CONTINUOUSWAVE

In front of the center console [of a 1972 OUTRAGE 21 Ribside] there is a seat. The cushions are worn out. I would like to remove the seat and get an IGLOO 94-quart marine cooler with cushion.

The prior owner said he would never do that as [an IGLOO cooler seat] is not original. I need a cooler. I don’t plan on a restoration project, and I am not qualified to do one. I’ve read here no one will ever pay the shop hours for a restoration.

Q1: What are your thoughts [about replacing the seat with a cooler]?

Q2: Can I remove the seat and install a cooler without insulting the enthusiasts?

Backstory: in 2018 I purchased my first boat, a 1970 13-footer with an 1995 Evinrude 35-HP. The engine starts after a few turns and purrs. I live on a small lake in Jersey. The boat was and is perfect. [In 2019] I dropped the 13-footer in the bay and took it out to the ocean--what a peaceful feeling being able to remain on hydroplane for more than a few seconds. Obviously the 13-footer is not an ideal ocean fishing vessel so I was due for something bigger.

On June 22, 2020, I picked up a 1972 Outrage 21 Ribside with a 2008 Yamaha engine. The boat is not in a showroom condition, but I needed something that I can use for ocean angling. The seller mentioned how is all original; he really had a passion for this boat. [There are the] normal spider cracks--which I have on my 13--and they didn’t bother me at all.

Now that you have owned the boat for one day, you are certainly free to alter its configuration as you like. Use of a cooler seat forward of the center console on a Boston Whaler boat is very common, so re-configuring your boat to have that seating is not particularly blasphemous.

Boston Whaler founder Dick Fisher owned a OUTRAGE 21 Ribside boat, which was featured in an article in YACHTING Magazine in 1972. I have reproduced the article at

http://continuouswave.com/whaler/reference/yachtingEyesABoat.html

In an illustration in that article you can see what Mr. Fisher placed in front of the center console when he was angling: a plastic garbage can. If Dick Fisher can put a plastic garbage can in front of the center console of his OUTRAGE 21 and have it shown in a prestigious national boating magazine, I am rather sure you can put a IGLOO cooler seat there on your boat without offending anyone in particular.

What console do you have? How is the seat attached?

While you can do anything you want, here are two comments.

1. You can obtain a replacement cushion from an OEM vendor that will fit the seat and match any existing OEM cushions.
http://www.amfg.us

2. If you do remove the seat, save it just in case. The cooler cushion can also be obtained by the OEM vendor.

this is exactly what we did with our ribside.
we also, removed the shepards hook, and put a cooler seat across the console for our passengers.

Mike - Can you share a photo?

biggiefl wrote:What console do you have? How is the seat attached?

how do i upload a photo?saying too big

its a mounted seat with 2 original cushions in front of the mahagony console



boats eta is 1 hr a 1200 mile trek from fl to nj so never saw in person yet just facetime vids and pics

Vintage13outrage21 wrote:https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/0B0AAOSwsVVe0GS1/s-l1600.jpg

she just arrived and didnt realize how huge she is compared to my 13 whaler looks amazing sea trials tmrw am so excited !!!!