Point Me In The Right Direction
 

I've been a boater for 55 years. I'll admit it, I used to be one of those jet boat guys that could never go fast enough. I got old. I still like to go fast, but now I bought myself a 1989 Baja Force 216 for cruising Long Island Sound out of Old Saybrook, CT. And as you can see from my "join date", I'm a "newbie" to Offshore Only.


I'm the 4th owner of this Baja. I like the fact that it is easily trailered, and doesn't require a 1-ton duelly to tow it. The previous 2 owners started to restore the Baja, but soon lost interest. I bought it, on the trailer, for a really good price a few years ago. I plan to restore & upgrade it my way. That includes seating.


I like the "drop-down" style bolster seats. One of the previous two owners installed those folding, back-to-back seats that you'd buy from online marine stores. I HATE them! From my online browsing I've believe that Baja offered drop-down bolster seats in several of their boat models in the 90's and early 2000's. I believe the manufacturer was a company called McLeod (no longer in business). I've looked at postings on websites, like this one, for used bolster seats, but I'm always a few years too late. I have acquired 2 original polished stainless steel McLeod drop-down bolster seat bases for my project, but now I'm having trouble finding someone to provide me with the actual seats to fit the bases.


Does anybody here, in the Offshore Only community, know of anyone who might be actively engaged in reproducing bolster seats that might fit my McLeod bases? Please keep in mind that I am new to Offshore Only, and that not having produced the required 10 postings, I still can't access private messages. So I will watch for new postings in response to my posting.


Thanks.

Go ahead and make a few one word posts to get your post count up that way you can post pics and pm and all of the great features

Also on the site is a Baja section that might help you with some other boat specific questions you may have.

Mike also known as Sick Stinger on the forum has a set of bolsters for sale currently. Might want to make those posts so you can get in touch with him but here is a link to the ad where he has them listed.

https://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/...-part-out.html

Are they McLeod or Aero bolsters?

They look like an early model Mcleod to me.

All the references I've found so far talk about McLeod.

I just found an old posting from Dave at XT-Innovator from 2012. He posted photos of the seats and their components. He says they are Aero. I guess he should know. I stand corrected. I just sent an email to XT-Innovator through their website, asking if they still have the components to build seats.

Dave left the building yrs a go, but if https://xt-innovations.com/ if still around they are the Baja go to

Thanks for the info about Dave at XT. XT still has a functioning website. I just sent Dave an email (through his website) with the photos he posted back in 2012, showing the components he said he had (at the time) for constructing Aero seats from scratch. Hopefully he still has enough to make me 2 seats. Hopefully I can get my project back on track before boating season starts here in the Northeast.

The McLeod's are wider and 'more square' than the Aero. Here are some pics of my 252's Aero bolsters...
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...1830d19d4a.jpg
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...f4b80911a8.jpg
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...59ce445623.jpg

Looking at pictures found on the Internet of '1989 Baja 216 Force' appears to show both pedestal mount, non drop-down seats that are wide and square, and what is definitely McLeod drop-down bolsters. What do your frames look like?? I have a couple of sets of frames for Aero bolsters like shown below...are yours similar? Or larger/wider and more square-ish? You can see one of the sets has a single leg and gunwale mount where the other set is two legs on the floor.
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...5735596f7c.jpg
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...e2e37a5637.jpg
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...31dda8c521.jpg

Yep, those are the exact drop-down pedestals that I have (both legs extending to the floor), and those are the style of seats that I'm looking for! Thanks for the photos bajaman. Luckily the Force 216 model has fairly narrow gunwales. So having a wide enough beam in the cockpit area to mount them shouldn't be a problem. My personal physical build is "big and tall". So I always try to optimize cockpit space and utilization.

i have a 250 sport baja coming in but its the aero / square bolsters in it. I had a set of the ones picture but went to another OSO member

Thanks for the "heads-up". At this point I'd be willing to consider almost anything that would fit my base frames. Any photos yet?

Any idea what they have for upholstery colors?

can't help you finding seats, but my main concern to your request would be having the seats too high compared to the freeboard of your model ! Maybe I am wrong. maybe it could be ok, but did you ever measured that?

By the way, I just want to say thank you to everyone who has contributed to this thread. Here in Western Massachusetts, most folks just go down to the marina and buy their boats. Not many boat owners around here really go out of their way to customize their boats and make them the way they want them, except the bass boat guys. The big thing around here are the personal watercraft. Not my cup of tea! I'm just an old "hot rodder (boater)" at heart. To me, Winter is building season, to get ready for the next boating season. Hey, look at that. I made my 10 posts. Now I can finally read my OSO emails. :daz:

Thanks for mentioning that Jeff32. My first (previous) Baja would be a concern regarding freeboard. It was a 1986 Baja SunSport 190. I almost got swamped a few times with that one out on Long Island Sound. That's why I upgraded to the Force 216. It has considerably more freeboard than the SunSport.

I was kind of wondering this myself...as the whole reason I have the frames and seats that I did was to put them in my 208...but after measuring and test fitting, there was NO WAY they'd look appropriate, and it put my face about 2' above the windshield, and the steering wheel way too low.
Just curious about the seat height you have now?
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...4e10503cd8.jpg
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...bb8d903202.jpg
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...dc88829723.jpg
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...1f805ebee0.jpg

As I mentioned at the beginning of this thread, when I bought this boat the original seating had already been replaced. So, I never had a chance to experience the boat in its original configuration. The current seating is aftermarket junk that is too low and uncomfortable. When piloting the boat, I find myself usually standing between the 2 rows of seats with my left hand on the windscreen and my right hand on the steering wheel. Not the safest position. That puts the top of the windscreen at about chest level with me, and I'm 6 feet tall. If I kneel on the current helm seat, the top of the windscreen about eye level with me.

I also have a tilt steering wheel I plan to install. It's a direct replacement for the current fixed steering wheel, so no problem there. I'll also be using a 2" steering wheel extender on the wheel adapter, to raise the wheel in the up position. And if that's not enough, I planned to reconfigure the dash anyway, and I'm pretty good with fiberglass.

If the seat is still a little too high, I'm also a former fabricator/welder. It wouldn't be too difficult for me to remove the bottom mounting flanges, trim the base frames a few inches, and reweld the mounting flanges.

Can you tell that I've been thinking about this project for a while? My mind always has to be thinking about something. It never stops.

As you can see from the online photo I found of a pretty much original 1989 Baja Force 216, they're built kinda stubby and tall. On the trailer, I can barely touch the top of the windscreen.

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...5e8720c513.jpg

I’m in mass, we all customize our boats in the high performance side.
we don’t just go buy new.
bass boats are 1 in 100 around here.
these seats I have, all 3 sets have bases with them.
send me a PM with a number I’ll forward you pics of my sets.

No offense Sick Stinger, but you're in Eastern Massachusetts, on the ocean side of the state. I specifically referred to Western Massachusetts. In your neck of the woods the boats are usually bigger, and a whole lot more expensive than what you typically find in Western Massachusetts. It's the same way when I launch out of Old Saybrook, Connecticut. Down there you're never a stone's throw away from a Marina, and the boats are way bigger and more expensive. Come and visit the Springfield,MA boat show at the Big-E fairgrounds, and then attend the New England boat show at the Boston Convention Center, it's the proverbial night vs. day experience.

Thank you for extending the picture offer. I'm still learning how to navigate this website, so hopefully I can figure out the details of sending PM's. However, my OSO user name is also my email address. You could send the pics there.