Can anyone suggest the least harmful way to remove the plastic suspended seat in my CD Extreme kayak?
It seems to be attached with three rivets on each side of the cockpit rim. Do I just pull these rivets out somehow or there is a trick to it? Or are these not rivets at all but some sort of other hardware that can be removed without harming it?
Thanks!
Drill them out
– Last Updated: Sep-27-08 5:01 PM EST –
If they are rivets then plug the holes with something like the marine grade epoxy PC-11 which you can find for under ten bucks at a lot of hardware stores after drilling them out.
I imagine if they aren't rivets then it would be some sort of basic stainless steel bolt and nut arrangement then it would simply be a case of accessing the nut with a wrench or socket then go at the other side with a screwdriver. If you are seeing a screw head on the outside then it is just a matter of getting at the nut.
http://www.pcepoxy.com/puttyepoxies/pcmarine.asp
Looks like rivets to me…
There is no nut on the back (I can see). I suppose I need to drill them out when I’m sure I want that seat out. I’m not worried about the holes much and will likely leave them as they are so that I can attach the seat back if needed some day.
I’ll test paddle again tomorrow - today I removed a foam pad that was on top of the already built-in foam pad on the plastic seat, thus lowering myself may be 1/4 inch. I still feel I’m too high - would like more room for my thighs to move under the thigh braces, so I suspect I would probably end-up without the seat and with a pad or a custom seat eventually. I also moved the foot pegs forward a little so that my legs fit OK, but now I don’t have a rudder…
If I fit comfortably with the seat as it is in terms of seat height, I might remove it, drill a new set of holes in it and just try to slide it a couple of inches back. This way I can put back my rudder lines where they were and keep it there till I figure out what to do with it - I want a footboard not sliding rudder pedals, but that would be my next project once I figure out the seat position/arrangement…
Custom Foam Seat
Do a search on this site and you will find a lot of good links to sites that will show you how to build a custom foam seat. If you choose to pull out the existing seat and build your own then you might find that you will get this boat tuned in to exactly what you are looking for. You would also have the original seat perfectly intact which would give you the option of putting it back in for resale or any other reason.
Thanks
I’ll drill it out. And yes, it is glued to a piece of foam pretty well, so I’ll have to remove that too.
I paddled again today with the footpegs forward and the seat with only one thin pad as it came from the factory. Not too bad, but I think it is still too high as my thighs and hips do not have nearly enough room for good rotation (but nearly perfect for rougher conditions).
Another thing I noticed was that the waterline seems to be in such a position that I think I would not want to move the seat back from where it is.
I think I will follow Partic’s (ONNO) advice and manufacture a seat base using the bottom of my kayak as the template. A gell pad will be the initial seat but my goal is to make a contoured fiberglass cupped/racing-like seat to fit me. And probably will put a new backband while I’m at it - the current seat back is stiff (can’t lean back at all) and does not fit me well (the shape is not a good match for my lower back).
I’ll open another thread for the rudder modifications…
Lots of info
Go to this site and type in “foam seat” or “seat replacement” etc. and you will get all the links, info and suggestions you will need to get the fit you are looking for.
http://groundclutter.com/search/
Why
dont you have a rudder? The rudder controls are designed to be adjusted. It should not be a problem to adjust the peddles without affecting your ability to control the rudder. If the controls are sliders, consider changing them to toe control for better bracing.
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Too long legs
With the sliding rails all the way to the front and the pedals all the way to the front I need another 2 inches at least when the rudder is connected. So I disconnected the rudder, removed the rudder holding rails and only left the Yakima aluminum rails and pedals. This gains about 2 inches. I made an additional notch beyond the last notch on the rails, which gains me another 3/4 to 1 inch (for when I have booties on).
Making a fiberglass seat
– Last Updated: Sep-28-08 3:50 PM EST –
I did make a custom seat once. Came out well, but will take time and work.
1. Bought a 2'x2' piece of foam from Walmart
2. Laid Saran Wrap or equivalent plastic over it
3. Wetted and laid Pariscraft over the plastic. Pariscraft is a gauze impregnated with plaster that doctors use to use for casting broken limbs and it still can be found at Arts & Crafts shops.
4. Laid another piece of plastic on top of the multiple layers of wetted Pariscraft then sat on it.
5. Waited for the Pariscraft to cure. Cures to a green stage in about 10 to 15 minutes.
6. Used Joint Compound that sheet rockers use to give the Pariscraft mold of my butt a smoother surface.
7. Laid Saran Wrap on top of the Pariscraft mold then laid wetted out fiberglass on top of the Saran Wrap. Fiberglass and epoxy will not stick to Saran Wrap or most other types of similar plastics.
8. Finished off the edges of the glass seat and sanded surfaces smooth.
9. Glassed the seat onto the old vertical walls of the old seat where they came down from the cocpkit rim. Rim was black so I painted all of the new glass with black Marine grade paint. Outside of very close inspection it looked like it came with the boat, fit well and was comfortable.
On Shawn Bakers site ( I couldn't get it to work) I believe he did something similar but used a box with sand instead of a foam block to start the process.
Thanks
I read here some have used a bag of filler foam from a spray can but I think your method would work as well. I’ll probably not glass it in though but suspend it from the existing holes and have some support under it.
Foam seats
Foam seats out of closed cell foam is your other option and there are a lot of good links on that option with many happy butts to confirm that choice as well. I haven’t done a foam seat, but do see that as an equal option.
Your idea to hang it off of the existing holes makes sense.
Replace rails
It sounds like you need to replace the rails before you replace the seat. Look into a toe control setup. Check out ONNO for ideas or product.
http://www.onnopaddles.com/
Very simple process
Step 1
Drill out all 6 rivets holding the Plastic Seat to the Fiberglass stringer.
Step 2
Remove the foam seat pad. Then evenly heat the the top part of the plastic seat where it bonds with the hull and gently pull upwards on the seat. Do not keep the heat gun in one place over the seat, Make sure you the heat gun is constantly moving.
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