Aluminum canoe--seat replacement?

[Jeff Reardon]

Has anyone replaced seats in an old aluminum canoe? A friend is giving me a beater from his backyard. He claims it floats; hull is in decent shape with the expected dents, but one seat is completely gone and the other appears to have been epoxied back in place. (I'm looking at photos; haven't seen the boat.)

This will be stashed in the woods and used for remote pond fishing, so all I want is a simple, cheap, functional repair. Milk crates placed on canoe bottom is one option.

Anybody got an example/picture of a more permanent repair?

 

[Steve Sanford]

Jeff~

I picked up an old 16' Mohawk last year. It, too, was missing a seat. Luckily, the aluminum frames were still intact. (I removed and replaced with wood all of the other aluminum - decks and rubrails - so it's quieter).

I used canvas (Sunbrella marine polyester) for the new seats. I put a bunch of brass grommets in the fore and aft edges and then laced them (with decoy line) like shoes on the underside of the seat. They are very comfortable with just enough "give" for long float trips.

If your frames are missing, too, you could make new ones out of wood. Or, since you will be leaving the boat untended and want to minimize your investment, you could also just make a couple of seats out of 1/2" plywood then hang them with 1/4 nylon (or 8 gauge galvanized wire) - from each corner to the rails. They'll move a bit but won't break your heart or wallet if you lose the whole rig....

Hope this helps,

SJS

 

[Chuck J]

Jeff

If the frames are there, or you can mock up a half assed metal frame, you could web them with lawn chair webbing. I haven't done it, but have seen it done.

I did the seats in my canoe, but probably a little fancy for something to stash in the woods:

Best
Chuck

 

[Jeff Reardon]

Frames appear to be gone. If they are there, I've had good results restoring functional seats by weaving decoy cord. Very comfortable and super cheap.

I'm guessing I'll use some old webbing seats I pulled off a glass canoe I repaired last year, and hang them with carriage bolts from holes drilled in the gunwales.

Those cane seats look awful nice--but a season or two of mice and red squirrels wouldn't leave much of them.