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DIY Kayak Scupper Seat #10947890 06/30/15 02:19 AM
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I purchased a used 10.5 foot Feel Free Moken with the upgraded high back seat last year. It has a sort of pontoon design. It is very stable and sits high out of the water. The drawback is weight and speed. Ever since I purchased the kayak I have been experiencing severe back pain. I tried adjusting the seat many times, adding cushions, a stadium seat but nothing worked. So I found a couple ideas on the internet to install the seat frame in the scupper holes.

Success, I fished for 2 hours with no pain and a far superior fishing experience.

I made it out of 1" PVC, 3/8 inch plywood and a $38 folding marine seat I purchased at Walmart. It is easily removed and I will have a frame to build and install fly rod holders.




Re: DIY Kayak Scupper Seat [Re: J-Moe] #10949360 06/30/15 07:59 PM
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Jimbo Offline
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Nice!
Even got more storage space under the seat! thumb


Just one more cast!

Re: DIY Kayak Scupper Seat [Re: J-Moe] #10949512 06/30/15 09:07 PM
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Forgive me asking this, since I'm a kayak neophyte.

But, doesn't putting a raised seat like that raise your center of gravity enormously?

Still, looks like a cool solution to avoiding a wet butt.


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Re: DIY Kayak Scupper Seat [Re: J-Moe] #10949597 06/30/15 09:46 PM
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That particular kayak is 35" wide which is almost the widest kayak made and the hull design is more of a pontoon shape so it is very stable and a raised seat of a few inches won't make it overly tippy.
It's true that the lower you sit at water level or just below is the most stable.
The wider kayaks get away with the raised seats because of the width, but they give up speed.
The narrower kayaks from 28" to say 30" aren't good candidates for raised seats, but they are better in the speed and glide department.
With kayaks everything has a trade off, and that is why you will hear that there is no such thing as the perfect kayak that can do everything well.
Stability, speed, manuverablility weight are hard to put into one package, but you can come close. It's just a matter of matching the kayak to the type of fishing and waters you will be fishing.


Just one more cast!

Re: DIY Kayak Scupper Seat [Re: Jimbo] #10950217 07/01/15 02:16 AM
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Originally Posted By: Jimbo
That particular kayak is 35" wide which is almost the widest kayak made and the hull design is more of a pontoon shape so it is very stable and a raised seat of a few inches won't make it overly tippy.
It's true that the lower you sit at water level or just below is the most stable.
The wider kayaks get away with the raised seats because of the width, but they give up speed.
The narrower kayaks from 28" to say 30" aren't good candidates for raised seats, but they are better in the speed and glide department.
With kayaks everything has a trade off, and that is why you will hear that there is no such thing as the perfect kayak that can do everything well.
Stability, speed, manuverablility weight are hard to put into one package, but you can come close. It's just a matter of matching the kayak to the type of fishing and waters you will be fishing.


Well said Jimbo, It is actually 8 inches off the floor. It did feel slightly more tippy when I got in but that didn't last long. I leaned left and right to test the stability with no problems.

Re: DIY Kayak Scupper Seat [Re: J-Moe] #10952980 07/02/15 01:45 PM
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Glad to hear you didn't have the back pain with your new setup. thumb


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Re: DIY Kayak Scupper Seat [Re: Patriot7Six] #10953319 07/02/15 04:40 PM
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Originally Posted By: Astro77
Glad to hear you didn't have the back pain with your new setup. thumb


Thanks Astro

Re: DIY Kayak Scupper Seat [Re: Uncle Zeek] #10955773 07/03/15 09:00 PM
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Originally Posted By: Uncle Zeek
Forgive me asking this, since I'm a kayak neophyte.

But, doesn't putting a raised seat like that raise your center of gravity enormously?

Still, looks like a cool solution to avoiding a wet butt.


Uncle Zeek, just to follow up. I am only using the seat in ponds or slow moving creeks. I would have to use the built in seat or lower this seat down to floor level if I were going to be in fast moving water. I'm also concerned that big boat waves may toss me out of the seat. I may build another frame which sits only a couple inches off the floor before going on a big lake with boat traffic. I'm not sure that will be high enough to keep my back from hurting though.

Re: DIY Kayak Scupper Seat [Re: J-Moe] #10956381 07/04/15 11:07 AM
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I had an Ocean Kayak Caper a few years back and I placed a rubber seat cushion on the seat to help with butt pain, and it made my kayak tippy just those 3" higher. I got used to it and developed some confidence, but I knew that I was pushing my luck as far as making it easier for me to turtle.
I'm pretty active when I'm fishing and I move around a lot, and even setting a hook got a few times got interesting and I almost went over.
I see guys out on the lake, and most aren't sitting way up there in those high seats. If you do, you had better know how to self rescue in deep water!


Just one more cast!

Re: DIY Kayak Scupper Seat [Re: Jimbo] #10957652 07/05/15 03:09 PM
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Originally Posted By: Jimbo
I had an Ocean Kayak Caper a few years back and I placed a rubber seat cushion on the seat to help with butt pain, and it made my kayak tippy just those 3" higher. I got used to it and developed some confidence, but I knew that I was pushing my luck as far as making it easier for me to turtle.
I'm pretty active when I'm fishing and I move around a lot, and even setting a hook got a few times got interesting and I almost went over.
I see guys out on the lake, and most aren't sitting way up there in those high seats. If you do, you had better know how to self rescue in deep water!


Good information Jimbo. I actually tried two of those stadium seat cushions and even added a stadium seat, the higher I got the better. I want to build a lower platform using the scuppers directly under the seat but they have those rubber scupper inserts installed and I'm not sure if I can take them out without harming the kayak. Otherwise I'm going to have use a 1/4" pipe to fit down inside them. I'm still experimenting to find the minimum height I need to come up in order to relieve the stress on my back. I can always modify the existing platform as well but I'd prefer to experiment and identify that height first.

Re: DIY Kayak Scupper Seat [Re: J-Moe] #10957696 07/05/15 03:41 PM
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That's a cool idea. I'm looking for a low back pain solution myself.


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Re: DIY Kayak Scupper Seat [Re: J-Moe] #10958182 07/05/15 10:58 PM
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I would suggest trying to mount it a floor level to start.

I pulled out those scupper plugs under the seat today. I'm working on a couple of different ideas. One to mount the seat at floor level and one to cut the height roughly in half. My hope would be just the added backrest and height of the plywood/seat will be enough to relieve the stress on my back. That would allow me to maintain the stability / integrity of the design. Also, even at floor level I will but out of any puddled water so that won't be an issue.

I will post pictures once complete.

Re: DIY Kayak Scupper Seat [Re: J-Moe] #10962114 07/07/15 08:39 PM
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I built a platform that sits directly on the floor. The total height is 3.5 inches. I ran into a couple issues. 1 inch PVC pipes fit perfectly in the scupper holes in the back cargo area but I couldn't fit a 1 inch PVC pipe in one of the scupper holes under the seat. Also, I couldn't find any 1" or 3/4" PVC flanges in the local stores. So I ended up using 3/4" galvanized flange and pipe and built up the pipe area with electrical tape so it fit tighter in the scupper hole. The workmanship is terrible and I need to add some rubber to protect the kayak but I wanted to share the idea. This will allow me to sit inside the kayak and maintain the stability / integrity of the design. Only a long trip will tell if it is high enough to keep my back from hurting though.



Re: DIY Kayak Scupper Seat [Re: J-Moe] #10963536 07/08/15 03:52 PM
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thumb Looks good.


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Re: DIY Kayak Scupper Seat [Re: J-Moe] #10977006 07/14/15 09:52 PM
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Neither of my kayaks has a standard seat. The seat in my Commander 140 is completely homemade, and the seatback on my Ride 115 is raised 6" to improve back support. Both work great, and I can fish for hours in either kayak.


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