Recommended Seat for Chesapeake 17LT?

Builder's Forum
1

Hello All,

I’m getting closer and closer to done with my first build–a Chesapeake 17 LT. I continue to be conflicted about the seat–the stock minicell foam looks pretty basic. I’m looking to do some day-long paddles and want to be comfortable.

Do folks have experience with the stock seat? What do people think about CLC’s other offerings (happy bottom, creature comforts)? Are there other seats people have used that they like?

Whatever I choose, I definitely want to make sure there is room for the hip braces.

Thanks for the input!

Tom

2

Hi Tom,

the seat that comes stock with the 17LT, in my view, is a throw away for any serious paddling.

i built four 17LTs over the years and have a lot of miles in them. i was able to modify the ‘happy bottom pad’ into a servicable seat and keep the costs down - which i was pretty sensitive to when i built my first boat. i took some of the stock seat material and used it under the front edge of the happy bottom pad to pitch it up a bit for the right kind of thigh support that is critical to long-in-the-seat performance.

after that, i swapped over to redfish kayak seats https://www.redfishkayak.com/minicell-foam which were a bit more cash, but were very comfortable.

at the end of the day, the seat is a very personal item. but it’s impossible to paddle effectively for any distance if you are not comfortable…so everybody has a journey to sort it out.

when i say a journey, it is often not until at least 30 minutes that you can really tell if you have it right. if its uncomfortable to start, its obviously wrong. but i find, if i am still confortable after 30 minutes…then its going to stay comfortable for the longer distances. so i would say no less than 30 minutes continuous paddling before making a judgement on comfort.

the other thing i would mention is foot position and knee bend are also really intertwined into sorting out comfort. so if its your first kayak, take some time without going far away to sort out the comfort thing. it’s awful to paddle far away - then have discomfort come on…and now you have to somehow sort out returning to your launch site when you are aching.

h

3

I will second Howard’s recommendation of the Redfish seat. I now have them in all my kayaks. 2 microBootlegger Sports, a Petrel, and one on the way for my Petrel Sport. I also get a lot of calls to put them in commercially built boats. I have one coming for a 2024 Stellar and a 1993 Current Designs.
A couple of years back, on our annual Manhattan Circumnavigation, I sat on mine for 20 miles without getting out or any discomfort.

4

I’ve been using the Creature Comfort seat since 2004. It’s been the same seat moved from boat to boat. I don’t know how it compares to a Redfish since I’ve never tried one. My record was 22 miles in one trip on a CC. It was in a Wood Duck 12, which has a large enough cockpit opening to allow lots of leg position shifting, which a 17LT doesn’t. I also took a break from sitting at the midpoint of my trip when I stood up in the boat to help out a fisherman by unhooking his line from Queen Anne Bridge. At the end of the trip I had a bit of a sore back, not enough to stop me from loading the kayak and going home, but enough to make me want to take the next day off.

So while the comparison is a bit of an apples to oranges thing, what with the different cockpits and such, Dan’s report is hinting that the Redfish would be more comfortable. The current price of a CC is $175 (it was $90 when I bought mine) so the price difference between it and a Redfish custom-built seat it $80. Compared to the cost of a bad back, that’s a bargain.

(And I’m not ignoring Howard’s good advice, it’s just that Dan provided comparable numbers and Howard didn’t.)

Laszlo

5

I’ve been happy with my Redfish seat and hear positive things from many people. But, it’s all subjective. Every body is different.

6

Hey everyone,

Thanks for all the input! It seems that the Redfish has broad support among builders. A few follow-ups:

-What size did you all buy? I see there are several sizes available.

-What is the install process for these?

-How did you all attach your seats to your kayaks? Contact cement is recommended by the manual.

Thanks again!

Tom

7

Hi Tom,

i wanted to highlight that redfish has two options - the “custom seat” option which is $255 (under the “seats” tab of their menu) and the “presculpted seat blanks” under the “materials, minicell foam” tab of the menu and these range from $75 to $85 depending on size.

the full custom seat includes back rest and side braces so you would not install any of these in the boat. the seat blank option is meant to work with a traditional backband and cheakplates which a CLC 17 LT kit already includes and you may have already installed.

so for a 17lt, i would go with the seat blank…and that is what i have done in builds like that. so its actually a very reasonable cost. i don’t glue them in…but wedge them under the side braces

in the picture below is a redfish seat blank installation on one of my kayaks that has cheek plates (the wooden verticals on either side of the seat) minicell (from the kit) glued to the cheekplates, and backband/strapping/screws that came from the kit.

the seat in this case is wedged under the foam elements on the side that are glued to the cheek plates (you push the seat forward to remove it, and slide it back to lock it in place). i also used some minicell from the kit (i cut it from the seat-shaped piece) to elevate the front of the seat blank…which is an adjustment i made for extended comfort after paddling for a while and realizing i needed some more up-pitch to the seat:

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this is another angle on that installation showing the backband attachent to the cheek plate and how the seat is wedged in:

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the next picture is a redfish custom seat in another of my boats. you can see there is no cheek plates or backband in this arrangement. if there is any downside to this arrangement, its that you can’t easily ‘repitch’ the seat angle like i did with the blank by adding some material underneath the front:

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that said, both of these work very well and have proven very comfortable.

i would also highlight that the seat blank and custom seat have the same basic carved space for your butt…there is no customization there. what is customized in the one-piece unit is that it is precarved to the internal hull measurements you provide. in the seat blank, you have to carve that yourself.

while i have not tried it, guillemont recently began offering seat blanks options as well: Foam Kayak Seat - A Comfortable Kayak Seat for New Builds or Replacement | Guillemot Kayaks that are similar to the redfish seat blank. check out their website at the link i posted.

the main difference i see in the guillemot offering, is the seat they sell is only 16 inches wide, so you would need to glue it in (i wonder if you call them in advance, perhaps they could leave more material on the side?). the redfish seat blank comes with a lot of extra material and is wide enought to span completely between the cheek plates… allowing you to tuck it under your side minicell…so you can easily remove it and clean/dry the boat then reinsert it/wedge it into place…which is my preferred approach.

as mentioned above, if this was my first boat, i would probably go with the redfish seat blank…but read the guillemot site carefully because i think they give a nice overview of the fit considerations that you would need to apply to the redfish seat blank.

when you work with the seat blank you just need to work slowly and carefully to not take off too much material resulting in it being too small…easy to take material off…but no easy way to add it back if you cut too far :slight_smile:

h

8

Wow, thanks Howard! This is great information. I’m going to read up on Guillemot seats and do a little more research on the Redfish seat. I definitely like how you secured the seat under the hip braces–seems like a much more flexible arrangement than glue.

I’m getting ready to fiberglass the deck, so I have a little time to think it over. I’ve been an enthusiastic cyclist for many years, so I know that choosing the right seat can be a challenge–I want to make sure I pick something that will work!

Have a great night.

Tom

9

Another option is the “Happy Bottom” kayak seat sold by CLC. I have used this seat in three different builds. It is quite comfortable and reasonably priced. Comfortable Kayak Seat - Happy Bottom Pad - Contoured Closed Cell Foam with Hip Braces – Chesapeake Light Craft

10

Lots of good comments above. The only thing that I have to add to the discussion is that Nick Schade sells a nice foam seat that is quite reasonably priced. Here is his seat installed in my decked Spindrift. This is a race boat so I paddle it knees together so don’t have hip braces that would inhibit rotation.

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Here is a picture of the Happy Bottom seat in a Pygmy Osprey that I built for a non-profit. For boats that are more narrow, the hip pads on the Happy Bottom may be too thick depending upon how wide your hips are. I have this seat in 5 of my recreational boats. I do find that putting a Skwoosh seat on top of the HB seat increases comfort.

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Same as others above, the Redfish seat is my favorite. I have it in my wood boats used for long distance races. Here it is in the Aluetesque.

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11

It looks like “everybody has one” - both opinions and err… bottoms. I’ve never had a Redfish, but do have one each of Creature Comfort and Happy Bottom. And did use for a while a slightly modified “stock” CLC closed cell foam seat. The stock seat is rudimentary and not very good for a long sit. As noted in another post, I used a wedge of closed cell foam under the happy bottom seat to raise the front of the seat about an inch for a more comfortable positioning. But I’m happiest (actually now my wife is happiest, I’m stuck with the Happy Bottom) with the Creature Comfort seat, it does provide just a bit of ventillation down there, and is well formed for my butt. I also like the integrated/adjustable back rest. Since the seat fit will be a personal decision, the reason I’m even adding my two cents to this conversation is to second the comment above about knee bend. That is something I find very important. My solution it a tubular shaped dry bag I happened to have lying around, about 6 inch diameter when stuffed full, and lenght about the width of the kayak. I put soft clothing in there, or if nothing extra is needed for the trip, a large rolled up towel. You can adjust how full the bag is based on personal preference. I place this under the bend of my knees. I also conveniently throw a few unobtrusive things in there like a wallet or phone (out toward the end where they are accessible and the hard lump doesn’t bother my legs). I find I just can’t do without this knee roll and still be comfortable for any long length of time. As to entry and exit of the kayak, I either leave it the bag topside until I’m sitting down and then place it in, or I can leave it in a longitudinal orientation, put a leg along each side during entry, and then rotate it once sitting down.

12

Thanks everyone! That’s a lot of great input–it seems like there are many great options (just not the stock seat!). I’ll do a little more cost comparison/reflection and choose an upgraded seat in the next few weeks. Thanks again for taking the time to share your experiences and photos. It’s very helpful!

Tom