Page 73: of Marine News Magazine (November 2014)

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Seating Solutions Evolve

As the fast boat sector has evolved over the past decade, the diversity of potential seating solutions has grown with it. RIB and high speed craft seats need to provide a good ergonomic po- sition for the different requirements of helmsman, crew and passengers.

Comfort is important so seating de- sign needs to allow space for occu- pants PPE and personal fl oatation devices. Some organizations require webbing and body armor to be worn and weapons to be carried. This may require an adjustable seat with built in personal storage for equipment.

For the past thirty years typical seating for RHIBs and fast craft has been jockey (straddle) or leaning post with foam cushioning. Due to higher operational speeds many organiza- tions are now using or considering suspension seating. The objective of a suspension seat is to separate the helmsman and crew from the worst effects of vibration and impact. Sus- pension seating may have feet on or off the deck. A jockey suspension seat is where a percentage of the occupant’s weight is spread between backside on the seat and feet on the deck. Typical stroke or travel of the suspension is 6” (150mm) to prevent bottoming out.

The next generation of seats have the option to adjust for height and weight which allows for a broad size range of occupants. This adjustment has to be supported with clear instructions and onboard briefi ng as a badly adjusted seat can be an issue.

A conventional suspension seat with feet on footrests carries all of the occupant’s weight. Suspension travel for semi-displacement craft seating starts around 4” (100mm). For ex- treme fast craft, the travel can be over 8” (200mm). It is becoming increas- ingly relevant to either select the cor- rect seat for the boat or tune the seat to the boat. In rough conditions the seat is the only part of the boat that humans can travel on so increasingly workstations will be attached to the seat. 6 man controlled environment suspension system photo: Shockwave www.marinelink.com

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