2001 265 Express seat backs...

[Sea monkey]

After using the 265 for a season,(bought it in May 2013), one of the biggest issues my crew had was not sliding out of helm in rough seas. After some care full consideration I had these horseshoe seat backs made. The are removeable if needed but the mounts are not. After that, I had new cushions designed and fabricated so that the sink, livewell and cooler would all still open fully and easily with out removing any cushions.

I would love to add the phots but keep getting the message,"Sorry, the board attachment quota has been reached."

If someone could explain how to add them I will....

 

[DennisG01]

unsubscribed

 

[Steds83]

Please try to post pics. I have often thought this would be a great addition. What was cost? Thanks.

 

[drbatts]

I would love to see pics too.

 

[Sea monkey]

Re: 2001 265 Express seat backs...PICS ADDED

Okay, got some help from the site Admin, thank you and was able to add pics... Simple horseshoe seat back with a single cuhion on the starboard side, it is easily reversible so the cooler can be used while fishing and can be switched to forward facing for running in/out. Double sided on the port side and the cushions have all be altered a bit with some tapering & shortening so everything works (livewell, sink & cooler) while fishing. The only cushion that was not altered was the forward port that is on the foldable seat. Last modification this season will be the new Lebroc helm chair.... On order and being made now.... I can't wait for that.

 

[Sea Shift]

That looks great!!! Thanks for sticking with the pics. Very nice. Are the brackets custome or re-purposed?

 

[Sea monkey]

That looks great!!! Thanks for sticking with the pics. Very nice. Are the brackets custome or re-purposed?

The brackets were custom and we kept them the height of the seat back cushions to keep the lines....

 

[Sketchywind]

Do you have pics of the bracket receiver and the seat bracket? I like to try to fab a set for my 265.
Thanks!
Frank

 

[fish_hunter]

sea Monkey,
love your port side cup holder, is that a custom creation or can I order that somewhere?

thanks,
Eric

 

[girt]

Sea Monkey,
That is nice work on the seats. I have a 2001 265 and would like to do something similar. How did you install the bracket mounts? do you have to get access under the seats by removing the livewell and storage locker?

Thanks,
Girt

 

[Sea Shift]

I too would be interested in the base mount. Have they been holding up?

 

[girt]

SeaShift, I had some fabricated and they turned out great. It really does make the seating better. I will get pictures and post them with the mounts.

 

[girt]

Here are some pictures of the seat backs for the port and starboard side of my 2001 265 Express

 

[girt]

Sorry, I am not sure why the photos rotated. Hopefully you will be able to at least get an idea. I had pieces of plastic and foam installed on each side of the seats to give support and cushion. The seats are removable and the base is fixed. Not sure what the base is called but it looks similar to a rod holder.

 

[TUNAHUNTER197]

Thanks for posting the pictures Girt, really appreciate it. Did they have to drill through your livewell lining to install the gimble mount? Any chance you can post a picture without the cushions to see how the seat attaches to the mount? Do you have measurements of how wide the seat is as well as the thickness of the aluminum? Would love to install these on my 265, but not quite sure how to on the port side with drilling into the livewell. The starb side seems easy to drill the mount into the storage compartment, but worry about compromising the livewell. Really appreciate you following up with this.

 

[girt]

TunaHunter,
On the port side I drilled holes in the top of the livewell. I was concerned about this but it actually isn't a big deal. The bases and seat supports go into the livewell about 12 inches. You could make it shorter but I wanted to have some support. For when the seat backs are removed, I purchased four drain plugs from a hardware store and they work great to either keep rain water out or keep livewell water in. Below are pictures of the holes I drilled but I don't have pictures of the bases. My boat is at the NC coast right now and I am near Charlotte, NC (150 miles). The bases are very similar to rod holders on the gunwale except they are perpendicular and not angled. I had a piece of aluminum welded across the bottom to stop the seat backs for sliding down farther but to still allow water to drain. I think the holes were 15 inches on center apart. I may be wrong though. Where I have the seats mounted allows the livewell and bait station to be used with out removing the seats. The starboard seat back has to be removed to allow the starboard storage door to be lifted but they are extremely easy to remove and replace. It took some time and coordinating to do this but i think it was worth the effort.

 

[TUNAHUNTER197]

Thanks for the come back! Next time your at the boat do you mind snapping a photo of the bases and the entire seat back? Really appreciate it and definitely been wanting to make this modification on my 265.

 

[Grady_Crazy]

 

[girt]

I forgot to get pictures of the base mounts but did measure the width for the base holes. They are 13 1/8 inches on center.

 

[bartoma]

Wanted to revive this thread - it's something I like to eventually do...

It appears one approach is surface mount rail base, while the other is more like a flush socket mount... I'd favor the latter, just to have the mounting HW flush, but I'd worry about cutting holes...

Are the originals still watching this thread? Or has anyone else done this?