Butt Bridge Seats

[Grabs]

Hey guys, just picked up a double-wide Polar Sport. We want to build some seats and I think the Butt Bridge design is the way to go.

We want to make them back-to-back so we have the option of fishing 4 people in the house if want.

Has anyone built these seats in a back-to-back version? If so any advice before we start into it?

[LundExplorer]

Grabs,

I have not built these back to back, but my advice is to make the seat base with a little more of a curve, and lengthen it. Also allow more space where the seat pivots, in the design that is on the site theres not much space here, could have a problem with the wood cracking.

Also, I made mine with a 16" wide seat and nback, rather than 12". The wider seat and "curvier" base is more comfortable.

Also with 2 seats back to back you might not have enough room to put up both seat backs so you might have to extend the front of the seat base over the edge of the sled, depends on how wide the sled is.

When you get it finished, post a pic, I'd like to see what you did!

[Duffman]

I'm waiting till summer to start that very same project, except I'll be doing it for a Shoremaster Voyager Xtreme. After looking at TBones BB's in person there will have to be some major changes to the design in order for it to be back to back yet still packable.

I'm sort of concerned about the center span being able to support two hefty guys. Also, unless you want to be rubbing heads with the guy behind ya, the base of the seats will have to be moved out or even on top of the sleds edge (but that should take care of my center span weight issues).

My biggest question is how to go about the back supports in terms of being structurally sound yet able to take it down. I was thinking about using a spacer between the two seatbacks, it would work great if there is going to be two guys sitting in the seats at all times, but that's unlikely. That's where I'm kind of stuck in my design, the seatbacks base where they will be able to support weight from both directions (forward-back). If that makes any sense. Remember, ya don't have much room to work with.

I'm super curious to see yours when ya get it done. Let me know, we could toss back and forth ideas until we come up with Double Butt Bridge that's comfortable, functional, and take-downable.

[email protected]

[This message has been edited by Duffman (edited 02-25-2004).]

[Grabs]

OK, well we haven't started the double butt bridge just yet. We have ideas and plan to model it in ProE first. We should be able to make some PDFs of the models and dimensions once we get that done so others can look at them too.

But in the mean time I am building two single seats for my 3-man Polar Sport. My question is this; according to the drawings from TBone, it looks like that back doesn't simply "fold down"? Is this built with the understanding that you need to pull the dowel pins in order to put the seat up or down?

I think this is what I have discovered in building my first seat. I have now however modified the seat so you can simply fold the back flat when not in use. And then when in use you can position the back support to a variety of reclining settings.

Let me know if my undestanding of needing to pull the dowel pins is correct.

[Gissert]

Grabs - You are correct. The original Butt-Bridge needs to have the dowel pins pulled to lay the seat flat.