TRCM I fixed the poorly designed center seat in my Z7, Here is how i did it.

[Jim B]

I hope Nitro reads this one because the center seat on the Z7 is just the most poorly designed thing i think i have ever seen. Its really the only thing i can find wrong on an otherwise fine boat. My opinion they really dropped the ball on this one and they need to rethink it bigtime. Mine was starting to break and the boat hasnt even hit the water yet. That said, here is what i did to fix it(attempt at your own risk)....



I noticed on mine that i could get my hand in between the gas tank and the panel where the seat is mounted. There is plenty of room in there to work. The seat pan is also very thick and was able to accept screws easily.



I went to Lowes and got the following materials. one strop of 2"x1/2" think aluminum. a 5 pack of #10x3/4" Stainless sheet metal scrwes, 4 1/4" tee nuts( the brad type not the barbed), 4 1/4 20X 1/2" stainless oval head bolts, 1 pack of 1/4" finishing washers. I also "stole" some paste epoxy from my fathers shop since i forgot it at lowes.



Step 1 of my fix was to remove the stock black metal bracket from the seat bottom. Then i drilled 5/16" holes at each top corner then i remounted it back to the seat using the original screws. Here is a shot of that.

Step 2 was the cut the aluminum to size, i ovehung it about an inch and a half from the edge of the seat. The next thing i did was drill 5/16" holes at each end and 5 3/16" holes in the middle to mount it to the seat with the #10 screws. Here is a shot just before i mounted the aluminum.

Step 3 was to bring the seat to the boat and mount it into position and mark the center of where holes needed to be with a sharpie. Then i drilled 5/16" holes at each location for the tee nuts. There is plenty of room in there to drill but i was very careful and put a scrap of wood between the tank and the panel where i was drilling. ONce i had my 4 holes drilled i began to mount the tee nuts underneath. They werent too bad to get in, i just had to really jam my hand in there to get them where they needed to go. I used a thick epoxy paste to glue them into place and the 1/4" bolts( coated in oil so the epoxy wouldnt stick) to hold them in place until the epoxy hardened. here is a shot of the tee nut, one is in place on the lower left and one just before i put epoxy on it and glued it in.

Step 4 once the epoxy hardend(i gave mine overnight) remove the bolts and reinstall the seat using the new bolts and finish washers. Here is a shot of what the finished product looks like. Its not going to go anywhere any time soon i dont think. Its very sturdy now.

 

[Larry Harp]

Jim, i can't figure out what the original problem with your seat was. They must have really changed things from my 'O6 591 to your Z-7. I couldn't be happier with my middle seat. My middle cushion slides in and out leaving a step when it's out.

Here you can see the two catches that hold it down in front.

Not a very good picture but you can see the channel that the cushion fits into. The cushion has a tube of a thing attached to both sides and it fits into this channel.

Bottom of middle seat tilted up.

Cushion removed showing convenient step.



I have considered removing the two tube in groove which are a P.I.A. to do and just going with some HD Velcro in addition to the two clasps in the front. If I'm going to have somebody fishing with me I usually just take out the middle cushion and leave it at home.

 

[Jim B]

Harpo,

On the Z7 they left out the step up thing( would have been nice to have for sure). If they built it like yours it would be much better, but alas they didnt.



I should have taken a picture of it but if you look at the last picture you can see the little thumb screw on the front of the black bracket that holds the seat in from the factory. There is one on each side and they screw into something that looks like this thats inseterd into the fiberglass or plastic or whatever just below the front edge of the seat.

The problem is the insert tears right out and the seat falls off. Every Z7 i have looked at on the showroom floor had the inserts fallen out and mine that has never been in the water already has one loose and ready to fall out. Teh only person that has even sat in it is my 9 year old nephew who weighs maybe 60#. This design like i mentioned before is really poor. Nitro can do much better then this and they know it, they just took a shortcut. The difference in quality between this Z7 and my old 882 is evident in every espect except this seat mount. Overall the Z7 is a much better finished boat them my 882 was with the exception of this obvious money saving shortcut.



Edit. They could have made this deal a whole lot better by using a hinge like the other seats. The way they make it now its destined to fail and quickly.

 

[TRCM]

SoonerFan, can you get me the info on that step ? I may try and get one and put it on my boat.

 

[Larry Harp]

It came with my boat. That's all the information I have. I barely remember a conversation with my salesman about the middle seat in the '07's not coming out at all and how he liked the setup in my '06 much better. I didn't pay much attention since I was buying the '06 and had other concerns at the time. I don't know what the evolution of the middle seat from '06 to the present is. I seriously doubt that Nitro would have the parts available to retro fit the '06 step



I don't think it would be very difficult to fabricate a step similar to my '06. A piece of exterior grade plywood painted with a good waterproofing slip resistant coating or even better some thick phenolic Formica if you can find it, mounted on a piano hinge. You would have to use your imagination on how to fasten the seat cushion to the step so it wouldn't blow out. I'm thinking some heavy Velcro or snaps. The tubes sliding into the grooves like mine aren't that great and would be hard to duplicate. Because of the location of the fuel tank sending unit, you have to consider how to access it. If I can help with more pictures or dimensions please let me know.

 

[TRCM]

Here's how I fixed mine. This is a trial setup for now. I am working on an aluminum replacement for this that will allow me to re-install the seat in about 2 minutes. This was made from plexiglass, and was done to make it easier for my dad to get to the back deck when he was fishing with me. It worked, but the plexiglass flexed too much for my liking.



<a href="http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v615/TheRamChargerMan/Nitro%20Z-7/?action=view

 

[TRCM]

Here's the final version.



Aluminum plate for the bottom and back, and line-x for traction. I can still use the center seat if needed, take about 5 minutes to put it back in.



All the extra screws were to eliminate the flex in the fuel tank cover. It is only held in the boat by 6 screws, 3 on each side. Now, it is rock solid even when my near 300 lb butt stands on it.



<a href="http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v615/TheRamChargerMan/Nitro%20Z-7/?action=view