Boatworld sib issue

[Redbarron72]

Hi Guys,

New member so thanks for having me.

Just a query to ask if anyone else has had issues the a Boatworld slide in type seat?

I have recently purchased the Boatworld Airdeck 320. On the whole the boat is fine and performed well but after a few hours use the slide in front seat pulled off its 'bead' on one side that secures it to the tube.

I have emailed pics to Boatworld and a video and pics (attached)of how easily this can come out (after refitting it failed much quicker the second time). As you can imagine, the only way to refit the seat is to partially deflate the boat! Not an great idea when out at sea so just a massive inconvenience. After it came out another three times I did not bother to refit. But with 2 children wanted to be in the boat not ideal.

Boatworld did eventually get me to the return the seat for them to test but frankly I knew what was coming. They sent a video of the seat fitted on there showroom with someone bouncing in it for a few seconds. Hardly the same conditions as going out to sea for a few hours. Really they need to have the whole boat back and take it to sea themselves.

So I'm getting the feeling I'm now just a thorn in there side that won't go away.

So I'd be interested if others have had the same problem or similar?

Thanks in advance.

[CRF999]

First of all yes it should be fit for purpose and they should do something about it!

Testing it on their boat is no good as it is only testing one half of the joint, but it does give a clue.

Looking at you picture it strikes me either the gap on the plastic / seat fitting is "too big"
or the rope sandwiched in the red side strip it "too small" thus allowing it to pull out of the gap.

As they say it worked on their boat it would imply to me their red rope is a larger diameter hence passing the test.

If they refuse to play ball properly you have two options one semi destructive and one not.

Start with the Non destructive first. Add as many layers of gaffer tape fully over your red rope and surround area as will allow the seat to still slide over it and then retest. The increased diameter of the red rope should now be too big to pull through the gap. If it still fails then something is really not right. This of course is totally removable and so should not affect your warranty but does prove the point.

Second way. If the shaped plastic channel will detach from the seat and has some meat to its thickness remove some material from the bottom so that you effectively close up the gap to achieve the same as above but from the other side. It could be that there are moulding marks that have not been trimmed back properly and are holding the strip to far away from the underside of the seat. Check the size of the gap on all four or your available slots to get an indication if this is the problem.

good luck with sorting it.

Clive

[CRF999]

looking a the pictures again there is a definite gap between the seat bottom and plastic channel implying a bigger gap.

Check your gaps and get it seated down properly and test again before modifying anything.

[Tequila]

I've just purchased the exact same SIB from Boatworld and so far I've not had any issues. Contrary to the instructions we forgot to fit the seats before inflation but managed to slide the beading in to the seat slots both sides when inflated. It's a bit fiddly but you can then slide the seat fully on to the beading by carefully applying pressure each side.
It is easy to misalign the beading. The principle is the same as caravan and motorhome awnings. To check the beading fits well try sliding the seat just on to one side and pull the seat to check the beading stays within the plastic seat moulding.
I'm washing the salt water off tomorrow so I'll be inflating the boat and take some pics if I remember.

[Tequila]

I've just purchased the exact same SIB from Boatworld and so far I've not had any issues. Contrary to the instructions we forgot to fit the seats before inflation but managed to slide the beading in to the seat slots both sides when inflated. It's a bit fiddly but you can then slide the seat fully on to the beading by carefully applying pressure each side.
It is easy to misalign the beading. The principle is the same as caravan and motorhome awnings. To check the beading fits well try sliding the seat just on to one side and pull the seat to check the beading stays within the plastic seat moulding.
I'm washing the salt water off tomorrow so I'll be inflating the boat and take some pics if I remember.

[Tequila]

A follow up from my previous reply.
I'm finding it easier to fit the seats when the tubes are pumped up. It's easy to see if you have engaged the seat slots on to the bead.
I cleaned the sib yesterday so I took a few photos to show how well the seat slots fit. I don't seem able to attach them just yet to the post unfortunately.
A good test to check if the bead is doing its job is to fit the seat on one side and pull the seat to check it's staying put. Then repeat on the other bead.

[Tequila]

Managed to upload the photos. You can see how well the seat moulding fits the bead. Not sure if it helps. Are you still having problems with the seat attachment on the 3.2 Air Floor?

[bun]

get 4 tarp peges that tighten onto the pvc runners

[Redbarron72]

Good grief I never replied to my post. I happen to be scanning the forum yesterday and found my own post.

So to conclude the outcome. Boatworld were pretty useless for a start. They could just not get their head round the issue. They asked me to send the seats back and then sent replacements that were exactly the same!

I ended up doing as CRF999 had suggested and removed the plastic part off the seat and took some material off with an electric plane.

Worked OK for a while but one did fail again this year. I manged to remove more material with a knife and now the gap is around only 1mm but it works. So I suspect the rope bead was too small as suggested.

Thanks for the help. Sorry I took 2 years to reply.