Found a great seat upgrade for the wet butt AI. The SEak premium seat on special for $99.00. the seat is wide and high with the perfect spot to store the epirb and tackle box on the back. With 4 lashing straps it sits in tight and also is compatible with the original hobie mounts (bonus)
It has great padding that is high for airflow and drainage it will work really well and has grip dots on the bottom for even less slip when peddling. I have also added a foam cushion found at Kmart (laneends idea) for a higher ride hopefully out of the puddle as the total thickness of this set up is 50mm either way I wear drypants all year round.

I almost bought the sea to summit tripper but the seak design was more suited for my needs and was slightly thicker not sure is the foam is better in either one.

More mods on the way with cleat blocks, sounder re mount (upgrade soon) new furler and Mainsheet ropes bullhorn rod holders complete and pictured.

Next on the list is a bungee set up to prevent the aka ejection issue.

Forgot to mention the reflective tape on 3 points on the back which was a big tick.

That looks so comfy. I'm not far off a fresh one.

Looks OK. I'd still be sitting water in it, mine fills up mu h more than 50mm with the gear I carry. I'll stick to a skipper seat for sailing and polynesian.

shane wrote:Looks OK. I'd still be sitting water in it, mine fills up mu h more than 50mm with the gear I carry. I'll stick to a skipper seat for sailing and polynesian.

The skipper seat is still a mod I would like to do down the line or trade in for a vantage seat model haha. It's certainly not a dry seat but it's not a dry kayak so I'm not too concerned at this stage. I think you need 75mm to clear the water.

Galey wrote:That looks so comfy. I'm not far off a fresh one.

I will let you know the verdict

inshorebrawler wrote:

shane wrote:Looks OK. I'd still be sitting water in it, mine fills up mu h more than 50mm with the gear I carry. I'll stick to a skipper seat for sailing and polynesian.

The skipper seat is still a mod I would like to do down the line or trade in for a vantage seat model haha. It's certainly not a dry seat but it's not a dry kayak so I'm not too concerned at this stage. I think you need 75mm to clear the water.

More the problem for me is the ergonomics of an older AI. With my height I'd have to shift the pedal cranks well forward of centre, which I don't like. The skipper seat puts me further back and allows me to get more power into the pedal stroke.

Do you have to tie the seat back to compensate for not having pegs to avoid it sliding forward due to pedalling?

shane wrote:

inshorebrawler wrote:

shane wrote:Looks OK. I'd still be sitting water in it, mine fills up mu h more than 50mm with the gear I carry. I'll stick to a skipper seat for sailing and polynesian.

The skipper seat is still a mod I would like to do down the line or trade in for a vantage seat model haha. It's certainly not a dry seat but it's not a dry kayak so I'm not too concerned at this stage. I think you need 75mm to clear the water.

More the problem for me is the ergonomics of an older AI. With my height I'd have to shift the pedal cranks well forward of centre, which I don't like. The skipper seat puts me further back and allows me to get more power into the pedal stroke.

That's makes sense do you use extended cranks?

laneends wrote:Do you have to tie the seat back to compensate for not having pegs to avoid it sliding forward due to pedalling?

I used another type of seat offshore at flinders and didn't have an issue Keith. This seat uses the original pegs and had 2x straps at the rear plus little grip dots all these makes a very sturdy seat