Your favorite, non-tippy deck chair

You have tried several deck chairs over the years. Some tossed you out with the smallest wake, others silently deteriorated in the sun, til finally your butt burst thru, spilling your Malbec all over your white deck shoes.

But finally, you found the perfect folding deck chair: comfy, grippy, and tough.

Share your discovery, skipper. A new generation of trawler owners are standing by waiting for your nomination!

Mark

Vancouver BC

Do you have a favorite?

Our favorite is the under-$10 folding camp chairs, available at WalMart and just about anywhere else. We put a little felt on the black plastic "feet" so they don't mark the deck.

Bean bag chairs are our favorite. But they're dangerous: they're very sleep-inducing

Greetings,
Welcome aboard.

RT Firefly said:

Greetings,
Welcome aboard.

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Gabe n Em said:

Bean bag chairs are our favorite. But they're dangerous: they're very sleep-inducing

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Walmart bean bag chairs, $29 a piece. Very comfy and sleep inducing.

Re "Favorite Deck Chair"

Thank you all for your warm welcome to Trawler Forum! I thought I would briefly respond with a bit about us.

We have just completed 12 years of cruising in warm waters aboard our Norseman 447 sailboat, "Wendaway". Very sorry to see her go, but delighted to find ourselves in partnership on a comfy yet sturdy Nordic Tug 32, and ready to once again explore the Pacific Northwest.

I've had boats pretty much continuously since I was 13 years old, which makes that 57 years on the water. Started off in a Lido 14, in San Diego; then many other small craft, and, as a young adult, a 38 foot converted commercial westcoast salmon troller.

Since then (an through an intervening career as a journalist) we've had sailboats, canoes, kayaks without interruption. In 2006 I retired to a Valiant 40 and began some earnest cruising in the warm waters off Mexico's Pacific coast.

Met my wife 43 years ago in the northern British Columbia coastal town of Port Hardy. On one particularly brilliant evening, I was sitting on a rickety deck chair (yes, it is true) on my troller and a cute 30 foot gillnetter cruised into the fishermen's wharf, and unbelievably, a tall willowy lass hops out and makes her boat fast to the dock. Needless to say, I was impressed that there was no fellow aboard!

I have a lot to learn about trawler life! and am delighted to make your acquaintance here on this forum. Thanks so much for the warm welcome!!!

Mark

[granddaughter Lili M at the helm]

That's funny, those two are the chairs I have in your first post.

Very happy with these made in Greece by Forma

Strongback Chairs

The most comfortable chair I have found that supports my back in all the right places.

Welcome aboard.

I use the same genre chairs as CapnTom and Fly. $20 each at Sams, toss them when they get ratty after a couple of seasons. The boat came with a nice set of teak chairs and a table. I got really tired of the upkeep. Now Sams chairs are on the aft deck and the teak stuff is in a sunroom at the house.

I take it back - checked out Fly's Strongback chairs - nice. Way nicer than what I use.

The only movable seats we have are bean bags. They are great for on the foredeck. Occasionally we just float around the water in them on a hot day, but hey do take a while to dry out.

All of our other seating is built in. The water here gets a bit rougher than some areas, so anything unattached wouldn't be much use a lot of the time.

Mine get folded up and stowed below unless they're in use. Usually used only when tied up or anchored. Use built-in seating underway.

Our favorite is the Pawley's Island Swing chair. We have three of them hanging from the overhead on the aft deck. VERY comfortable!!!
https://www.houzz.com/product/103280616-pawleys-island-hammocks-cushioned-single-swing-regencydigo-beach-style-hammocks-and-swing-chairs

We also have a Nordic Tug 32 and use the Pico folding chairs by GCI Outdoors. They are pricey, but fold down very small (think the size of a large laptop bag). They are small enough to use in the cockpit, but sturdy enough to use on the upper deck when it gets a bit rolly while anchored. The only things we don't like are the price (though we think it is worth it) and the fact that they are not good for a beach because if sand gets in the telescoping mechanism for the legs it can mess them up. If you search around you can often find them for a fair bit less than retail. Last time we got a discount by purchasing two off of Amazon.

gaston said:

Very happy with these made in Greece by Forma

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We also have the Forma Marine chairs, and they are PHENOMENAL. Very sturdy, and EXTREMELY lightweight. Super easy to toss them one handed wherever you need them to be for storage. Highly recommended.

You can get the blue ones on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/FORMA-MARINE-Folding-Anodized-Aluminium/dp/B01AT43I96

Although I got the gray to match my hull, which I had to order direct from Forma's website: https://www.formamarine.com/en/marine/boat-chairs/folding-aluminum-boat-chair-M100G

I wanted wood, so I greatly overspent on a set of adjustable teak ones with mesh fabric seats and backs. The backs are tall enough for head support when reclined.

For me I wanted to be able to lie back and relax, so adjustable was the only path to consider. Otherwise, from friends have the Forma chairs and they're great.

I carry 5 of the SeaTeak folding chairs, love them although a bit big so storage isn’t easy. I store them under the sailing tender on the top deck.

Pico chairs revisited

Carolena said:

We also have a Nordic Tug 32 and use the Pico folding chairs by GCI Outdoors. They are pricey, but fold down very small (think the size of a large laptop bag). They are small enough to use in the cockpit, but sturdy enough to use on the upper deck when it gets a bit rolly while anchored. The only things we don't like are the price (though we think it is worth it) and the fact that they are not good for a beach because if sand gets in the telescoping mechanism for the legs it can mess them up. If you search around you can often find them for a fair bit less than retail. Last time we got a discount by purchasing two off of Amazon.

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Howdy - in the process of buying a nordic 32... How many Pico chairs, where do you store them, how about a small table? Love this forum!!!

We have these and love them, Not cheap but very sturdy and very lightweight. Fold flat so easy to store. Also look sharp on the deck.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07CXWGC5V/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

backinblue said:

We have these and love them, Not cheap but very sturdy and very lightweight. Fold flat so easy to store. Also look sharp on the deck.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07CXWGC5V/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

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Those look very nice. Unlike chairs with padded cushions, those look like they would be dry and ready for sitting very shortly after a rain. One of our hassles is remembering to take in the cushions from our deck chairs if it's going to rain overnight. Kind of a pain. Most of the chairs suggested here would be nice and dry.

We have a pair of these on deck, one as a nav station chair, one as an extra (which often gets used as a dog fence): https://www.westmarine.com/buy/west-marine--kingfish-ii-stainless-steel-folding-deck-chair--9521832


They're heavy, stay where you put them and are quite durable. We previously had the much lighter weight aluminum version, but those don't stay put as well and eventually started to show noticeable corrosion in salty air. The stainless ones have definitely been more durable.



My only complaints with them are the slightly too far reclined seating position and for the nav station, I wouldn't mind 6 inches more height. But they're otherwise great, and the cushions are vinyl, so easy to clean and if they get wet, you can just wipe them dry.

I recently discovered the expensive, but AWESOME Yeti folding Trailhead camping chairs. More comfortable than the traditionalfolding camping chairs, and so far they seem really well built.

https://www.yeti.com/en_US/chairs/trailhead-camp-chair/26010000042.html

AZ2Loop said:

Those look very nice. Unlike chairs with padded cushions, those look like they would be dry and ready for sitting very shortly after a rain. One of our hassles is remembering to take in the cushions from our deck chairs if it's going to rain overnight. Kind of a pain. Most of the chairs suggested here would be nice and dry.

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No padding but very comfy and high backs. I give them a spray whenever I treat the rest of my canvas so they are pretty water repellent. If they do get wet they dry very quickly.

We have gone to the extreme in that regard.

We have two folding Adirondack chairs made of HDPE. They are HEAVY - about 25lbs each. They DO NOT move - they have been up in 40kn thunderstorms and stay put.

We fold and lock them down just in front of the bow lockers when underway.

3 years in and they still look brand new. Some of the best money we ever spent on the boat.

When we came over to the 'dark side' from sailing we bought two of these type chairs from westmarine. The link is for Dicks Sporting goods, but effectively the same chair. They fold flat, easy to carry, we have used them for outdoor concerts, etc. Nice and comfortable on the sundeck of the boat.
https://www.dickssportinggoods.com/...ker-17gcwubchrckrxxxxodr/17gcwubchrckrxxxxodr

LenBuchanan said:

When we came over to the 'dark side' from sailing we bought two of these type chairs from westmarine. The link is for Dicks Sporting goods, but effectively the same chair. They fold flat, easy to carry, we have used them for outdoor concerts, etc. Nice and comfortable on the sundeck of the boat.
https://www.dickssportinggoods.com/...ker-17gcwubchrckrxxxxodr/17gcwubchrckrxxxxodr

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Look pretty compact and functional, but a little low for my old bones! I'm a former sailor too. How's the change for you?

Arthurc said:

I carry 5 of the SeaTeak folding chairs, love them although a bit big so storage isn’t easy. I store them under the sailing tender on the top deck.

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+1 for the SeaTeak What I like is that both pairs of legs are on the deck when the chair is folded. More stable when not in use.

https://www.boatid.com/seateak/avalon-folding-multi-position-deck-chair-with-arms-mpn-60062.html