Rear boat seat on center or offset?

Gettin ready to mount my seats. I will be using a tiller handle. I was curious of how you guys with the seat in the center steer comfortably. I see some seats are offset some are on center. The center makes most sense for weight distribution but offset seems to be more comfortable.

This may be a stupid topic, am i missing something?? Lol

This is coming from a newbie here!

Seems like when offset, you can only be on one side of the boat but will be able to face forward. With a center mounted seat your body will face the back of the boat but can be on either side of the motor.

I'm fairly new to tiller controls too but from the two I had, the tillers were on the port side and sitting in the middle seemed kind of awkward for me so I sit slightly off center on the starboard side. I didn't install a seat on the rear bench so I can sit anywhere that feels comfortable for steering.

I positioned my gas tank on the port side of the transom area to help compensate for me on the starboard off center position. I've seen some large guys who sit to the side and cause the boat to tilt!

nomowork said:

I'm fairly new to tiller controls too but from the two I had, the tillers were on the port side and sitting in the middle seemed kind of awkward for me so I sit slightly off center on the starboard side. I didn't install a seat on the rear bench so I can sit anywhere that feels comfortable for steering.

I positioned my gas tank on the port side of the transom area to help compensate for me on the starboard off center position. I've seen some large guys who sit to the side and cause the boat to tilt!

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Oh thats right, the tiller handle isnt on center either is it? It is on the port side with the motor I am waiting on. Ill just wait for the motor then position the seats accordingly. Ill be sure to use the gas tank to offset! Thanks

sit in the boat and figure out where it's most comfortable to run the motor from. I had to offset the seat and have it in a certain position forward to gain full motion of the tiller. I also provided another seat position, in the middle, to fish from.

overboard said:

sit in the boat and figure out where it's most comfortable to run the motor from. I had to offset the seat and have it in a certain position forward to gain full motion of the tiller. I also provided another seat position, in the middle, to fish from.

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=D>
I agree this is the best way.
I think you will find being offset works best. You can use tackle bags, batteries, gas tanks to offset your weight.

I use the pin type seat mount and bases. I install one base in the center of the rear seat, and another just to starboard of that. The starboard mount is used for running the tiller motor, and the center is used for fishing. This also works well for my transom mounted trolling motor which is positioned to port of the gas motor. This allows me roughly the same command position on the trolling motor that I enjoy on the gas motor from the starboard seating position.

I mounted mine off to the right and just put my gas tank and trolling batter on the left. I can tell a little difference when I get low on gas but nothing significant. It's a lot easier to reach the controls when it's off centered.

https://www.tinboats.net/ ..... what about the sliderG5 ? It is featured on the home page of this very site? Rich

As mentioned above, I leave the rear seat off, so I can adjust as needed, sometimes sitting facing starboard/front, and sometimes facing port/front.....but generally, I sit in center....

The tiller on most engines, is on the port side AND angles slightly to the port side, so 2' back (say where you sit), the tiller is about 1-2' off centerline to the port.....so you can sit in the center.

as an aside, in my 12' tinny, I am often solo, so I sit on the center seat, clamped on base w/bass seat, and use the helmsmate tiller extender, now the twist tiller is about 5' forward of the motor, and right next to me as I am sitting dead center in the bass seat...(see pic)

I've got a Lowe 12' and recently put two swivel seats on it. I have the rear seat slightly offset to starboard and use an extended tiller. The center seat is offset to port as there is usually two of us in the boat so it balances fairly good. Alone, I slide the fuel tank to port by the transom and put gear on the port side in the center well. Seem to balance OK. If I had it to do over, I'd buy two of the sliders shown on this site main page. They would be perfect for just about any loading situation. A little salty, but a good design.

mine is centered i never seem to have a prob with it but i did use the pin style so i can remove it if need be, but i usualy dift fish so i dont use the seat very often, i usualy just lounge and enjoy the ride

I was planning on making my own pin style seat mounts. Ill make three of them and mount one in the center and one offset a bit. I appreciate everyone's response.

As far as the slider, i like em but they will end up covering areas I have for storage.

Happy halloween!

Wish I could've helped you out! The pin idea seems like a good option.
Mike :wink:

My seat is offset. I have no issues with weight distribution.

BaitCaster said:

My seat is offset. I have no issues with weight distribution.

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Thats good to hear...motor should be here very shortly!

MikefromSliderG5 said:

Wish I could've helped you out! The pin idea seems like a good option.
Mike :wink:

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Hey thanks...you make the sliders mounts eh? Thats cool? Is there a way to lock the seat to the slider?

No locking mechanism - just your weight to keep you in place.
Mike

mine is offset as well ,

I have a 12ft Jon Boat new to me with a 20hp Suzuki outboard and it is really too heavy as I sit on back bench with seat nearly all the way to right side of bench so that I can actually steer. I am the only one aboard and it puts too much weight on back right corner of boat, only a few inches of above water there. It is terrifying when I steer at high speeds because just the slightest movement of tiller left or right overpowers the boat's balance and things go haywire, so I have to slow down so much to make slight turns. I hope you will advise me on how to rectify this problem for safety reasons. My plan is to get a tiller extension and try to sit in the middle of the bench in front of the back bench, but I don't know how will be able to truly be centered on the bench to balance weight since the tiller extension may still be forcing me to move my seat to the right side of boat. That leaves me imagining making my own bizarre Tiller extension that would basically be PVC extending forward to make a large SQUARE SHAPE THAT WRAPS AROUND MY BODY in order to make it possible to sit perfectly centered on the bench nearest front of boat, which is actually in the center of the hull. This is the only way I can imagine being able to get centered in boat for balance but I am not sure if the DIY PVC Square shape of a tiller extension will be safe to really try. Please give me your opinions.

I would get a smaller motor.