Sea Hunt boat seating: bow, helm, leaning post and stern

Which leaning post comes on each Sea Hunt?

The leaning post is the seat behind the steering wheel on a center console. It's called a leaning post because on older boats it was just a padded bar you leaned against while you stood and drove. Today most posts carry two captain's chairs with backs, and the cushions flip up so you can stand against them instead. What's under, behind and around those chairs is where Sea Hunt's models part ways.

From our model pages (Oct 2026). Optional posts differ by model; see the next section.

Three styles cover most of the lineup. An aluminum post is a welded frame with chairs on top. It's the lightest option and leaves the space underneath open for a cooler. Sea Hunt offers a cooler slide and a custom cooler for its aluminum posts, and a tackle center with a backrest on the smaller Ultras. A mezzanine post is a molded fiberglass unit with an aft-facing seat built into its back, so two more people can sit facing the cockpit. On the Ultras it hides a cooler or a small livewell under that seat; on the Gamefish it hides a 40-gallon livewell. A bait-tank post puts a livewell in the post itself, so the bait is an arm's length from the helm.

The Entertainment Center on the Ultra 305 SE is a different idea. It combines a freshwater sink, a 35-quart cooler, a Corian countertop, a pull-out drawer, a wine glass rack, dual flip-up footrests, two wireless phone chargers, cup holders, a flip-out trash can and a dog bowl drawer. It's built for hosting at anchor, not for rigging baits. It's optional on many Ultras, from the 234 through the 285 SE, so a family that wants it doesn't have to buy the biggest boat.

A practical test at the dock: sit in the captain's chair, then flip the cushion up and stand against it with your hands on the wheel. You should see over the windshield standing and still reach the throttle and the display seated. If either position is awkward for your height, ask which other posts that hull accepts before you rule out the boat.

Where is the seating on a Sea Hunt?

From our model pages, Oct 2026. Equipment can change by model year.

Read the table as a map of where bodies go. The bow is the social end of the boat on Ultras and the BX 25 FS and BX 28, which list bow cushions and backrests as standard on most models. The helm is the driver's seat on every model, and the post behind it is where the series really differ. The stern is open on most Ultras and BX boats, which keeps the transom clear for fishing, swimming or boarding from a ladder.

Bolsters deserve a word. A bolster is the padded rim along the inside of the gunwale. It's not a seat; it's what your thighs lean against while you stand and fish, and what a passenger braces against when the boat crosses a wake. Cockpit bolsters are standard on nearly every current Sea Hunt, and bow bolsters on most.

Can you choose a different leaning post?

Often, yes, and this is the most useful thing to know before you order. Most models offer optional posts, so the post on the boat you first see isn't the only one that fits. The options follow the boat's purpose.

• Ultra 229. Swap the aluminum post for an Ultra bait-tank post with captain's chairs.
• Ultra 234 and 235 SE. Choose the Entertainment Center, the Ultra bait-tank post or the Ultra mezzanine fiberglass post.
• Ultra 239 SE and 245 SE. The same Entertainment and bait-tank choices, plus a lighter aluminum post.
• Ultra 255 SE and 265 SE. Choose the Entertainment Center or the Ultra bait-tank post. Ultra 275 SE: the Entertainment Center.
• Ultra 285 SE and 305 SE. A Battle Station post with captain's chairs is offered, and the 305 SE also lists the mezzanine fiberglass post and a mezzanine post designed for a Seakeeper stabilizer.
• Gamefish 25 and BX 25 FS / BX 28. Trade the bait-tank post for an aluminum post with captain's chairs.
• Gamefish 27 CB. Trade the mezzanine post for a bait-tank post. Gamefish 30 CB: Battle Station post or the Seakeeper mezzanine post.
• BX 22 BR. Upgrade from the aluminum post to a bait-tank post with captain's chairs.

Pick by use: the Entertainment Center for a couple who mostly cruise to dinner and the sandbar, a bait-tank post for anglers slow-trolling live bait, and the standard mezzanine post for a family that does both. Decide at order time. The post is bolted through the deck, wired for the helm and, if it holds a livewell, plumbed to pumps and drains, so changing it later is rarely simple. If you already own a Sea Hunt, ask a dealer which posts Sea Hunt offers for your hull and model year.

What seating is in the bow of a Sea Hunt?

On most Ultras and on the Gamefish 25 and 27 FS, the bow is a lounge. Bow backrests and bow bolsters are standard, with bow cushions on most of them and storage under the seats: 148 quarts on each side on the Ultra 255 SE, 265 SE and 275 SE, and 198 on each side on the 285 SE and 305 SE. The 255 SE adds a contoured bow cushion and a bow beverage center, and offers a bow filler cushion that closes the gap between the seats so the whole bow becomes one pad. The Gamefish 25, Gamefish 27 FS and the Ultra 265, 275, 285 and 305 SE list a telescoping bow table.

The CB models take the other road. On the Gamefish 27, 28 and 30 CB, the bow holds a coffin box (256 quarts on the 27, 320 on the 28 and 30) with bow bolsters, not bow cushions. A coffin box is a long insulated box down the centerline, big enough to ice a limit of mahi or a wahoo. It doubles as a casting platform. The Ultra 275 CB uses the same idea with a 256-quart sun lounge storage box.

The BX bay boats split. The BX 25 FS and BX 28 list bow cushions and backrests; the BX 22 BR lists a 200-quart bow storage area and no bow cushions, so its bow stays a flat casting deck. Sea Hunt offers a bow casting chair as an option on the BX 22 BR and BX 25 FS, for anglers who sit and work a trolling motor along a mangrove edge.

One Florida note: the bow is the wettest, roughest and sunniest seat on any boat. In a 2-foot afternoon chop, bow passengers should move aft.

How do the helm, cockpit and stern seats work?

At the helm. Two captain's chairs on the leaning post are standard across the lineup, and Sea Hunt shows its aluminum posts with flip-up bolsters. Most experienced captains drive standing with the bolster up, knees soft, and sit when the water is flat. Standing lets your legs absorb the boat's motion. In a short, steep chop off Sebastian Inlet, the boat moves you less than it moves the seat. Seated is better on a long glassy run up the Intracoastal, when fatigue matters more than motion.

Around the cockpit. The space between the leaning post and the transom is open on nearly every Sea Hunt, so the cockpit itself has no fixed seats. That's on purpose. It's where you fight fish, rig baits, load coolers and step aboard through the side entry door, which is standard on the Ultra 235 SE and up (dual doors on the 255 SE, 265 SE, 275 SE, 285 SE and 305 SE) and on the Gamefish models. Mezzanine posts give the cockpit its seats without blocking that floor.

At the stern. The Gamefish 25, 27, 28 and 30 have a rear bench seat. On a boat built for trolling, a seat at the transom gives the crew somewhere to sit between bites while the lines stay in view. The Ultra and BX models don't list a rear bench as standard, which keeps the transom clear for a swim ladder, a cast net or a trolling motor harness on the BX models.

Count seats honestly. A bow seat is useless in a head sea and a mezzanine seat faces backward, so the real number is how many people can sit safely on a rough run home: on most center consoles, the helm seats plus the mezzanine. The capacity plate sets the legal limit.

Which Sea Hunt seating suits family days or fishing?

Every seating choice is a trade between comfort and open deck. More cushions mean more places to lounge and fewer places to stand and cast. A fixed bench makes a comfortable seat and gets in the way when a fish runs around the stern. The right balance depends on what most of your trips look like, not your best trip of the year.

Two examples. A family of five who spend Saturdays at a sandbar near Haulover Canal and fish for trout on Sunday mornings will use the bow lounge and the mezzanine seat every trip. An Ultra 255 SE or 265 SE with the standard mezzanine post fits that pattern, and the in-floor storage swallows towels and the anchor line. Two friends who chase kingfish and mahi out of Port Canaveral every weekend will feel the opposite. They want a coffin box, a big livewell behind the helm and a rear bench for the slow hours, which is a Gamefish CB layout.

The Gamefish 25 and the BX 25 FS sit in the middle. Both carry a bait-tank post and still have bow cushions and backrests. If you're torn, walk through these layouts first.

What upholstery do Sea Hunt seats have, and how do you care for it?

Sea Hunt builds seats in white, tan or gray. Tan and gray are a premium polyester vinyl blend, every color gets an abrasion-resistant Oasis topcoat, and deluxe diamond stitching is standard on every current model. Darker vinyl runs hotter in Florida sun; white shows stains sooner.

Care is simple: rinse cushions with fresh water after every trip, wash with a mild marine-vinyl soap (no bleach or solvents), let them dry before covering, and use a leaning post cover or cockpit drape (both offered by Sea Hunt) to keep UV off. A seat that stays spongy or musty has wet foam, which is an upholstery shop job.

How can you upgrade seating on a Sea Hunt you already own?

Small changes make a real difference, and most don't involve moving the leaning post. Sea Hunt offers several add-ons for its posts: a tackle center with a backrest for the aluminum post on the smaller Ultras and BX 22 BR, a cooler slide and a custom Sea Hunt cooler that fits under aluminum posts, and on the bay boats a bow casting chair. The Ultra 255 SE offers a bow filler cushion that turns the bow into a single sun pad, and the BX 22 BR lists cockpit bolsters as an extra.

Start with the cheapest change that solves the actual complaint: bolsters or a backrest for passengers sliding around, a bow filler for more seats at anchor. For a different leaning post, get the part list for your hull and model year first, since Sea Hunt changes molds and posts over time.