Installing Swivel Seats

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gogittum

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I did a quick search but don't see any that exactly match my problem.

My 16 ft Starcraft has, of course, the original factory aluminum bench seats that also contribute a lot to stiffness and stability of the hull. It also came with 2 upholstered seats that are very comfy and I do like the swivel bases under them....BUT....

The swivels are only about an inch thick. Fine, turn upper at 45° from lower and screw it onto the seat base or the seat in the boat. How do you get the other side mounted ?? With the size of the seat, there's no room under there to get my hands.

With seats set loosely in the boat, sitting height is just about perfect, so don't want pedestals or such. My current thinking is to mount the 2nd side on 1 x 2s or 1 x 3s that extend out from the seat, then screw those down. That would work without adding too much height, but I'll also be adding the boards I mentioned in my previous post and those're just "white wood" - pine or whatever and only 5/8" or 3/4" thick. I don't trust them to hold the screws solidly for long term use and abuse in the boat.

I'm not real crazy about drilling thru into the aluminum bench seats - don't like to drill holes everywhere - and not sure about some kind of wrap around strap arrangement. Any thoughts ??

Oh, yah - seats are filthy with years of grime. How best to clean the vinyl ??
 
Power wash the vinyl, but I’d pre-wash and let liquid Bar Keepers Friend sit on it for a while, brushed in too.

Seat? I got around the “height access issue” by using those 9” or so square aluminum (or SS) ‘pin’ type seat bases on top of the aluminum seats, pop riveted in with heavy duty 1/4” high sheer strength rivets from McMaster-Carr.

Worked out so well that I put 2 in the middle seat, 1 centered and 1 off to the left, for cruising so I can see better looking forward. Just pick the seat up and move when you want. There is also another base in the middle of the bow seat!
 
FYI, on other boats with wood seats on top, I did put a swivel direct to the seat. Yes, access was still a bit#h, but using shorter SS bolts into holes where there was a threaded SS star locknut pressed into the wood on the backside (requires seat removal to install these), and it worked out really well!
 
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