Swingback Cooler Seat 24 Offshore??

[Uncle Joe]

Hello all. I own a 1982 24 Offshore and I absolutely love it. I have done a lot of work on it and I now find myself doing more entertaining with kids and stuff than I used to. I wanted to install more seating and I thought Moeller's 70 qt cooler seat would be good for a couple of kids while running ....hold a few buckets of chum and give me a good seat facing aft when drifting baits for shark. I wanted to install it a few feet forward of the splashboard which would still give me plenty of room to walk around it.

My problem is that I am sure that it would need to be thru-bolted and the bolt holes on the bottom will sit well outside the stringers...preventing access. Will the deck support toggles.? Anybody have any ideas?

Thanks in advance for any replies!
Joe

 

[DennisG01]

I would definitely not want to do any installations outboard of the stringers. Even with sealant, over time it can start to leak and drip water into the foam, which can trap water next to the stringers. However, there may be enough space to bolt just outboard of the large, center hatch. If not, reinforce the screw down center hatch and bolt to the hatch. In other words, secure that hatch in a more robust way than some little screws that likely aren't even biting too hard, anymore. You can reinforce anything underneath easily and I'm sure that will provide more than enough strength to hold the seat. You may have to install an extra deck access plate in the center hatch to get to the nuts, though... or use togglers.

 

[Doc Stressor]

I mounted 153 quart Igloo coolers with seat cushions in my older Gradys. I just used the Igloo tie down kit without the straps. The box never fell over or moved around unless we were in borderline dangerous seas. The cooler seat always stayed in place when people were sitting on it. There is no seat back, but that really isn't much of a problem. It was easy to remove the cooler seat when we needed more space for diving or scalloping.

I have the Moeller 70 with the seatback as my helm seat in a Carolina Skiff. Mounting it was sort of a pain and the swinging seat back gets in the way when I want to use the cooler. I have an Igloo Marine 92 with the tie down kit and straps as my front seat forward of the center console. It works great. That's what I would recommend for your application since they no longer make the 153 with a seat cushion. Of course, you could always get a larger cooler and use a custom-made cushion.

Igloo 92

Tie-down Kit

 

[Uncle Joe]

Thanks Guys.......I already fabricated a cushion for my 120 qt igloo and it is great but it is not mounted in any way. I was going to get rid of that and install a permanent seat....with a back. I am just picturing 2 people rocking back in any kind of seas and that makes me want to really secure it to something beefy. I installed new pedestal seats at the helm and found 2 layers of 3/4 in ply as the top of the fish boxes the seats mount to.....if I have that much meat outside the stringers I thought I might be good to go with togglers.
Dennis........aren't the stringers located just about 1/2 inch or so outboard of the edges of the large center hatch?

 

[DennisG01]

Joe, the helm seat has a lot more leverage on it than a big-base cooler/flip seat will. However, I agree that with the backrest, you would want it more securely mounted than just "wedged" in place. The floor has a 1/2" plywood core. I feel confident that this would still be strong enough - that part doesn't worry me - again, the "load" is being spread out over a large area. It's the water leakage that I would really want to avoid.

I don't have my boat in front of me to check on that 1/2" clearance, or not. I thought it was more, but you could be right. Reinforcing the center hatch (to make sure it stays screwed down)... I'd still be totally comfortable with the load spread, even though it would be a little less port-to-stbd... As long as the seat is sturdy enough. Maybe you can tell if there's more than 1/2" from this picture when I rebuilt my floor FYI, mine was originally a stern drive, which is why the back end stringer looks different than yours. I don't have a better picture (that looks into the compartment where the heater is).

 

[Uncle Joe]

Thank you for the pic Dennis.....when did you install heat in your Grady??

I spoke to Grady's technical guys (they are always very accomodating) and they told me that the deck is fabricated from a layer of 3/4 ply laminated with glass top and bottom.....sounds like it will support toggle bolts and allow me to remove the seat when I need to lift the hatch.

 

[DennisG01]

That was my winter project a number of years back. I built a wooden structure to square off the back end of the boat nice and high (like a tent). Installed a 4' shoplight under the "roof" and that oil heater... nice and cozy throughout the winter while I was working!

The wood core in my boat... I am 100% positive that it was 1/2". I measured it, and also reused 1/2" and everything fit back together like a puzzle. That "bottom" lamination... it's about the thickness of an onion skin. But in the end, it's your boat and your call in regards to everything. The 1/2" or 3/4" will still be strong enough (aside from the water intrusion issue)... as long as the core isn't wet and soft.

 

[dbiscayne]

deck of a 1990 Offshore, if you're going to use toggle bolts thru the fuel tank cover might want to make sure you miss the 2x4's.

 

[DennisG01]

Oh... if you end going through the post/stbd side deck area... depending on how much foam was poured into the subfloor area where you end up drilling, it may be difficult to get the toggle to set.

 

[Uncle Joe]

Thanks for the pic Dbiscayne....the base of the cooler seat is much wider than the hatch.....I will be several inches outboard of the stringers on each side....after owning 2 Offshores I dont think I would ever mount anything to the hatch....even with reinforcement.

 

[Uncle Joe]

Ahh....I hadn't thought of the foam being a problem...Thanks Dennis.

 

[Uncle Joe]

Just a follow up....found these awesome stainless toggles and everything worked like a charm. The tech folks at Grady White were superb as always and told me exactly what to expect when I started drilling. Thanks for all your help here too guys.

 

[DennisG01]

Good - glad it went together for you. I can’t quite see the picture well enough to see what kind of toggles those are. Are the “togglers” that I mentioned above, or a different brand? For what it’s worth, bolting to the hatch would absolutely not be a problem if it was secured properly. But of course that would take more work to do that and would end up being dependent on one’s skill set. Attaching to the deck is just fine - just be sure keep up on checking the sealant.

Did you use butyl rubber for the sealant? That would probably be the longest lasting stuff. Did you also happen to chamfer the hole to help prevent gelcoat stress cracking and give more area for sealant? Just offering some tips, in case you didn’t already know.

And... where’s the finished pic?

 

[Uncle Joe]

Hey Dennis.....Finished pic attached! I used 5200 to seal up the holes.....was able to fill the entire space created....in the deck and in the flotation as well. If you click on the pic of the toggles you will see that they even came with a nice rubber plug/gasket to help with water intrusion. They also opened by turning down the bolt....not spring loaded which enabled them to open even though they came in contact with the foam. These toggles were 10$ each but well worth it. Didn't chamfer the holes.....live and learn.