CONTINUOUSWAVE

Has anyone used [a wooden bench stern seat for a NAUSET, EASTPORT, or SAKONNET 16-footer]? I have searched but haven't really found any mention of [wooden bench stern seats for a NAUSET, EASTPORT, or SAKONNET 16-footer]. I see that most [NAUSET, EASTPORT, or SAKONNET 16-footers] do not have stern seats.

Why do most [NAUSET, SAKONNET, or EASTPORT 16-footer owners] opt not to go with stern seating?

A wooden stern bench seat was standard in the EASTPORT. You can see one in this old catalogue photograph:



The EASTPORT model costs $160 more than the base NAUSET. That up-charge gave the you a rear seat, a fire extinguisher, a compass, and seven cushions. The more expensive SAKONNET model was intended as a fishing boat, so it removed the stern seat to improve the cockpit room.

The most reasonable explanation why most present day owners of classic Boston Whaler 16-foot NAUSET and SAKONNET models to not have a stern seat is that those models never had a stern seat.

I don't know that there is any basis for your speculation that most present day owners of a classic Boston Whaler 16-foot EASTPORT have removed the stern seat. Perhaps this may have occurred in some cases, but I don't accept that it is always true. A more reasonable view is that the EASTPORT was the only model to have the stern seat, and perhaps you just have not seen any old EASTPORT models.