Broken Seat Bolster

[Bill D]

One side of the plastic bolster bracket on my 2011 242LS finally busted the other day. Checked pricing on YamahaSportsPlaza and a new seat is over $1,300. I reached out to the seat manufacturer who @Murf'n'surf mentioned here. I was then referred to their Arkansas plant (800)759-5769 where I spoke to Nicole. Nicole was very nice and confirmed that they did make the Yamaha seats, but they do not offer replacement bolster brackets. (She also thought that $1,300 was an insane amount of money for a replacement seat.)

On a side note, she was hopeful that it would fall in their 5 year frame warranty, but I am a good year outside of that time frame. This could be good info for anyone who has a seat fail in the 5 years and didn't buy the YES.

They could sell a local dealer a stock seat, but they don't have the matching Yamaha vinyl so I would have to have it reupholstered.

So, I'm thinking through my options on how I can fix this because right now it's not really that functional...

1. I can remove the bolster and use the seat as is. This would work and be only a moderate inconvenience that I would have to stand up instead of lean.
2. I can pony up an absurd amount of money and buy a new OEM seat. And resent it every time I look at it.
3. I can try to get really clever and fabricate a replacement part. It seems others have looked at this option and as of yet been unsuccessful.
4. Find a dealer that will buy me a stock seat from Wise and an upholstery shop to swap the vinyl over and hope it doesn't come out to $1k.

Can anyone think of an option that I haven't covered yet? Any input is appreciated!

 

[MrMoose]

Buy the stock seat from Wise. Take the part that you need from it and swap it with the broken part. That way you don't have to reupholster. ... and you'll have lots of leftover spare seat parts

 

[Floyd]

Does the seat mfg make bolsters for any other boat company? I recently ordered a flip-up bolster for my 2016
Scarab 195 for ~200$. Maybe they use the same core form?

 

[buckbuck]

@Bill D What part broke? Can you post some pictures? I had to rebuild my bolster last year so I may have some ideas.

 

[AJDerzie]

I got a new seat with one day to go on my YES! Whew!
You could remove the bolster and add a telescoping pedestal under the seat for height adjustment. Might actually be more convenient than bolster!

 

[Matt Phillips]

On my 09 232, I ordered an adjustable seat base. Here's the number that fit that: Garelick Adjustable Seat Base GAR-75635. I don't know if it'd be an exact match for the seat on your specific boat, but it'd be a place to start. When I installed it, it only required lifting the old seat out of the base and then removing 8 screws.

 

[Tony Jarvis]

Does anyone know if Wise makes the seat also for the 2013 ar240 I talked to Nicole very helpful but I'm not finding my seat on their site

 

[Tony Jarvis]

I got a new seat with one day to go on my YES! Whew!
You could remove the bolster and add a telescoping pedestal under the seat for height adjustment. Might actually be more convenient than bolster!

Who did you contact I have Yes until 7/18
The dealer said it's not covered
Thank you