Seakindly, Gator Bait, Buckley Jr., dmoore HELP!!!

[briguyny]

It's the strangest thing isn't it? I'm sure there was some mechanism that allowed it to slide toward both bow for the fish hold and stern to recline. I believe that the recline even had an option to lay your head at 45 degrees, and I will try to incorporate this into the design as well. I'm going to my father's shop on Monday to talk to a few of the mechanics and see of we can't come up with something.

[Blue_Runner]

Hey Briguy - I found a pic in the 1994 Welcraft manual that might help....check it out at the bottom:

[nipper]

Great find Blue! Looks like it just has tracks and slides forward toward the bow to access the fish box. Looks more like it would be better for cooler use though than a fish box.

[Blue_Runner]

Why thank ya Nipster! I use mine as a fish box and for keeping larger live bait. Of course I don't have the lounge seat though, just a starboard lid on hinges covering the hole and a short pedistal seat forward. I've had several large stripers and dolphin in there and I'm able to keep many pinfish alive for as long as I need them. What I don't understand about the lounge seat sliders is it seems the front part of the lounge would be awkwardly extended forward or cantilevered is probably the better word to describe what I'm sayin.

Adding pix

[nipper]

Looks great, and plenty big enough for a fish box. What I was thinking about though was when you slide the lounge forward to open the box, and then go to put the fish in, you would get blood and slime all over the lounge seat.

[briguyny]

Blue Runner,

THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT I WANT TO REPRODUCE!!!!!!!!THAT'S PERFECT. This picture shows the sliding track that I would like to mimic. I guess it slid forward on this track, as you say, but it must have reclined down to lay out on as well. Don't you agree?

[nipper]

It probably did. Seat probably had a piano hinge on the top which allowed it to lay down flat with maybe a hinged leg on the back side to support the lounge.

[nipper]

I would think the mechanism would be much like you find in any back to back lounge seat, except that the sliding track is not mounted in the base, but rather, on the top of the fishbox. Just take a look at a conventional lounger and I bet with that in mind and the picture from the brochure you could get it fabricated.