I have a '94 Champion 176 bass boat. The original seats were gone when I purchased it and it just has some cheap plastic fold down seats and the drivers seat hinge broke. I have been searching for a month or so for some replacement seats but not having much luck. I have 63 1/2" width to work with so that isn't a problem. The area to mount the seats has a depth of 15" but the back only has 6 1/2" height. That has been my problem. Most of the seats are 2 piece and require a taller back area to mount them. I found one pair that has two brackets that run below the back and are mounted below the back cushion. That looks promising but I'm concerned that since most of the seat will be above the back supporting wall, there will be a lot of torque that would be placed on the upper portion of the seat back making it likely to not hold.

I found a one piece bucket that would almost be perfect, a little wide but I think that it would fit. The problem is the design on the lower seat has supports that come up almost like arm rests and that it going to be very close to not fitting because of my throttle. I started to go with just the old hinged fold down seats even though I wanted something a little nicer but I just realized that I'll have to mount them with the hinge under the front. Now with the throttle lever and steering wheel, I don't know if I'll have the clearance to put them in place in the tilted position to mount them without removing atleast the lever.

Anyone have an old champion and have changed seats in it? What style and company did you use? I did contact Deans and he stated that I'd probably need the one piece bench but I really don't like it and there are much nicer and comfortable seats out there for a better price than that bench.

Check with Hopalong, he has an older Champ and used some seats from bass boat seats.

http://texasfishingforum.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/Number/11644720/Searchpage/7/Main/933560/Words/Bass+boat+seats/Search/true/Re:_Bass_Boat_Seats#Post11644720

Ok will do. I contacted them but they weren't helpful. All they would tell me is that it was my responsibility to find a set that would fit.

Did you look at C&O marine?

http://pilotchair.com/cat-llebroc-201-bass-boat-seats.cfm

Have you called Deans 3748 Hwy 5 South
Mountain Home, Arkansas 72653
870-425-6189 Fax 870-424-4206

or llebroc

No, have never heard of them. I see Champion seats but they don't give much info on dimensions on their site. Will have to call and talk to them.

Deans said that I only had the choice of this one.

which I don't really want and hate to pay that price for something that I am not happy with. I want to just have 2 buckets and add a console over the center ice chest, not a padded step seat. He said the other option was just the small cheap fold down seats.

llebroc seats require a minimum 8" bulkhead behind the seat which I don't have. They do make one that is a 1 piece chair and I really like it but of course, when I checked the dimensions, it won't fit depth wise and the width would really put me more towards the center of the boat than centered behind the consoles.

This one might possibly work. I'll have to call tomorrow. http://www.boatseatstore.com/products/4-piece-bucket-boat-seats

Other than that I'm going to have to go with something like this. http://www.cabelas.com/product/boating/boat-seats/fold-down-boat-seats|/pc/104794380/c/104705280/sc/104341680/attwood-centric-8482-sas-boat-seats/738014.uts?destination=%2Fcatalog%2Fbrowse%2Ffold-down-boat-seats%2F_%2FN-1100614%2FNs-CATEGORY_SEQ_104341680

Thought it would be much easier to find seats.

They sell Champion products and used to sell Champion boats, if you ever need a Champ product they tend to have it. But I'm pretty sure their seats are Lebroc, wouldn't hurt to check their site or call them though.

ok, that is good to know. Never know when they'll come in handy for something else.

Thanks for that link. I got hold of him and got my answers. Exactly what I needed to know.

These folks make seats specifically for Champion Boats. I put new ones from them in a 97 Champ 196 Elite and they were perfect. [img]http://pilotchair.com/cat-llebroc-bass-boat-seats.cfm[/img]

I tried them but they don't make one that will fit. The bulkhead needs to be a minimum of 8" behind the seat.

Well, I found a pair online from a place called deckmate boat seats. I called to order them and ended up it was actually bassboatseats.com operating on another website with a different name. They no longer make the seats that I needed that had a mounting bracket below the seat back. All of their seats now have a removable pad on the seatback and are screwed in through the frame thus making them to tall to install on my boat. I thought about adding a plate of aluminum or some other metal to extend the bulkhead up to a usable height but I don't think that it would look right and just don't want to go that way.

Looks like I am back to just buying 2 fold down seats and mounting them with hinges. I never dreamed that it would be so hard to locate seats for a champion.

Those Deans seats look nice and would compliment your Champion well. Can you find originals just for the frames that just need reupholstered?

Not so far. I don't like the bench seat look and I don't like having to step over the center section then down to a padded seat to come off the back deck. Just doesn't feel as safe add stepping onto a hard console step. Plus I don't want to spend $750 for a seat that I really don't like the look of.