Passenger bench or port side capt chair?

[El Comandante]

Really undecided on what seating layout we should get for port side. Wife enjoys laying out sunning but she can do that aft or at the bow.

Which layout is more practical to maximize passengers, comfort, and space?

Thanks

 

[HangOutdoors]

The Admiral loves the bench J Seating on the Port side. I prefer the Captain's chair. Soooooo we have the bench.

 

[buckbuck]

We prefer our 2008 212X seating which has the bench with storage underneath over the newer 212X which has the captains chair. You will have to balance the pro's and con's as a family.

 

[jsg73]

Very personal choice.
I don’t care but the wife wanted the chair so we upgraded to a 212x while shopping last summer. Who am I to argue

 

[sunbyrned]

My wife likes laying on the bench under the bimini. Maybe something to consider. The bench can convert to a chair as well.

 

[Bluewater272]

We really wanted the captains chairs after only having a bench on our previous boat.


...she never sits in the captains chair unless its early in the season and she wants the windblock.

 

[AZMark]

The chair spins around and reclines for lounging with your feet up.
For space the bench is probably better.

Edit - why doesn’t the driver seat spin like that too? It would be so nice when sitting at anchor to have that seat face straight sideways or backwards.

 

[HangOutdoors]

In my boat, once you take out the set screw the Driver's seat spins around.

 

[Canuckjetboater]

Really undecided on what seating layout we should get for port side. Wife enjoys laying out sunning but she can do that aft or at the bow.

Which layout is more practical to maximize passengers, comfort, and space?

Thanks

@El Comandante ....have your Admiral sit in both. Mine hated the bench seat. Get a captain's chair - whoever is seated in it can turn it 180 degrees and face backward - if they want to.

 

[Crob83]

J seating for me. Much more openess and better in a 19 ft boat IMO

 

[Dough]

Wife gave an eye roll and said "Guess I'm suppose to look at your ear the whole time?" Hated the bench.

 

[zipper]

The chair spins around and reclines for lounging with your feet up.
For space the bench is probably better.

Edit - why doesn’t the driver seat spin like that too? It would be so nice when sitting at anchor to have that seat face straight sideways or backwards.

The Helm/captain chair turns 180° on my 07.

 

[adrianp89]

Bench is much preferred. I think once my new cooler arrives, we actually going to take out the bench and put coolers there with SeaDek on the cooler. Easy access for coolers, still a bench, and leaves the boat more open. Plus if we don't bring a cooler to put there, it is a good space for the dogs to lay.

 

[IvanRZB]

We have the dual captain's chairs. One thing I do like about it, at least in our 190, is that when the port side chair faces forward someone can sit on the bench directly behind it and face aft while leaning on the back of the capt chair. This makes it more comfortable to sit and keep an eye on tubers.

With that said, the bench seems like a more efficient use of storage since you get that floor space underneath.

 

[TimW451]

The opposite of whatever you have, of course.

Most models come with one or the other, not a choice, and I’d expect other differences to set the priority and not the seat type. Then again I was planning and hoping for a simple 19’ boat and a head locker got me a 24’!

 

[HangOutdoors]

If you have the bench, you can add a captain's chair without too much effort. Someone here did it. That way you have the best of both worlds just switch them depending on the trip and crew you are taking. I am not sure about the other way from captains to a bench if it can be done. But of course the boat would dictate what it would have.

 

[mwalker4]

I agree with a lot of the above. We are empty nesters, so the wife says captains chairs. It's what we always have had and it works great for two - six, especially in the Covid world. If we had a brood of kids, I'd go with bench. Bench maximizes space and capacity for large outings. I think that's why the AR has the bench and the SX has the chairs in the 19 footers.

 

[jamesk]

For me... hands down...Bench.
I think we got an SX210 ( same bench as AR) before they switched back to chairs and very happy.
Last boat was a 19 I/o with capt chair.
Numerous times I pulled the chair out and tried to figure out how I could build a bench to replace it, never figured it out.
The chair is comfortable but the bench is so much better for storage and space.
The capt chair just seems to take up too much space, even more when you rotate it.

 

[Canuckjetboater]

If you have the bench, you can add a captain's chair without too much effort. Someone here did it. That way you have the best of both worlds just switch them depending on the trip and crew you are taking. I am not sure about the other way from captains to a bench if it can be done. But of course the boat would dictate what it would have.

@HangOutdoors .....I had a friend who did just that and he upped the game a bit - he bought his Admiral the captain's chair WITH bolster - that bought him a few "get out of jail free" cards. BTW - they use the Captain's chair configuration 90% of the time, but they do have the option. I have also seen the REVERSE....it would be real easy using a plywood or better yet a starboard (waterproof) base to build a bench and have an auto shop cover it. You could probably even order matching covering from Yamaha.

 

[2kwik4u]

My wife likes laying on the bench under the bimini. Maybe something to consider. The bench can convert to a chair as well.

These models were the best of both worlds.

We have the bench, and it was a toss up at purchase time. The tower was more important than the seat, so we got the AR instead of the SX190. Now that the 195S is a thing, we probably would have gotten that to have both.

I will say that the storage under the seat on the port side is AMAZING. We have TWO coolers under there, and our shoes for the day. SOOOO convenient!