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New PA seat

Posted: 16 Jun 2018, 17:51
by Rawprawn
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So I have seen on a few yank forums some of the guys with old PA14s get rid of the old green seat for something a bit nicer

With bcf having 40% off boat seats I got a top of the range one

I got a plumbing end cap to attach the steering to. I needed to cut off the round pipe fitting. It was rounded and suited the steering nicely

It didn't take long

Feels higher and more upright when I sat on it in the shed

Hard to test without pedals

Guess will find out how it's suited to pedalling on the water

But definitely much nicer when sitting

Re: New PA seat

Posted: 16 Jun 2018, 17:58
by Tim399
Best mod for the older PA. It was the first mod I did to mine, although the seat bolted straight to the ally frame (with a little work) so mine would be a little lower. Now I can easily fish an 8 hour session comfortably :thumbsup:

Re: New PA seat

Posted: 16 Jun 2018, 18:01
by Rawprawn
This one bolted to the frame no probs

It sits at the front end of the frame

I'm half tempted to drill 2 more holes so it can sit at the rear end giving me about 4 or 5 inches more deck space

Re: New PA seat

Posted: 16 Jun 2018, 18:24
by shane
I drilled extra holes in my underframe so I could move the seat back a bit to suit my pedalling position. Wait till you et ut on the water ti test position first. A boat seat is great in an older PA, better comfort and space around the seat. :up:

With that style be careful you don't lean back too hard. I had that hinge style before and cracked the base leaning back hard and also with a bag attached to the seat back.

Re: New PA seat

Posted: 16 Jun 2018, 18:37
by Rawprawn
Yea I was trying to see if I can adjust the seat back backwards a bit on more of an angle but it's impossible. Maybe that's better as have no option but to sit up straight

Re: New PA seat

Posted: 05 Jul 2018, 16:24
by Rawprawn
so i used this last week with the new seat, had shocking back and sciatica pain for the next 4 or 6 days

i had the pedals on setting 5 and my legs were miles off straightening and hence it was hard work

i could move the pedals to 7 but what i think i need to do is drill 2 new holes and push the seat back about 6 inches, that will give more room at the front and allow my legs to straighten at seeing 4 or 5 (im 6'1)

i just put the old seat on again to make sure nothing im doing caused the back pain as a control experiment, providing next time is fine then i will try to push the new seat back further and try again, i want to also see iff i can get it a little lower, its much higher than old seat which no doubt also had an effect

Re: New PA seat

Posted: 05 Jul 2018, 17:28
by shane
Sounds like you will be a lot better with it moved back.

I always have my mirage drive crank set in the central hole (No.4?). In fact I have it bolted permanently in that position and set up the seat on each of my kayaks so the mirage drive doesn't have to change. The reason for this is that the central position allows you to deliver maximum power to the mirage drive as it gives the longest stroke to deliver the power across. Putting the drive on another position now feels un-natural for me and severely limits what I can get out of the yak.

Re: New PA seat

Posted: 05 Jul 2018, 21:37
by Rawprawn
I think your on the money Shane, read up a lot on the mechanics of it and the middle definitely provides best power to effort ratio.

Will give it another run with old seat while I turn my mind to the best way to re install the new one further back

Re: New PA seat

Posted: 06 Jul 2018, 02:00
by peatop
Getting used to the drive myself, I've tried all the settings, having an adjustable seat i thought it might make a difference, however no matter what position tge seat is in if the drive isn't in 4 it feels wrong.

If you getting sciatic pain then somthing is way off, either the seat or it position for pedalling is wrong, this was one of the issues that was bothering me moving from paddle to pedal, but so far I've found no issues accept im lacking the strength and stamina (for now)to pedal for long periods or distances, knowing whats creating the pain allows you to make the necessary modifications to eliminate the discomforts.

One of the things I've found is the settings of the vantage seat require adjustment for comfort determined by the actions undertaken, this may just be my situation but have found to pedal under load (with some speed) the seat needs to be somewhat low and leaning back with some extra lumber support, whereas drifting, slow pedalling or at anchor the more comfortable position is near vertical with less lumber support, the hight is upto individual preference.

I see you bought one of the very comfortable boat seats, this is probably the way i would have gone if not buying a new PA, looking at your setup and now knowing how the pedalling places stresses on lumber area, it is in my personal opinion that the best setup for pedalling (independent of brand) is pre vantage seat, however this is not so comfortable for drifting or at anchor, with this in mind i feel to get the proper support for all positions you need to be able to adjust either the front or back of the bum pad up and down, the back rest forward and back, the hight doesn't need to be adjustable (the lower the better for stability ) lumber support is not so easy without removing the trim from the seat and adding an adjustable lumber support then re trim, or just use those $2 k mart cushions or a pool noodle behind your back.

To get ideas on how to modify your seat to do all the adjustments go visit a hobie dealer, sit in a PA adjust all the adjustments, take pics then go home and think about how to make your seat do the same. Im impressed with the vantage seat for full support and comfort, the only comfort fault is it's damn drafty on my lower back, although an easy fix ;)

Hope it's not to much information! I tend to ramble a bit once the meds take affect :lol: