On-the-fly adjustable seat height?

[Tsuga8]

I bought a used Vagabond which had the metal Wenonah drop plates. The previous owner had used bolts that were maybe an inch too long, and left the nuts at almost the end of the bolt. So the seat could lift about an inch to get feet under for kneeling. Once your body weight was on the seat, it seemed to stay in place pretty well. The seat does jostle a bit as you lift the boat to your shoulders for portaging. So, IF the issue with sitting height is just getting your feet in and out, that could be a solution. (But this might not address tketham's needs.)

One could hypothetically also make little wood inserts to slide in between the seat and bracket to lift the back edge of the seat, or both edges, while kneeling. But, the simplicity of the set-up was nice, as was the lack of any additional parts other than slightly longer bolts, although the whole thing was kind of janky and jangle-y.

 

[Xtremetele]

I don't understand why it wouldn't.

First, you lower the fixed wooden seat to your preferred sitting height with new (longer) drop blocks. Then you make a kneeling cushion from minicell foam to raise yourself up to your preferred kneeling height. If you don't want or need to lash or Velcro the cushion to the fixed seat, you could literally swap that cushion on and off the seat in a few seconds.

Putting the seat on different levels with pins, pegs or side-mounted pods would be slower and a lot more fiddly.

Part of the problem is getting feet under the seat though, so whilst it would raise you up, it wouldn’t necessarily make kneeling any easier

 

[joebh]

Part of the problem is getting feet under the seat though, so whilst it would raise you up, it wouldn’t necessarily make kneeling any easier

For me the important question was whether I could extract my old feet if I dumped

 

[tketcham]

I tried to order a set of Wenonah adjustable seat brackets but they won't sell them to me because I have a canoe with wood gunnels. I explained how I was going to adapt the brackets to work with my canoe but they didn't buy it. Or sell it. Anyone with a spare set of brackets they would sell?

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

To suggest the obvious, why don't you or a friend just tell Wenonah you have an Argosy, Wilderness or Vagabond with aluminum gunwales but not an adjustable bracket.

Or, contact a Wenonah dealer and ask them to order the part for you.

Or, would this bracket work:

Aluminum Bracket Seat Adjustable Set L&R

ADJUSTABLE SEAT DROP BRACKETS. Sold in pairs

www.cwoutfitting.com

 

[Gamma1214]

...contact a Wenonah dealer and ask them to order the part for you.

That would be my fix. They really don't need to know what they're for... don't ask / don't tell.

 

[tketcham]

I did consider having a friend try to order one, especially since after two email exchanges I think they're on to me.

I was going to ask a dealer about getting a set when I go to pick up the Polaris later this month.

The brackets you linked might just work. Good find. cwoutfitting's description says their brackets are basically what Wenonah uses.

 

[Tsuga8]

Are folks so scared of liability and lawsuits these days that they can't risk selling you parts?

Good find, I might have to look into them for my Wenonah...or other boats that shall remain unnamed I suppose.

 

[Tsuga8]

Could you replicate the pattern in wood seat drops to attach to your wood gunnels? (Marine?) plywood maybe?

 

[tketcham]

Are folks so scared of liability and lawsuits these days that they can't risk selling you parts?

I can understand Wenonah's reluctance to sell parts that aren't being used the way they were intended because the USA has become the land of litigation. Rediculously large jury settlements and lawyer-legislators in Congress bolstering tort law.

As to using wood brackets; nah, seems too kludgy. But I'm going to order up a set of the brackets Glenn found if the dealer isn't able to get the Wenonah brackets for me. They don't sell Wenonah canoes so I'm not optimistic.

 

[Tsuga8]

Not to dissuade you from CW Outfitting, but a Wenonah dealer with a robust ecommerce platform may also serve. Rutabaga comes to mind, as did Oak Orchard and Austin Canoe & Kayak. Seems like Oak Orchard doesn't stock Wenonah parts and Austin apparently folded in 2022, sadly. I sure hope Rutabaga sticks around. My local outfitter Kenco sells online but I don't think they stock Wenonah these days either.

 

[gumpus]

More options...food for thought:

1) you can buy angle brackets that just hang the seat from the gunwales...and carry a second seat with shorter brackets

2) you can buy Wenonah brackets from Oak Orchard and cut the slot pattern you want using common (steel) tools like drill bits and files...they are aluminum

3) you can have Swift install pods. They offered to do this custom work for me including a free ride to and from their factory. Cool pption if you live near a Swift retailer. Make sure you talk to the factory (parts dept); they are very cool.

4) as far as the foot clearance issue...you can gain clearance from removing your shoes, using a kneeling mat that does not extend under the seat, and by switching from a flat seat to a contoured seat. Contoured seats drop you by about an inch so in principle you could raise the seat 1/2 inch for foot clearance and still end up sitting 1/2 inch lower.

Of course if you have your heart set on adding noise, hurting aesthetics, and giving up structural integrity I can pretend that I understand.