# Flip Raft Seat Bracket???



## rsmiller (Jun 28, 2004)

Any thoughts?


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## dogalot (Jul 6, 2005)

rsmiller said:


> Any thoughts?


 
I bought one from Clavey that was reasonable $90)

Flip Seat Bracket - Clavey River Equipment

They even customized it form me to make it a little taller.

dogalot


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## El Flaco (Nov 5, 2003)

You can get pipe and parts for speedrail here: Nurail® Aluminum Structural Slip On Fittings and Handrail Systems
and bend the pipe yourself, then speedy-stich some fabric over your seat frame.

But - it's probably better to to just head over to DRE with your frame and have them build you one for a couple of hundred.


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## rsmiller (Jun 28, 2004)

Great link, thanks Flaco.

I already have a high back tractor seat but just need the bracket.

I have found a few but nothing I like for the money. Does your clavey bracket rest on the cooler or extend over to the bar behind the cooler?

I’d like one that extends over the cooler and sits on the bar behind.


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## dogalot (Jul 6, 2005)

rsmiller said:


> Great link, thanks Flaco.
> 
> I already have a high back tractor seat but just need the bracket.
> 
> ...


 
The Clavey braket sits on the cooler. Works fne for me

dogalot


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## oarbender (Feb 3, 2007)

go to any welding shop with your frame, or with material that your frame is built from. take your seat, and say this is what i want. show em whats up, and im sure within a half hour you'll have what your looking for. I charge, and most shops charge by the hour, so you might as well get an umbrella stand, or the mount for the inflatable sheep.


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## Chip (Apr 7, 2007)

*flip seat, way cheap*

Here's a dead-simple one built from one of those fishing swivel seats, a pine board, U-bolts, a 1-ft. strap, and various screws, washers, etc. Two seasons with no problems. 

The u-bolts should be sized for your frame, and for an aluminum frame, to center the seat I'd get a couple of collars (SpeedRail, etc) rather than setting sheet-metal screws in the frame tube as I did here. **









**Actually, I think I shot the pic before setting the screws, big fatheaded 1/4-inchers which are just inside the u-bolts.


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## rsmiller (Jun 28, 2004)

Great idea Chip! Simple and easy.

On a different note what did you use for your floor?


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## brendodendo (Jul 18, 2004)

I have the AAA inflatables flip seat. I think it was about $100. Sits on the cooler. I have never had a problem with the set up. Used silver bubble wrap for a water heater as a cooler cover that protects the cooler and gives more insulation. Have the bracket welded to sit on top of your cooler. This means you have to set up your rig and get a good measurement with your cooler in the cooler mounts or straps. Keep in mind that if you change the geometry of your seat, your oar tower height and oar length WILL be affected. This caused serious problems for me. See my profile for a basic Pic.


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## Chip (Apr 7, 2007)

*floor*

In 07 I posted a bunch of poop on frames, floors, etc. Just searched and it's still there: Games with Frames, page 2.

The floor stuff (with a price jump, no doubt) is:

– PolyMax Kennel Flooring, STK# HA2215 or HA2217, 2' x4' panel @ $15.95 from <www.TekSupply.com> or 800-835-7877. 

There are some notes on mounting it in the Games with Frames thread, and further ones in a discussion with Liz Howe (lhowemt, I think) that I don't recall the title of.


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## Chip (Apr 7, 2007)

*Uno mas cosa*

*** Forgot to mention— with the cheap plastic fishing seats, you need to add a little block to the top of the board under the rearmost mounting hole on the seat, for support. Otherwise, it flexes too far back when rowing: a river recliner.


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## kb52 (Apr 19, 2008)

Great looking frames on your older post and good info. 
Would you mind telling us what size of aluminum angle you used for beefing the floor? And what about bracing the mid part of the floor?
I see from the pics you used a strap - is that all? thanks KB


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## rafterman2007 (Apr 24, 2008)

*Chip---info needed on your frame please.*

Chip: What size pipe did you use on that cat frame of yours? What kinf od fittings? Oar towers? Thanks!
Z


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## rsmiller (Jun 28, 2004)

Good looking stuff Chip.

Damn. I measured my set up last night and I will have to have some type of metal bracket that allows for increased height under the seat. I need to gain 7” in order to put a dry box or cooler under the seat.


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## the_dude (May 31, 2006)

rsmiller said:


> Good looking stuff Chip.
> 
> Damn. I measured my set up last night and I will have to have some type of metal bracket that allows for increased height under the seat. I need to gain 7” in order to put a dry box or cooler under the seat.


you'll wind up sitting really high with a 7" raise. also, and this may sound funny, but make sure your legs will still touch the floor of your boat and the backs of your legs won't rest too uncomfortably on the seat. if you're a shorter guy like me(5-9), this might be a problem. don't forget to put the seat/bracket configuration together and sit in it then, b/c the seat will be another 2 or 3 inches above the top of the flip bracket.


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## dogalot (Jul 6, 2005)

Yah, my flip seat put me up a good 6" too, but I like that. Easy to see over front row passengers. I'm tall (6' 5"), so the added height actually shortened the length of my rower compartment, which I also like.

The added height necessitated taller oar towers. I found a great deal at www.rowframe.com.

Those guys are great and sell some interesting stuff at very reasonable prices. In fact, I am willing to bet they would fabricate about anything you need quickly and at a fair price.


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## rsmiller (Jun 28, 2004)

It seems like 6" - 8" would be about standard for most of the flip seats I have seen - DRE, Clavey, etc.


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## Chip (Apr 7, 2007)

*Booming vs. Barging*

My rig is for a narrow-gauge play cat and I wanted to keep the center of gravity as low as possible and maintain a recumbent position at the oars with legs extended, which gives me more power and is easier on my back. When I do multi-day trips, I keep the load low (York Packs and drybags rather than those tall aluminum dryboxes) so visibility's no problem.


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## Chip (Apr 7, 2007)

*tech poop*

Overlooked the questions— if you read through that Games with Frames thread, most of the info is there. 

The frame tubing is chainlink fence toprail, (1.315" OD I think) which fits the 1-inch SpeedRail joints. The aluminum angle is 1.5". I also used some aluminum channel I had on hand. 

The 1-inch straps woven through the floor grid give bomber support but also quite a bit of flex, so I fasten the edges of the floor to the frame tubes with hoseclamps sheathed in heat-shrink tubing to cover sharp edges. Okay on a cat, but might be risky on a raft. On some rigs to cut down on the sag, I run webbing between the center of the floor and a crossmember, twisted so it can't trap a foot.


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