Swivel Seat on a Canoe... Is this a good idea?

[smithmal]

I've seen many videos of individuals adding swivel seats (similar to what are seen on Bass boats) to kayaks and canoes.

From 10,000 feet, it seems like a good idea in terms of giving you extra freedom of movement and is most likely easier on your back.

For instance, here's a vid of someone adding a swivel to their canoe:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrhBIcbO9hs

Here's another one if more interesting... a guy adding it to his kayak and connecting it to his trolling motor so that when he turns the seat, the boat turns:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?featur...&v=4zyR8OmJIBM

In terms of adding it to a canoe, I have read that adding swivel seats to canoes (and maybe kayaks) greatly decreases the boat's center of gravity (since you sitting higher up) making the boat less stable/more tippy and more prone to being pushed around by the wind.

Has anyone done this and can chime in on any stability issues that they noted when they swapped out the canoe/kayak seat for a swivel seat?

Thanks,

smithmal

[bignose]

I installed a swivel seat system last summer that allows me to transfer my swiveling seat between my two canoes.

I used two plastic swivel adapters that I got thru eBay (OceansSouthUSA-look up: boat seat swivel). These are screwed to a homemade thwart, and fastened to the gunnels with stainless hardware.
It works by having the seat slide and snap onto a round base mounted on the thwart. You can see the round base in the final photo.

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I had to fiddle with the seat height with spacer blocks to lower the Center of Gravity.

The seat set up shown on the video would raise the Center of Gravity way too high and seriously impact the stability.

If you reach over to land a fish with a high C/G it could be "interesting." Plus a cross wake could be kinda uncomfortable.
Yeah, if you are higher you catch a little more wind, but that wasn't a major concern.

The increased height wasn't a major problem with my wider, flat bottomed Camper (36" wide: my previous homemade seat was a school chair with 6" cut off of the legs!). This is a very stable canoe. I have had it out on the Severn and by Ft. McHenry.

I bolted directly to the underside of the gunnel on the Camper, but I had to lower the mount several inches with my rounder hulled, narrower (32") Pack Canoe. It was downright twitchy when I first tried it out, a little spooky.

So it depends on the canoe.
I think I lowered the thwart about 3 inches below deck height to keep the boat stable, about an inch lower than the stock seat. You can see the spacer blocks in the last photo.

[smithmal]

bignose,

Thanks for the response and the great photos. It's odd that in many of the canoe videos I've seen, I haven't seen people lower their thwart to compensate for the increased height that the swivel chair adds. I also don't tend to see feedback indicating how "twitchy" it is. Having a low profile seat and dropping its height down would seem like a smart thing to do. How are you liking using a swivel seat as opposed to a standard canoe seat? Do you think that it is worth it to change it out?

Also, I haven't noticed a lot of ergonomic swivel seats that allow you to adjust the seat pad, seat back height, lumbar support, tension (yadaa, yadaa, yadaa). Do they make low profile swivel seats for people with bad backs?

smithmal

[bignose]

The swivel function is seldom used, I mean, the way it is set I probably don't have 45 degree of motion.
Even less in the Pack Canoe since it sits so low. I may swing the seat slightly in the Camper as I reach back to run a trolling motor.
The main reason was to be able to interchange the one seat between the two canoes, the swivel function was just a coincidence.

I am actually lower with this new seat in the Camper then the cut down chair I fished from for 20+ years. I removed the original seat from the Camper since I am solo paddling facing the back of the canoe and the molded plastic seat it came with wasn't designed for that.
I am a lot lower, still, in the Pack Canoe, almost like a high Kayak seat.

I don't know about adjustable or ergonomic boat seats......

[Mark]

smithmal,

Just thinking...your ultimate solution may be a Jon boat.

Bass Pro has 10-foot car-top Jon boats that cost less than many used canoes.

Plus I think I recall you saying you had a trailer. Perhaps a 12 footer would be within your reach.

Anyway, after my canoe years and before my kayaking days, I had a 14 foot Sea Nymph V-Hull. I trailered it. Unfortunately, I don't have any digital photos of it.

It would run all day on single deep cell battery charge and a small Minn Kota transom mount motor. I don't recall the thrust but it was probably the smallest motor Minn Kota offered.

And I had clamp-on swivel seats with chair backs for me and my buddy.

It was far from a glitter boat that the bass boys use. But I caught a lot of reservoir/pond fish in it.

Seems like a similar setup would meet your requirements.