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Custom Seat Pads
Main Page Dealing with Backside Rubbing & Abrasion
Here are some photo examples of seat padding made from closed cell foam. One source of such foam can be found here at North Shore. One way to install is to first locate where you want to put the pad. The following steps describe using removable padding that is held using Velcro. You can simply tape your foam padding to your bucket. But some of the advantages of using Velcro are: It makes it easier to swap different pads in and out, and it also makes it easy to pull a seatpad out of a boat to carry with you and install in different boat(s) as you might want to do when traveling.
After putting layers (at least 2X) of pipe wrap tape in the bucket to protect your boat finish from the velcro adhesive you can install your seat. After being cut to shape all of the example pads have been covered on the top side with teflon tape to facilitate paddler rotation. Some installers:
- Mark where they want their seats on the pipe tape
- Attach 1 side of velcro tape to the back of their seat pad (there will be thin cover plastic protecting the adhesive on the back side of the velcro tape that has to be removed before sticking on the seat pad)
- Put the mating velcro tape onto that velcro already stuck to their seat pad back and remove its thin plastic cover so it is ready to stick to the velcro you put in your bucket
- Place the seat in the ski bucket where it has been marked and press your seat pad and velcro tape down with some pressure against the pipe tape underlayer already in the bucket.
Extra foam has been added to this pad in the back section but not underneath
This is 1/2“ foam with wide pipe wrap tape cover and wide teflon tape on top of the pipe wrap
After installation and use, the pad adopts the curve of the bucket
Back side of a pad with velcro tape attached
Velcro tape in bucket installed on top of pipe wrap tape. The velcro tape can meld with gelcoat so you want at least two layers of pipe wrap tape first to allow reasonable ease and no damage if you want to remove the velcro attached to your bucket. The velcro grip of the pad to your bucket is quite firm and should hold the seat in while driving on the highway, but you can always pop your seat out while you are traveling. It's also not a bad idea to remove the seat periodically to let your bucket dry out.
