When most folks make their own mini-cell foam seat, they end up permanently glueing it to their canoe/kayaks floor, making it impossible to adjust seat position, adjust trim by shifting body weight, or removing seat altogether…i plan on occasionally sleeping in my Phoenix Poke Boat Vagabond's wide open cockpit/floor during my multi-day canoe trips, since there are very few places to camp where i live. Owners of Vagabonds tell me the canoe is very sensitive to trim, so being able to adjust my body position, instead of always rearranging gear load would also be a great feature. So I sketched some adjustable mini-cell foam seat concepts around NorthWaters glue-on anchor products (colored red in these sketches)...These unique nylon webbing anchors should make it possible for me to remove my mini-cell seat when i need to. Straps are glued/sandwiched between two mini-cell foam blocks and should hold strong as glue likes large surface area to adhere to.
See the concept drawings for my canoe here: http://plebeianyachtclub.blogspot.com/
Has anyone tried something similar? How did it work? Any unwanted seat movement while paddling?….any input would be appreciated thanks!
removable pedestals
I have used removable minicell pedestals in a few canoes. These secure to “daisy chain” anchor strips similar to the NorthWater anchor strips using 2" wide nylon webbing that passes through holes in the pedestals.
There is just a bit of wiggle in these pedestals. The potential for “play” is reduced by having the anchor strips as close to the pedestals as possible so that the anchoring webbing straps come straight down.
I suspect your design will work but I suspect you will experience a bit more wiggle.
Seat wobble?
Im guessing the much taller pedestals/saddles will wobble more than my 4-6" tall minicel seat design, but thanks for sharing your experience with them pblanc, i have NorthWater parts on order, i will report how the concept works out
Velcro
I agree that the strap system would likely wobble. I would consider using a large area of velcro to hold it down. You could run 2" strips around four sides of the seat, or cover the entire surface. When the seat is pulled out, a simple pad will cover the velcro on the hull - put the softer of the hook/loop pair on the hull.
McMaster-Carr has adhesive hook/loop strips up to 6" wide, and 2" wide with marine-grade adhesive, which I’ve used before.
Velcro…
Glued with 3M 4200, or 5200 FAST CURE…a 2X10 inch strip on each surface will do. Mask both surfaces with blue tape, squeeze out a bead and use a piece of cardboard to spread it out to about 1/32" thick. Remove tape and apply velcro…let cure one day.
Velcro in not immortal
I considered velcro until i realized over time the stuff wears out, so any glue used would have to be removable without damaging my kevlar hull...in order to replace with fresh velcro. my experience with 3M 5200, it is ultra permanent unless you hit it with a wire wheel angle grinder...and im not getting one of those anywhere near my kevlar hull. Another challenge is the glue has to adhere to minicel foam well...i hear contact cement works well but is also permanent.
Maybe hot glue gun?
Agree with PBlanc
More like the Northwater picture. Closer to the sides of the seat, straps pulling straight down. No need for the fore-aft strap.
I like your sketches.