Boat Seat Mounting Assembly

Abstract

A seat mounting assembly is provided for attachment to a transverse bench-style seat of a fishing or Jon-type boat. The seat mounting assembly is quickly and easily attached to the bench-style seat such that the seat mounting assembly allows a seat attached thereto to, both, slide longitudinally to the transverse bench seat and be selectively locked into place, such that the seat cannot move relative to the transverse bench. The unique interface of the base and the rails of the seat mounting assembly helps ensure that the seat mounting assembly will not tip relative to the bench-style seat, while the low profile design of the seat mounting assembly helps keep that center of gravity of a boat to which the seat mounting assembly is installed substantially unchanged.

1 . A low-profile seat mounting assembly for use with a boat having a bench seat that spans a space that exists between a pair of side walls, wherein the bench seat includes a top panel, the seat mounting assembly comprising:
 a first elongate rail configured to be mounted to the top panel;   a second elongate rail configured to be mounted to the top panel in a spaced apart and substantially parallel relationship with the first elongate rail;   a seat base slidingly engaged with the first elongate rail and the second elongate rail such that the seat base spans the space between the two rails; and   a locking mechanism for selectively locking the seat base into position relative to at least one of the first elongate rail and the second elongate rail.   
   
   
       2 . The low-profile seat mounting assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the first elongate rail and the second elongate rail are substantially identical. 
   
   
       3 . The low-profile seat mounting assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the first elongate rail and the second elongate rail each have an upper surface and a lower surface, wherein a width of the upper surface is larger than a width of the lower surface for at least one of the first elongate rail and the second elongate rail. 
   
   
       4 . The low-profile seat mounting assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the first elongate rail and the second elongate rail both include a plurality of mounting holes for mounting the rails to the top panel. 
   
   
       5 . The low-profile seat mounting assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the seat base includes a first positioning hole. 
   
   
       6 . The low-profile seat mounting assembly of  claim 5 , wherein the first elongate rail includes a plurality of second positioning holes. 
   
   
       7 . The low-profile seat mounting assembly of  claim 6 , wherein the locking mechanism locks the seat base into position relative the first elongate rail by insertion of the locking mechanism through the first positioning hole and one of the plurality of second positioning holes. 
   
   
       8 . The low-profile seat mounting assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the profile of the seat mounting assembly is less than one inch. 
   
   
       9 . The low-profile seat mounting assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the first rail and the second rail are adapted to extend substantially the entire space between the pair of side walls. 
   
   
       10 . The low-profile seat mounting assembly of  claim 1 , wherein a lower surface of the seat base is substantially parallel to and spaced apart from a lower surface of one of the first rail and the second rail. 
   
   
       11 . A method of using a low-profile seat mounting assembly in a boat that includes a transverse, bench-style seat and two boat side walls, wherein the low-profile seat mounting assembly includes a seat base that slidingly engages a first elongate rail and a second elongate rail, the method comprising:
 attaching the first elongate rail to a top panel of the bench-style seat;   attaching the second elongate rail to the top panel of the bench-style seat;   sliding the seat base to a desired position along the first and second elongate rails; and   locking the seat base into position relative to at least one of the first elongate rail and the second elongate rail, such that the seat base remains substantially fixed relative to the first elongate rail and the second elongate rail.   
   
   
       12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein attaching the first elongate rail to the top panel is done so that the first elongate rail is substantially perpendicular to the boat side walls. 
   
   
       13 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein locking the seat base into position relative to at least one of the first elongate rail and the second elongate rail is done by inserting a shaft through a pair of substantially coaxial holes.