Ok dumb question of the week for me. I just got a 88 311 and I can not figure out how to make the seats work. It may be that there is no power in boat? I have tried just about everything. The drivers seat will drop if I sit on it and the passengers I can not get to move at all. It is not a switch like I have on my 302 (McClouds), just seems like a push button. I am towing the boat up to Maine today so that Biggus and I can start to go through the boat and maybe wake it up today. It has been asleep for 9 years!! Kind of like pulling a old car out of the barn.

the bolsters are powered by hydraulic cylindars mounted under the seat. The push button is a release for the cylindar, when pressure is applied to the seat and the button is pressed the seat will lower. The life on these cylindars is not more than 7 or 8 years. I had one cylindar rebuit and one replaced on my 1990 formula, My father has had both of his cylindars rebuilt on his 88 311. The rebuild costs about $110 and a new cylindar was around $400.

Ok so you just sit/push on the seat and press the button. So it is likely that it is a power issue. If I can get mine to just drop that will be fine as I don't ussually sit anyhow the wife will probably want hers to work. Now that I know I need the battery hooked up that will hopefully fix things for me.

Audiofin ...... to lower the seat just push the button while applying downward pressure and the seat should drop ....to raise the seat take your weight off the seat and push the button .....the seat should come back to the upward position by itself .....as stated the rams do go bad but I'm thinking when they do the seats wont remain upright? I have seen the buttons stick and not allow the seat to operate .....the rebuild on the rams is common however mine are original on my 89 and work fine ......m

NO power to the seats .... all hydraulic ....m

Ok then I think my buttons are stuck down. I can not push them at all.

Ok then the buttons must be stuck down and the passenger side frozen.

Sometime ago somebody mentioned cleaning the buttons ... they were caked with crud and wouldn't budge. After cleaning the seats worked fine. The buttons are held in by four screws, easy to check.

Jon, it's the same exact mechanism as the seats in an airplane. Push the button, push the seat. It could be either end of the cable has come loose from where it's attached. They're similar to the cable ends on a bicycle hand brake...with the little round part. I had the end up in the seat come loose.

Since there is a spring in there that essentially forces the seat up, the failure mode is typically that you can push the seat down but it won't stay. But you can get slack in the cable, and as mentioned the buttons fulcrum point can get rusty.

WE NEED PICTURES! Congrats!