Seat pedestal

ronfl

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Have an 05 2275RL and I'd like to get the drivers seat up about 6 or so inches. Does anybody know if there are longer or adjustable pedestals available from Bennington that will fit the floor plate and seat bracket. I stopped by my local dealer last week and emailed (as instructed) my vin# and still no answer.....
 
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That's not something Bennington will be able to help you with, if it was not offered as original equipment, they don't have it.

Not a bad thing really, look in West Marine's catalog, they offer adjustable seat pedestals, or go back to your dealer and have them look for one. They have accessory catalogs.

Hope you find something that works for you.
 
Have an 05 2275RL and I'd like to get the drivers seat up about 6 or so inches. Does anybody know if there are longer or adjustable pedestals available from Bennington that will fit the floor plate and seat bracket. I stopped by my local dealer last week and emailed (as instructed) my vin# and still no answer.....
I have the 2004 2275RL. We've often talked about being able to raise our seat height but we've grown accustomed to it and it actually fits both of us well. Are you having problems seeing or scanning the entire horizon in front of your boat or just over the people sitting in front of you??????
 
Both! Can't see around people sitting in front of the driver and scanning the horizon at night... I'm always standing up or sitting on my legs folded under. The first pontoon company that builds a boat with a drivers station high enough 1' or more higher so the driver can see will have a huge competitive advantage! Low driver visibility is my biggest dislike about the pontoon......

I have the 2004 2275RL. We've often talked about being able to raise our seat height but we've grown accustomed to it and it actually fits both of us well. Are you having problems seeing or scanning the entire horizon in front of your boat or just over the people sitting in front of you??????
 
Both! Can't see around people sitting in front of the driver and scanning the horizon at night... I'm always standing up or sitting on my legs folded under. The first pontoon company that builds a boat with a drivers station high enough 1' or more higher so the driver can see will have a huge competitive advantage! Low driver visibility is my biggest dislike about the pontoon......
Has Bennington gotten back to you to see if a height adjustable seat pedestal is available for your 2275RL???????? If not you might want to check out West Marine, Overtons, and pontoonstuff.com. They all have a variety of seat pedestals that might fit your toon. Good luck.............
 
The raised helm is a great option that bennington offers now. It solves the sight issue. I still stand up now and then when docking and such.

Most of the pedestal tubes are standard size. You should be able to find one at west marine, bass pro shops, etc.

Good luck

Todd
 
If you find a taller post, please post where you got it it, model # etc... I may follow in your footsteps on this mod, I have a 2002 2275RL. For me in addition to improved visibility, I am looking to get a bit more breeze. I got real used to the helm seat in my bow rider which has a flip up bolster.
 
If you find a taller post, please post where you got it it, model # etc... I may follow in your footsteps on this mod, I have a 2002 2275RL. For me in addition to improved visibility, I am looking to get a bit more breeze. I got real used to the helm seat in my bow rider which has a flip up bolster.
I have a 2001 22 footer (sorry -- can't remember model number at the moment) and I had EXACTLY the same issue. I'm only 5' 9" tall and even my legs were folded under the seat. You need one of these:

31RU5YNzXnL._SL500_AA300_.jpg


This one is adjustable from 12" to 18" and it makes driving so much more comfortable. I got mine from Amazon for $75 three years ago and it looks like they still have them. (But price is now around $100.) That was the best $75 I ever spent on the boat. Go to Amazon and search for, "Wise Pedestal with Non Adjustable Seat Mount" or try this link:

My link
 
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I've seen the raised helms but there just up a couple of inches and visability isn't much different. Somebody needs to get out of the BOX and design an all new helm. The helm should be 8 to 12" higher and maybe a rear entry?? Something that the captain can sit on and see all around without dodging the deads of the folks sitting in the front! I spend much more time standing when driving than I do sitting and it's all because of visability. They spend tons of $$ creating these awsome captain chairs that we cant sit back in and enjoy cruising!

The raised helm is a great option that bennington offers now. It solves the sight issue. I still stand up now and then when docking and such.

Most of the pedestal tubes are standard size. You should be able to find one at west marine, bass pro shops, etc.

Good luck

Todd
 
Did the base align up with your OEM base on your boat or did you have to redrill the holes? Did the top bracket bolt onto your original captains chair?

I have a 2001 22 footer (sorry -- can't remember model number at the moment) and I had EXACTLY the same issue. I'm only 5' 9" tall and even my legs were folded under the seat. You need one of these:

31RU5YNzXnL._SL500_AA300_.jpg


This one is adjustable from 12" to 18" and it makes driving so much more comfortable. I got mine from Amazon for $75 three years ago and it looks like they still have them. (But price is now around $100.) That was the best $75 I ever spent on the boat. Go to Amazon and search for, "Wise Pedestal with Non Adjustable Seat Mount" or try this link:

My link
 
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Did the base align up with your OEM base on your boat or did you have to redrill the holes? Did the top bracket bolt onto your original captains chair?
No drilling on either end for me. Base holes lined up with factory holes and top of pedestal has slots allowing for flexibility in mounting to your seat.
 
I have the raised helm and I notice a lot of difference in being able to see over your front passengers. That is one of the reasons I purchased a new boat. ( At least that was one of my excuses). Gerry
 
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I found a Springfield height adjustable pedestal on Clearance at Defender. My Bennie is in the shop, I couldn't measure the height of the existing pedestal, so I took a risk. This one adjusts from 10" - 13" on sale for $55:

650715.jpg


http://www.defender.com/product.jsp?path=-1|619045|1970779&id=2015715

I probably should have gone for this one, also made by Springfield, that adjusts from 15 1/4" - 21" on sale at Overtons for $99:

http://www.overtons.com/modperl/product/details.cgi?i=73363&pdesc=Springfield_Marine_Adjustable_Height_Pedestal&aID=601C7&merchID=4006#reviewsInfo

Note that my existing seat hardware is Springfield, best I can match it up to is this:

501496.jpg


http://www.defender.com/product.jsp?path=-1|7504|63440|730249&id=2013329
 
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Many distractions, so have not had to time to get back to this in depth, but I can say that a quick comparison revealed the height adjustable pedestal above does not appear to match up to existing screw holes. It is also quite a bit taller than the oem pedestal - even at the lowest height adjustment. I have yet to verify the pedestal diameter matches up to the seat. More to follow.
 
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I have a 2001 22 footer (sorry -- can't remember model number at the moment) and I had EXACTLY the same issue. I'm only 5' 9" tall and even my legs were folded under the seat. You need one of these:

31RU5YNzXnL._SL500_AA300_.jpg


This one is adjustable from 12" to 18" and it makes driving so much more comfortable. I got mine from Amazon for $75 three years ago and it looks like they still have them. (But price is now around $100.) That was the best $75 I ever spent on the boat. Go to Amazon and search for, "Wise Pedestal with Non Adjustable Seat Mount" or try this link:

My link
How was the base attached to the deck and did you have underskinning you had to remove to get at the hardware?
 
Bruce, according to my dealer, it's bolted through the deck and the nuts are between the skin and the deck. I've been looking into doing this also but I have no way to get to the nuts. I've been sitting on my throwable.
 
Bruce, according to my dealer, it's bolted through the deck and the nuts are between the skin and the deck. I've been looking into doing this also but I have no way to get to the nuts. I've been sitting on my throwable.
These is the crap auto engineers did to us. I had multiple full service gas station/repair locations (Remember that era)and we had cars coming in that we had to pull the engine to replace the water pump. Bennington builds great boats with a great warranty program but some of us buy used boats that will need

repairs. I hope that Bennington design engineers could factor in that there will be parts replacement as the boats age. I knew that the company is working hard to give new buyers a great product at a good price but Pontoon boats are not a disposable product. They are a fairly new boat company with a great reputation but do they want to be known as you don't buy the used B because you can't work on them. BTY - We love our Boat - I just have to repair it.
 
I'm not meaning this to be rude or a jerk, but how would you do it different? The underskinning needs to be smooth and attached to serve its purpose. So what is the alternative? One of my old bosses always said, "don't come to me with problems, come to me with solutions." the seat base needs to be bolted to give it strength, I wouldn't want it just screwed to a piece of plywood, that has the potential to be a much larger and tougher repair than drilling out rivets and replacing. Just my thoughts, not meant to be argumentative.

Derrick
 
I agree with Derricks statement, and I would not really consider Bennington (a 15 year old company) as new. Maybe innovative, but not new.

Ok, that's my 2 cents ....... ;)
 
I'm not meaning this to be rude or a jerk, but how would you do it different? The underskinning needs to be smooth and attached to serve its purpose. So what is the alternative? One of my old bosses always said, "don't come to me with problems, come to me with solutions." the seat base needs to be bolted to give it strength, I wouldn't want it just screwed to a piece of plywood, that has the potential to be a much larger and tougher repair than drilling out rivets and replacing. Just my thoughts, not meant to be argumentative.

Derrick
Aftermarket reality - When the boat is on a trailer getting at the underskinning, removing fastners, knowing which piece of skin to remove is a really big deal. Having stainless or brass t-nuts in the decking which let me remove the bolts at the base and let me easily replace my seat base is a solution. The solution is spend to $3 more in production. I am guessing at cost. We have a boater sitting on a cushion because he can replace the base, that sucks.
 
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