Seat Removal Help Needed

[Rudy Wofford]

Just purchased a 2008 189 Sport. I cannot remove either rear side seat to move to front or rear pedestal position. Any trick to this? Boat was previously kept outdoors, so I suspect some rust. Have applied WD-40 with no luck. Is there a catch or latch or some hidden mechanism I'm missing? Am I trying to pull the wrong seats?



Also, if I must purchase seats to use as pedestal seats, any recommendations?

 

[Kenny Benoit]

Oh buddy let me tell you! I have the same boat just 2007 that i got used and the seats were stuck in place aswell. I was able to free one of the two seats with this method: Soaked the rods with PB blaster penetrating spray and used a tire tool to pry (folded a rug to protect the boat). Im 6'3" 265 pounds and I ended up bending the tire tool, but got that one out.



I went as far as using a come along and ratchet straps tied to an oak tree to try and get the second one out, but to no avail. I plan on attacking it again soon.



I highly recommend if you get them out do as I did and file out the plastice hole a bit and keep them lubed to prevent it from happening again. I just used a rat tail file to widen the hole a bit.





Good luck!

 

[Rudy Wofford]

Thanks Kenny. I tried the lubricate and pry method but became concerned I would break something so I stopped.



I was finally able to free the seats by first removing the seats from the pedestals. This was no easy task with my large hands, but after purchasing a low profile screwdriver wrench set and getting help from the wife and daughter, we were finally able to remove the screws from beneath each seat. Once the seats were removed, I was able to turn the pedestals repeatedly until they began walking out. Once out, I sanded the pedestals and took your advice and ran a round file lightly inside the sleeve where the pedestal inserts. I also lubricated everything well. As of now, problem is solved!

 

[Kenny Benoit]

Good to hear, I'll have to recruit some little hands to get my second seat out.