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Hi there.

I've had my 1982 15' Sport for a couple of months. Mostly we're using it to putt around the San Juan Islands, since we have a house up there.

Recently, I did a slightly longer trip than we had done before, something between 90-120 minutes for two people, from Lopez to Sucia island. The boat handled the chop really well, but I found that both me and my wife needed better back support on the bench seats.

I've seen the specialty marine solution, but I'm wondering what other people have done to make the seats more comfortable for slightly longer trips. I'm also not 100% sure I believe that it's going to be particularly supportive just being held in by the seat.

I'd also like to figure out if there's a more comfortable solution for up in the bow, if one were to sit there. You end up getting bounced around a bit, but it seems like with the right solution it could be better.

Thanks.

Sean

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Sean, do you have cushions on the seats and in the bow? Those should help and while not cheap, are relatively easy to install. On my Supersport I raised the interior 2 inches and installed a folding seat back - that took a bit more work, but improved comfort significantly for me. You can see some pictures on my personal page.

I have seen people bolt plastic seats to the wood but that looks pretty lame. You could also go for a full custom interior if you have the time and patience.

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I added the specialty backrest to the helm thwart seat on my 1976 Sport 15. The wood screws provided with it weren’t strong enough so I converted to flat head stainless machine screws bolted through the seat into the brackets. Cushion covers these so you don’t see them although they look fine. Extremely solid installed this way.

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Well oops - I see you have a Sport, not a Supersport. In that case, raising the thwarts to the top of the sideboards and adding seat backs and possibly cushions will make a ton of difference. For the bow, the triangular cushion makes it a nice place to sit.

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The 15' Super Sport was not made until 1984
http://www.whalercentral.com/userphot...lbum_id=44

Unless he has a typo in the year, then he has a Sport model.

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Thanks, I appreciate the comments. I actually didn't know there was a triangular bow cushion, that will help I think.

Couple of other questions

Is the $200 seat back worth it?

What does 'full custom interior' mean, would this be having a marine shop redo all the seat mounts?

Thanks

Sean

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Tedious, I looked at your profile. is that side rail a stock piece, or did you mill it yourself? The reason I ask is, I have straight side rails and the bench is screwed to the top of them. It would be cool to have the curve up the side and support a potential back rest better than just the L brackets.

Sean

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Sean,

You have a 15' Sport model with the optional Bow Rail.
http://www.whalercentral.com/userphot...lbum_id=40

We don't know the year yet as you haven't given us any info from the boat.
http://www.whalercentral.com/articles...cle_id=109

Tedious has a Super Sport model which has a different rail system with bow and side rails in one piece and a different pilot bench seat with storage.
http://www.whalercentral.com/userphot...lbum_id=44

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Sean, by "full custom interior" I was referring to designing something yourself, and then either building it or having it built. In my opinion, having a seat back to brace against is significantly easier on one's back than sitting on a simple thwart. And increased seat height helps too. Are your thwarts mounted at the top or the bottom of the side rails?

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So we are all on the same page here and NOT talking about Stainless Steel Bow or Side Rails, the side wood pieces are called "Clamps", Port and Starboard.

See the download section here for Parts Manuals and information on various hulls.
http://www.whalercentral.com/download...p?cat_id=3

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Rear thwart is screwed into the rear part of the clamp ; front thwart is slid underneath a slot formed by the front part.

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I had a similar issue with the seats in my former 2002 130 Sport- no backrests. I designed and added them- used powder coated stainless brackets I bought from Great Lakes Skipper and then had a local shop make the custom backrest cushions. The brackets are screwed to the underside of the seat with large SS bolts plus I applied solvent based urethane construction adhesive to the bracket/underseat for a stronger attachment. The backrest cushions are attached with stainless screws. Turned out great and very comfortable. Total cost was about $200.

Another option to consider.

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tried to post a pic of 30kb size- it wouldn't work. contact me if you would like to see it

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One of easiest for zenchemical is mentioned by wlagarde above in post #3. Maybe not the cheapest though.

http://www.specialtymarine.com/BOSTON...p1044.html

And cushions in Off White or Parchment & Brown
http://www.specialtymarine.com/BOSTON...-p599.html

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Max,
Their can be no spaces or characters in the name of the photo.
whaler 13'.jpg will NOT work
Whaler13.jpg will work
etc.

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Thanks Joe - here's another try with the pic

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I'm going to try the specialty marine solution and see how it goes. Thanks.

_Sean

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Joe, Replying to an older post of the backrest you added. Do you have any photos of the back side of the back rest to see how it was mounted?
Keith