Diesel Seats

This newbie is about to pull the trigger on his first boat. I have a line on a few, including a Diesel 65 and a Diesel 75. I have heard that the Diesels have changed their seats at some point over the years. The old seats (my friend referred to them as “playboat seats”) supposedly led to severe oil canning. The new seats are supposedly great.



Can anyone help me with identification of the seats in a used boat purchase? (Remember - I am a newbie.) What are some identifying characteristics of the “new” seats vs. the older version? Are there serial numbers or other identifying marks by the manufacturer? When was the switch made? If I am looking, for instance, at a boat that is “about 4 years old,” should I be concerned?



I have been in a Diesel and liked it. These purchases are, however, all via internet/email and are still in the talking/negotiating stage. I have not made any commitments; nor have I done the necessary traveling (yet) to inspect the boats. If I get a “steal” on a boat with an “old” seat, is it possible to replace the seat with something better?

Expanded Research
If have not already done this, you might want to take this question over to boatertalk.com. Pnet is a great resource, but you have limited paddlers here that have had exposure to the Diesels. Boatertalk is almost all whitewater and you will get many opinions to help you decide. The boatertalk folks are a very robust adrenalin driven group, so be prepared for all kinds of responses. (now that I think about it, it is kind of like pnet :slight_smile:



Good luck

Jay

I had one of the old seats and loved it
I never heard about any oil canning from any of the Wavesport boats, and certainly not because of the old style seat. I had a 2004 Diesel 75 with the old style seat and in my opinion it was more comfy than the new style seat I have in the 2006 model. I’d go back to the old style in a New York minute if I could.



BTW, IMHO it’s important to choose carefully between the 65 and the 75. At 5’9" and 220 I fit the 75 okay, but others who’ve tried it who are shorter and leaner than me feel it is too big. I loaned it to one friend who is 6’4" and weighs 220 and he liked it just fine. If I ever drop below say 180 I’ll probably trade for a new 65.