Steve Zuckerman

Picked up the carpet and glue today. The starboard seat came out fairly easy. There are a couple of screws behind the seat back into the bulkheads that were a little harder to get to. Had to break out the 90o drill.
BTW, I hadn't had my seat bottom off in years. It does have velcro strips holding it down. I think I'll cut inside the strips and save them if it allows enough access to the new storage.
Regards,
Steve

nedpoole

iTrader: (1)

Nice work digger! I'm really looking forward to having more storage.
So when you removed the padded part of the base did you just trace the opening in the mounted portion, unscrew and remove the entire base, then cut out what you had traced?

Steve Zuckerman

Finished. Turned out pretty well for an afternoon's work.
I did mine just like your's Digger.
I am going to West Marine tomorrow to get some marine "pulls" to mount on the seatback trim, so I can easily access that storage too. There is a surprising amount of space there.
You are right, they fit plenty tight without the screws.
Just one question......this is such a nice addition to the onboard storage on a Heat, why doesn't the factory do it?
BTW, my total cost for the project was about $30 for the carpet, glue, paint, and brushes.
Regards,
Steve

CB-BLR

The under seat storage seems like a no-brainer to me. Nordic should be doing this on every boat that comes out of the factory!

I will be doing this mod in the next couple of weeks.

Chris

digger308

05r1,
I removed the seat base completely, measured between
the stringers and used the screw holes to determine what i
could cut out and used a straight edge, and just made sure i left enough base on the sides for the seat cushion to sit on. i used a hole saw to cut the corners, jig sawed the rest and then routered the edges and some paint and your done.
Steve, the pull for the top is a great idea. I thought i would leave that out so as to keep it "hidden". VERY low cost addition that nordic should definitely consider. I will mention it to mike when I talk to him and if some dealers mention it, im sure they would consider it in the future.

Aaron

nedpoole

iTrader: (1)

Aaron,

now i finally see what you're talking about. it has been a while since i removed the cushion part of the seat. for some reason, i thought that the hole in the base (that you cut out)was pre-existing and that you had to cut into the boat to expose the storage. BUT after removing the entire seat base itself, i see exactly what needs to be done. thanks again for posting pics so we can all see exactly how easy and doable it is!

-Ned

Steve Zuckerman

Aaron,
I found some nice looking stainless steel T-handles at Home Depot today. I through bolted them with a large fender washer below, so they hopefully won't break the carpeted board, or pull through. Mine are still pretty tight, even without the screws. They sit low, just above the seat. You can hardly see them, but they make it much easier to get the board out.
Thanks again for the pics. The only difference I can see between your install and mine are the velcro strips the factory has on mine to keep the seat bases in place (which I kept), and it looks like your outboard stringers run further forward than mine. Mine stop near the back of the access hole, and blend into the hull at about a 45o angle. I just wrapped them with carpet and painted what little you can see medium gray to match the carpet.
Total for the project, $45 and some "sweat equity" .
Regards,
Steve

digger308

Steve,
Thanks for the update. Glad it turned out well. I hope others
take advantage of this as it is very simple to do.

Aaron

Steve Zuckerman

Ttt

90mphRAGE

I've always wondered about that space myself. Would it be worth the work in the Rage? I would love a space to store towels & food. With the bow cover off 80mph, I spend the rest of the day drying all the stuff that blows out of the wind tunnel.