’m at it repower with a 250.

I have a feeling it would be pricy.
 

Ky Grady

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Might be cheaper to find a 228 with a F250. I look at boat trader and others often just seeing what's out there. Good, used 228's can be hard to find sometimes. Can always get an estimate to do the mods and see if it's feasible.