playpen seating?

Looking at pics of Moomba XLV - the bow has no walk thru, they call it playpen seating. Pros? Cons? Why ?

I have it and love it. The boat has so much room, there is no need for walk thru. Also, ballast is underneath playpen so its all hidden. I have the Gravity Games bags and that puts 1,000 pounds in the bow.

I have 6 foot plus adults that can lounge in the playpen very comfortably...also my 2 kids love playing up there, taking naps, etc.

me too, playpen bow has much more room than a walk-thru cause the floor is the same level as the seats. it's all use-able space and there's good storage under it.

only drawback that i can think of is, unless you're a 'no-shoes' nazi, there's a greater chance of someone walking on your vinyl.

The best thing about the playpen seating in my Sunsport (I assume it is the same in the XLV) is that the cusions in the would-be walkthrough fold into an upright position to make seatbacks. One facing forward for an extra seat in the bow, and one facing the rear for an extra seat by the driver. Definitely no shoes dude.

I was skeptical about playpen seating, but I bought an SSV anyway. Now I prefer the arrangement -- especially with the "double up" seating, which also gives you a windbreak. Plus, the playpen design in a Supra or Moomba creates much more storage/ballast space.

Anyone got a pic of what you mean exactly?

Playpen is the way to go - why the others don't do this is beyond me. Extra storage and an extra seat, it makes too much sense..

The playpen is one of the most comfortable places in the boat. I've had it for eleven years.

Here ya go:

had a playpen in my Sunsport and wouldn't even consider a walk thru in my new boat. Bought a Sport Nautique w/ playpen. More storage, more usable lounge space, looks better!

So its simply an extra cushion in the middle of the bow???? Forgive me for being simple-minded.

But it provides more storage, and extra seat, and in the case of my SSV, the ability to stretch that center ballast bag all the way up the center of the boat to accomodate a 1000 lbs bag

Talltigeguy, one way to create a playpen is to put a filler cushion in the center of the bow area. The cockpit floor still provides a "walk through" to get to the bow area, but it's covered over by the filler cushion in the bow area. This creates a "playpen," but it doesn't really do much to create additional storage space.

In Skiers Choice boats with playpen seating, the floor where the walk-through would be is raised to the height of the seat cushions. You have to walk or crawl on the cushions to get to the bow area instead of walking on the cockpit floor. Part of the space that normally is a "walk through" now is storage space.

Look at the second picture above and notice how the grey carpeted area is at the same level as the seat cushions. It would be at the cockpit floor level in a walk-through design (with or without a bow filler-cushion).

The part that is carpeted also is a cover for a storage area. It is hinged at the front and raises up at the rear to open a huge compartment that's both deep (from the hull floor to the height of the bottom of the seat cushions--as opposed to being shallow like a normal ski locker) and long (from the bow all the way back to a what would a jump seat in most boats).

Hope this helps explain it.

OK- it sounds like people like the playpen set-up with no shoes being the rule. Here is my question, when I launch my boat by myself I am climbing from the back of the truck into the bow(usually it is April or November and I have jeens and boots on.) How much of a pain is it to climb over the playpen to the normal floor?

Get on the bow using your knees and roll over into the play pen. Scoot over w/o touching your shoes to the vinyl. I've done it many times.

not a big deal. hop in, kick the boots off, and enjoy. that would be my first suggestion. but, it's not hard to slide on your butt a bit and swing your legs around through the break in the windshield to the floor. i wouldn't let that slow you down.

For some, that could be an inconvenience. With a playpen, you have to get across more than six feet of cushion to get to the floor.

I would not consider it a big deal, but I can understand why some would. Still, I'd be willing to make some adjustments to have a playpen. For example, is it really necessary to wear boots when going boating? Won't deck shoes work? Or, how about putting a blanket on the seat on those occasions when you have to wear shoes as you enter the boat?

I go on a camping trip once a year with just the guys. I plan on sleeping up there after a beer drenched night. Feet facing stern down the centerline. We usually sleep in our boats so it made sense(what little I have)to get playpen for a good nights sleep. Gotta watch out for that forward center cushion slipping off the brace though. I've noticed it can shift from side to side a bit which can put stress on the cushion backing itself when someone steps on it. I plan on getting with my dealer to get some blocking material on the backside to hold it in place.

The guy that owned my boat before me built a customer playpen setup in my 92 MC prostar 205. At first I didn't really like it, but now I love it. The coushins come off and I can throw a fat sack in there and still have room for three people to sit in the front and another facing backwards next to the driver. It also means that three people can sit up front and be shielded from the wind when it gets cold. Like Brian said, you can sleep there as well with you feet facing the back of the boat. Way better than sleeping on the ground or air matress on a camping trip.

If you can get that setup, get it. May be a little weird at first, but you will come to love it. It will def be on my next new boat.

SFH

Stanfield, any photos, I have been toying with the idea of making one myself.

Daniel

Daniel, I'll take some in the next day or two with and without the coushins on to show you how he did it. Like I said, the guy that owned the boat before me did it so I can't really offer up anything more than pictures of the setup. My only complaint would be the the added coushins don't match the rest of the interior, but then again, we're talking about a 12 y/o boat and the interior is usually the first thing to show wear and tear.

You have an email addy I can send the pics to or you want me to just post them here?

SFH