I am designing the front seat for the driftboat, and need someone to tell me the height from the top of the passenger seat to the top edge of the gunnels.

In example: Take a 2X4 and lay it across the gunnels above the passenger seats. Measure from the bottom edge of the 2X4 to the top of the seat.

Found out tonight the built in fish-box wasn't going to work, and spent several hours this afternoon re-designing and re-building my rowers seat. I hadn't figured in the height of the padded rowers seat, so the original design had my belt-line 4" above the gunnels, which is 4" too high. Had to cut 4" out of the seat (height), so it would sit low enough that I wasn't half out of the boat when rowing.

Hoping I can build in more storage space under the passenger seat...depending on what y'all tell me.

Thanks, in advance!

Mike

Mike, I built a wood boat a few years ago. Here's my advice: Don't use someone elses measurement. Fashion some sort of test seat in your boat (bucket, block, whatever) and adjust it to find the combination of the right comfort level, and the lowest seat level. Keep that weight as low as possible in your boat, but not so low as to cramp your passengers up. There is a BIG reason Willie and other manufacturers make a 2" and 5" dropped front seat. The lower center of gravity means more stability, and better rower line of sight out the front of the boat when navigating.

Mike,
I think Kyle makes a good point, but here are some measurements from my '79 Alumaweld for reference. My seats are mounted on a storage box and are about 8in below the gunnel. This is measured to the lowest point near the center of the seat. The box itself is about 9.5 below the gunnel and about 16 above the floor (hull). Height is comfortable and stable but don't know how similar the hull is to yours. Hope this helps!

Yep, hard to tell those measurements between boats when you can't be there to witness actual degree of rocker to gunnel design. Mike, if you want a workable fishbox and have limited under seat space, check out the plastic models that Holiday Market in Mount Vernon has. They are (approx) 42" wide by 18"long by 12" deep. When I had my 14' wood boat this box slid perfectly under the passenger seat. They're made out of a grippy textured plastic that won't slide around. I couldn't have designed anything to fit better in my boat, just dumb luck.

Kyle, Jam Session:

Thanks for the great tips!

I took the cumulative wisdom of your posts, and added in the wisdom from the guys on the Montana Boatbuilders Forum and set some 4X4's and a couple other boards on the floorboards (over the top of the frames). Then I set the Fish-On (Tempress) seat on top, and once I got the right height (below the rowers seat, but high enough to be able to comfortably cast and stand) I built the front seat box at that height.

Spent 12 hrs. working on the boat today. It's getting there, but a ways to go yet. I think once all the big stuff is done, the painting, etc. will go quickly. Finished the rowers seat (stain, hinges, storage compartment, etc.) and built the major portion of the front passenger seat, with a 6" X 36" storage space underneath.

Sucks to be obsessive/compulsive about things being as near perfect as possible. benefit is, once the boat is done, it will be done right..

Damn I'm tired. Can't wait to get to work on it again tomorrow.. (And yeah, pics will be posted soon...it's too ugly right now and would damage the camera if pics were taken.)

Mike

Cool! Can't wait to see your boat. I've got quite a few contructions photos of my boat too. If I get a chance this weekend I'll mail you a few.