Moving the seat base on the floor of a newer aluminum boat

[LetThemGo]

I'm currently deciding whether or not to purchase a used 2005 Alumacraft ,16 foot, tiller fishing boat. The guy that previously own the boat was bigger than I am, so I need to move the seat base in order to reach the tiller handle comfortably.

Does anyone out there know of the downsides to moving a seat base? My concern is having to cut another hole in the floor for the center of the base, the holes left over on the floor from where the screws used to be (eye sore and prone to rot floor plywood?), and exposing a different shade of carpet after moving the base (i.e. the carpet under the base will not be faded like the rest of the carpet in the boat).

Can anyone comment on his/her experience or concerns on things mentioned above on moving a seat base? I want to make sure that I can remount the base and still have it solid and looking nice.

Thanks!!

[John Mickish]

Why not just put a sliding/adjustable seat base on it to move the seat closer?

[LetThemGo]

The seat does have a sliding mechanism, but it was still too far to reach after I adjusted it. I should have mentioned that in my original post.

Thank you - I appreciate your reply!

[Valv]

If you have one of these above surface base with just 6 screws to hold down, yes you will have issues with rot in the long run. You should seal the older holes but you will have to pull floor and move carpet. If you have the base wtyle where there is a large hole in the middle, you will have to cover or close the hole.

Have you thought at a tiller handle extension ?

[Giant_Jackpot]

I moved mine and I plugged the old holes with silicon and put the screws back into the old holes. My base was flat so I did not have a bigger center hole to fill. Will I have rotting problems? Who knows. Also be careful when you are drilling the new holes to make sure you don’t hit a livewell hose or anything else that may be lurking under the floor

[Steve Bakken]

When we've re-located seats for customers in the past, if it didn't have the hole in the middle it's good to go. If it's the style of seat that does have the center hole, we sometimes carpet and attach a piece of plywood just a little bit larger than the seat base onto the floor and then attach the seat to it. It sounds crude, but done right, it can nearly give the illusion of being factory installed. As for the screw holes, the rubber and the glue will close shut where the screw was and unless you were to have long-term standing water on the floor, in the 20 years that we've been in business, we haven't seen one rot yet.