Many owners of older ELF’s have found that the aluminum seat can break or bend. Taking the seat to a welding shop is normally far cheaper than purchasing a new one from Organic Transit.
Here’s one example of a repair where the ELF owner changed the entire recumbent seat to a more upright boating seat.
By Diane Bankston
Supplies:
2 2×4 cut to 12in
1 1×12 oak cut to 12in
(I used oak because it’s strong, but you can use other woods. Places like Home Depot will cut it for you if you don’t have a saw.)
4 2×3 in L Brackets
1pk #6×5/8″ Construction screws (for the L Brackets)
2 1/4in-20x3in Bolts, Nuts and Washers
4 1/4in-20x2in Bolts, Nuts and Washers
1 Sliding boat seat bracket (Springfield Marine Co Universal Trac-Lok Ii. Can be found on Amazon for $60.24)
1 Boat seat of your choice (Check the weight. Basic seat weighs about 10 lbs.)
Total materials, depending on the seat you get, cost me about $120.
First you want to match the bolt holes on the seat. The easiest way is lay a sheet of paper over the seat bottom and use a pen to put a hole through the paper.
Line the paper on the 12×12 Oak and mark your holes. Use a 1/4 in drill bit and drill your holes. Mount the smaller side of the bracket to the board with the 20x2in Bolts and secure with nuts and washers. Once you have done this you can line up the L brackets on the 2×4’s on the inside. It is important to put the brackets on the 2×4’s first, before mounting to the 12×12 board, using the construction screws.
Line up your original seat brackets on the frame of your ELF. Set the 2×4’s, with the brackets, on them and they will line perfectly. The frame bars are 6″ apart. The brackets will touch and leave just enough space for the bolts that you previously installed on the 12×12. Mark the bolt holes from the ELF brackets. Remove and drill out the holes
Now that all holes have been drilled we can finish putting everything together. Line the 2×4’s up on the 12×12 and finish installing with the construction screws. Make sure the holes drilled on the 2×4’s are in the front with the handle of the bracket. Now that the platform has been completed, slide the seat bracket fully one way. This will reveal the 2 end screw holes that will line up with the seat screw holes. Boat seats come with their own 4 bolts. Make sure the handle for the slider is at the front of the seat. Screw the bracket to the seat. Slide the bracket the opposite way to finish bolting the other side. Now the seat is complete.
Place in the ELF and line up the dilled holes with the ELF brackets. Use the 20x3in Bolts to mount to the ELF.
The seat adds bounce when hitting bumps and easily slides since the bracket is self lubricating. Boat seats have a standard bolt pattern. Just keep in mind the weight when picking your seat. If looking for a different kind of seat, make sure that you can drill into the base of it. Otherwise boat seats will work great with this bracket.
Plus, if your long legged, you can always move your ELF brackets further back. Then the slider of the bracket will go further back than the original seat did.
Hope you enjoy.