CONTINUOUSWAVE

How are the two aft seats [on a 2001 160 DAUNTLESS] removed?
--glurtis

BACKSTORY: I want to gain more to install a cooler.

The aft seats on our 1999 Dauntless 16 were simply cushions held in by snaps. They were removable in about one minute. Under the bottom cushion was the lid to an under seat storage area. That whole area is too small to add a cooler unless it is perhaps less than a cubic foot in size. The console or RPS would provide much more storage space for a small cooler.

Much simpler than I thought. Thank you.

glurtis

Just to clarify Butch's answer, you can't remove the aft seats without major surgery. They are molded as part of the aft cockpit/deck assembly that also includes the splashwell and aft "platforms". You can see this in the parts diagram at https://www.bostonwhaler.com/content/dam/boston-whaler/technical/resources/160-Dauntless-Sterndeck-Assembly-2001.pdf. The seat tops can be removed easily enough (they just hinge open after you unsnap the cushions), but as Butch said there's room in there for soft cooler bag but not a "real" cooler. I doubt you could easily add one in the console, but the pilot's seat would probably accommodate one, or it could probably be replaced with a Montauk-style pilot's seat with a cooler beneath.

-Bob