Awesome Setup for Jackson Elite Seat on Outbacks

I think this mod is fantastic and have it on both of my Adventure Islands. Same reasoning as the above= hard to justify spending that much more on the new models.

You have the cleanest solution yet!

I have a similar mounting platform, but was too scared to drill into the back so I simply used some black cutting board to attach the rear clips on and a thin layer of sealed foam on the bottom. Its all one peice and stays in place just fine. I added some bungie deck fittings (the little pop up ones) on the chair so that I can keep it secure with the tank well bungie.

Stability on the Adventure isnt as bad as I though it would be in the raised position. I use the dagger board to help and feel just fine. I havent flipped yet, but do need to be weary of awkward boat wakes. Been out in the ocean 3 times with just the raised seat and no dagger board. Felt a little tipsy in the chop, but didnt tip

The steering does come into play. I added a ram ball on my knob and switched the handle to the upright position. Steering is now forward and back rather than to the side. Makes a huge difference on the AIs and works perfect with the seat positioning.

+++ Highly reccomend this mod +++

All I can say is "Ditto" to the cleanest solution I've seen yet, and if it doesn't work on my wife's Outback, I un-snap it,(she's shorter than me), and let her sit in the factory seat, but when my friends borrow it, it might be just fine.

If it's a total bust, I got a couple new beach chairs, and my stock Outbacks,( they're still nice kayaks).

Thanks Anthony for sharing your ideas and solution.....

Don

Once again I will repeat myself, my intent was not to offend you or anyone else. It was not intended to demean your post and if that was the way it came across despite my stating it wasn't, then I apologize. While you may have purchased all these items at a bargain the seat usually sells for over $100 dollars and FedEx ground shipping to most of the country is close to $20. On top of that drilling holes in a kayak is never to be undertaken as an experiment, in my opinion. My intent was to make the average anatomical owners of an older Hobie Outbacks think twice before they go out and buy and install such a system without at least considering the not so "awesome" aspects to this. I am grateful that the Jackson seat installation works great for you and that you shared it here on the forum, make no mistake about that!

Thanks Don, Lameduck and Vabeach.

Don, when you get your seats, please let us know how they work out for you. I agree with your sentiments, and took the same approach, purchasing two seats knowing if they didn't work out I could at least still use them for something else.

Lameduck, you are right. I didn't realize it, but Jackson just raised the price again on their seats. I bought two for $50 each, and my shipping for both together was only twenty something dollars. I guess they had that sale going on for a month or two to get their stock down, and now they are back up in price. As far as drilling holes in the kayak, I totally agree, and would never do something like that without first trying it out. I did place the seat in the kayak and try it with bungees before proceeding. The great thing is, there's actually only two holes drilled in the kayak for the entire project. So yes, I still think it's "awesome," but you are certainly entitled to your opinion, and yes, it's good to share all viewpoints of any project like this, so everyone can make their own decisions with as many facts as possible. Thanks for that and for the apology!

Good looking DIY project!

This install has been done to a bunch of pre-2015 Outback's (using Jackson & other "camp style" seats) and the only negative I've ever heard was that the rudder was a bit of a reach.
A buddy, Josh Slager did this to his Outback and he was happy with it...and Josh is a "mountain of a man".

Here is a couple shots of a very clean install using YakAttack MightyMounts, T-bolts & twist-knobs fore & aft.

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Thanks Firedog.

Yeah, I seriously looked at the way your buddy mounted his seat, and it was the way I was leaning until I found and modified the method I used. My biggest issue, other than the additional cost of buying the mighty mounts, was the fact of having to drill 16 holes in my kayak. Plus, as you mentioned, his seat is mounted further back, so there's issues reaching the rudder control handle and it goes over the scupper holes. If you are in serious waves a lot and need to make absolutely sure the seat would never move or separate from the kayak, then yeah, maybe it's a better way to go. For me, that would have been overkill, so I chose the method I went with. Still, I do like the clean install - he did a great job!

Hey Don, did you get your seats and have time to install them yet? I'm just curious how they may have turned out for you. The more I use mine, the more I'm convinced it is by far the best thing I could have done to my Outback.

~Anthony

I did the same as you and finally got to take it out today. I have to agree it is the best thing I have done to the Outback.


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That's great CT! Glad it turned out well for you.

Great idea and well executed. Thanks for taking the time to do the photos and the writeup so others can benefit from your project.

Surprised by the negativity displayed. All kayaks involve tradeoffs which is why some people get a PA, some an Outback, and others a Revo, not to mention hundreds of different paddle type boats on the market.

Received my Elite seats, and I'm chomping at the bit to try them out on our Outbacks, just don't have the time right now with the Holidays.....hopefully in a few days I can at least set them in the kayaks.

Don

Thanks Wintersun, all my sentiments exactly!

Glad you got your seats Don, and I look forward to seeing how they work out for you.

~Anthony

Great DIY guys. Anyone ever try these on a Tandem Island? Rear seat of course, front seat has the Aka brace behind it.

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Mark
Tandem Island- 2013
2 - Sports - 2014

Hi Mark. No experience with that, but hopefully someone here can answer that for you! Good luck with it.

Nice, how did you get this over the aka brace? Have any photos? If so, I would think I could do this to both of my seats in a 2014 TI.
Thanks

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Mark
Tandem Island- 2013
2 - Sports - 2014