Whaler Central - Boston Whaler Boat Information and Photos

Posted by Captseadog on 03/15/20 - 7:45 AM

I have a 2020 170 Montauk. I am in my 70’s and can not stand for long times at the helm. When I sit on the seat and reach for the steering wheel, my arms are fully extended. This causes pain in my shoulders. To put it simply, I don’t feel the montauk is ergonomically set up for sitting a long time.

Since the seat is not adjustable and part of the live well, it appears I would have to extend the steering wheel closer or adapting a tilt/telescopic system to it. Has anyone done this? Does anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks in advance
Roger

Posted by Phil T on 03/16/20 - 6:15 AM

I am not aware of a telescoping steering helm. A tilt unit that Walt describes will not lessen the distance to the wheel significantly.

Have you driven the boat with the seat back in the forward position and you can lean against it?

If you did not have the livewell I would suggest moving the RPS closer to the console.

How much closer (in inches) does the wheel need to be for it to be comfortable?

Most of ideas I have require drastic solutions.

Least drastic is to remove RPS seat back/cushion and install an off-the-shelf Captains seats. The driver's seat would need to be on a heavily modified seat base that would slide forward and lock in place. A marine fabricator can make one with a little bit of effort.

Have you considered trading in the boat for a model that is more ergodynamically suited for you?

Edited by Phil T on 03/16/20 - 6:23 AM

Posted by Captseadog on 03/17/20 - 9:32 AM

I watched two videos on boat test.com. The 170 and 190 montauk. Captain Steve was either using the seat as a leaning post or when sitting, his arms were fully extended and his shoulders were rounded and his back is not against the backrest. I hate to say this on a Whaler site but I think they dropped the ball on the ergonomics on this fun little boat. Also you can’t see the compass on the 170 when seated.

I have a fabricator looking at my boat to see if he can bump out a four to six inch padded addition on an aluminum plate that would slide under the existing seat and have a set of legs for forward support.

This may seem like over kill to some of you but when I leave the house on my boat, I am gone for 4 to 5 hours and this flaw in ergonomics hurts more every hour.

Posted by Annie4 on 03/17/20 - 11:14 AM

Can you post a pic of your helm? Hydraulic Steering or ? I have created a mahogany pod riser for my last couple of boats to get the wheel closer to me. Measure the outside diameter of your helm/wheel mount, add 2"( 1" for each side of the mount), remove the studs from helm mount, buy longer studs to replace em. Add a 3 1/2" to 4" pod under the mount . I cut the face to roughly a 20 degrees to adjust the wheel to an angle that I liked

bc

Posted by biggiefl on 03/18/20 - 7:49 AM

Seat extension is a great idea and probably the easiest. I don't think you would need legs on a 4-6" cushion extension as the majority of it will be leg support. It can just flip up and lock in somehow.

Posted by Phil T on 03/18/20 - 1:10 PM

Here is a rough drawing I did:

If me, I would call Ray Martin of Martin Marine Design to fabricate.
He does high quality custom work and it would get done right.

www.martinmarinedesign.com