How to Install a Cane Canoe Seat

Cane canoe seats offer a comfortable -- because the cane gives when you sit on it -- durable surface for sitting on while paddling. All commercial cane seats conform to standard sizing, so installing a seat in any canoe follows the same procedure. For a new installation, drill holes in the canoe's gunwales, which are the rails running from bow to stern, then cut the seat to the correct width. Most handymen can complete the project in a few hours using hand-held tools.

Things You'll Need

  • Tape measure
  • Drill
  • 1/4-inch drill bit
  • Pencil
  • Saw
  • Wooden canoe seat spacer
  • Four 1/4-inch stainless steel bolts
  • Four 1/4-inch stainless steel washers
  • 1/4-inch wrench
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Instructions

    • 1

      Consult the canoe's plans or literature to determine the seat's correct location.

    • 2

      Drill a 1/4-inch hole in the gunwale at the correct place for the front of the seat. Repeat in the opposite gunwale.

    • 3

      Drill a 1/4-inch hole 9 inches on center behind the first hole. Repeat in the opposite gunwale.

    • 4

      Place the cane canoe seat centered over the gunwales. Line up the seat's rails centered over the holes. Because the canoe seat comes with long rails, it will overhang both sides.

    • 5

      Mark where the holes hit the seat's rails by pushing a pencil through the holes. Drill 1/4-inch holes into the wood at the marks.

    • 6

      Mark cut lines for the rails by drawing a line across the rail that reflects the shape of the canoe's planking, the wood, plastic or composite material sandwiched between the gunwales. Saw along the cut lines to cut the seat's rails to the correct length.

    • 7

      Run a stainless steel bolt through the gunwale hole, through the hole in the center of the canoe seat spacer and into the corresponding hole in the seat. Place a washer on the end and then secure it with a bolt. Repeat for all four holes.