2008 180 challenger seat position and vision

[seatys501]

Is it just me or does the top ledge of the windshield sit at a bad height? From sitting in the seat the top ledge of the window crosses right throught my vision of the horizon. I find myself having to duck down to see or slightly standing up putting weight on the seat back so I can see ove rthe window. Anyone else have the same issue and is there anything you have done to help this? I always mean to bring a pillow to sit on but forget. I am a big guy and the seat doesnt move back far enough to be all that comfortable. Any ideas besides loosing weight? haha

 

[RichC]

I have the same problem with my '07 Challenger. I'm actually pretty impressed that they could design the top windshield trim to EXACTLY cut across my line of site.
Also, like you, I have the same problem of the seat being too close. I am in the middle of designing a bracket for my seat that when flipped up, will raise the seat 2" and move it back 2".

 

[seatys501]

I dont have a flip up seat. Its kind of just one piece. I thought about trying to make a bracket. But the last thing I want to do is mess up plus its docked and dont have access to a lot of tools. may just wait till the offseason and try it.

 

[LogicAl2008]

I have a similar problem. For now, I've cleaned the glass, front and back, with RainX cleaner and then treated it, again - front and back, with RainX. Vision is improved 1000%!

I'm going to bring a cushion to add to the seat to raise my level/height for certain times I need to see beyond what can be seen thru the windshield.

Wish they had scroll down windshields like the Utopia ;-)

 

[sbd]

I have a Utopia but I like to look over the windshield to get a better view. I posted a thread asking if anyone had seen aftermarket seats and this is what one user replied with: http://veada.com/product/9-Helm-Seats/256--200-Series-Helm-Seat-with-Flip-up-Front-Bolster.html It isn't exactly what I wanted but it may do the trick, but first I have to figure out if the mounting bolt pattern is the same.

 

[LogicAl2008]

excellent. i like it!

 

[sbd]

What I would really like is a seat where a circular portion of the seat can be telescoped up to function almost like a bar stool. It would allow the driver to elevate his site lines and to swivel easily to increase his field of vision around the boat. I'm not sure if I saw it somewhere or whether it was just something that I came up with but either way, if anyone finds something like that, let me know.

 

[LogicAl2008]

SBD:

I just put my order in for that Veada HS200B. I asked for two things from them:

1. Bottom-board of 9" x 13-1/2", and
2. No pre-drilling of bottom board.

If you look at the bottom view of their seat ...

... you'll see eight t-nuts in the seat bottom. They do NOT recommend mounting the seat to the pedestal by those directly. Instead, they usually ship a 7-1/4" x 13-1/2" bottom-board that gets mounted to the bottom of the seat at the four outermost t-nut locations you see. Then, they will pre-drill and set the t-nuts for the pedestal you purchase to mate up with the seat bottom-board.

But, since I'm not employing a new pedestal, I'm going to have to determine where the holes need to be when I mount the old seat bottom to the bottom-board, as I want to maintain my swivel and slide as the original seat.

So, I'm going to take a sawzall to the original seat shell, seen here ...

... and cut the bottom, flat section off to mount to the bottom-board.

What the SeaDoo exploded parts image does not show well, and that I have found since taking out and disassembling the seat, is that the six mounting holes in part #20 connect to the sliding mechanism, not the seat shell. Part #9 (seat shell) just sits inside part #20 and is held in by that center nut & bolt, thus the ability to swivel.

So, bar any mistakes in the process, I will take pictures and upload them with instructions of how to use the Veada seat in an SeaDoo 180 Challenger. Fingers crossed

 

[sbd]

Wow - you don't waste any time...and it sounds like you know what you are doing. I'll be interested to read how it works for you. In the meantime, I'm going to see if I can figure out how my seat is mounted.

 

[LogicAl2008]

Your seat looked a whole lot simpler to disassemble and adapt to this Veada seat than mine! It appears that the captain's seat only swivels and doesn't slide. So you would hope to be able to bolt the main bracket directly to the bottom-board Veada has you mount your "pedestal" to.

But, looking at this diagram, you can only take the seat out from above, removing the connecting hardware via under-cushion access. Not sure Veada could offer you that method of mounting.

 

[sbd]

Figures. Thanks for doing the homework - I think I'll wait to see what you think of your seat. Let me know once you get it installed.

 

[LogicAl2008]

I'll write more once I get the seat.
In the meantime, just did this mod: http://www.seadooforum.com/showpost.php?p=89910&postcount=1

 

[sbd]

That is flippin' excellent! We like in Toronto but we went to The World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party in Jacksonville last year - great event and great outcome. We were told we have to get to Gainsville for a game there so watch out for the Canadian invasion!

 

[LogicAl2008]

Get with me over a private message and we'll keep in touch via email, offline of this thread. We'll have to get together when you come into town.

We have season tix this year in the north endzone, 9 rows off the field.

We're looking for FLvGA tix again this year - probably will buy at JAX as we did last year. And, yes, that was a great game.

Hopefully the Gators pull it off this year, again, 'cause we have 4 tix lines up for Pasadena.

Oh, and we caught the SEC championship in Key West ... and it was awesome. The Key West Gator Club was at Jack Flats and we just went nuts.

 

[LogicAl2008]

Full instruction are here: http://www.fatmailman.com/GoGators/VeadaBolsterSeat/Published_Seat_Replacement.html

Here are the results:

Swiveled - Bolster Down:

Swiveled - Bolster Up:

Straight - Bolster Down:

Straight - Bolster Up:

Go Gators!

 

[sbd]

Looks good...nice colors! Does it solve the vision problem? And is it comfortable for your butt and legs when the bolster is up?

BTW, when I click that link, it doesn't seem to work but when I copy and paste it in to a new browser, it works fine.

 

[LogicAl2008]

Even w/o the bolster up, I'm now sitting a tad higher - eyes above the windscreen. With the bolster up, I'm even higher, just as comfortable, feet still on the floor, and much more relaxed for now I can see!!!

It is a little close to the steering wheel for climbing in and out ... but well worth the effort.

p.s.: Link Fixed

 

[TnTLQ]

Veda seat is sweet

but I'm riding that throwable cushion that I got for $7 at walmart:cheers:

 

[LogicAl2008]

but I'm riding that throwable cushion that I got for $7 at walmart:cheers:

If you stand up while going at hi-speeds, you might see your cushion blow away, too ;-)

My bro-in-law recommended a phonebook :ack:

 

[Kevin3151]

That seat is awesome.

As a quick fix, I found a butt donut in the drug store for people with hemhorroids. It is blue so it matches the boat and is inflateable. It fits right in the seat snug so it doesnt fly out.

Kinda funny.

KH