Shallow water boats have come forward an incredibly long way in the past 25 years, so far in fact that many of the accessory devices that owners specify as parts of the rigging package today hadn’t even been invented 25 years ago. Some of these were created to solve basic performance problems, some to improve reliability, and still others aimed at enhancing safety and comfort during the boating experience. Funny how safety and comfort grow in importance as we age, or maybe we just became wiser over the years. Shopping for a boat back in the day; all I wanted to know was how fast it’d go and how shallow it would run. Some of my early boats were so basic they didn’t even have helm seating – we only drove standing up. Now I’m here to talk about a comfy ride…yeah, lotta things have changed.

So, what’s all this hype about a comfy ride anyway? Well, whether I’ve gone soft in my old age or I’m beginning to appreciate the finer things in life, all it took was one ride on a boat with Shockwave seating and I was ready to whip out my checkbook. There was about a foot-and-a-half chop on the water but those Shockwaves flattened it right out.

How can this be, you ask? Well, if you study the design of the Shockwave bases for just a few seconds, you will see that the linkage absorbs shock by collapsing and rebounding with the help of an air-sprung shock absorber, much the same way your automobile softens the lumps and bumps on the roadway. The attached QR Code/Video explains it much better than I could ever hope.

The backstory on Shockwave is that they are a Canadian manufacturing company that was invited to provide shock mitigation seats to install in US Coast Guard vessels. The coasties are known to go boating on the absolute worst days, you know. Prior to that, Shockwave’s founder, David Smith, had also gained considerable expertise working with NASCAR to develop safer and more comfortable driver seat suspension, another particularly harsh application.

Long story short, everyday boaters need protection from wave impact and the Shockwave recreational products were introduced in 2016. The earlier versions, the S5 and Sentinel models, were assembled of powder-coated aluminum castings and performed wonderfully and maintained a nice finish in freshwater and closed cabin applications – not nearly so well in high-salinity, high-humidity environments like those along the Texas coast.

Powder coating, you see, is beautiful until it isn’t; and it’s no real fault of the product or the process. It’s the harsh environment we use it in. Even microscopic scuffs and scratches allow seawater to attack the base metal and, very slowly at first, it begins to corrode. Tiny, nearly unnoticeably, the damage grows and it doesn’t take long until your beautiful T-Tops, bow rails, and Shockwave suspension bases are not so nice looking.

However, that’s not the end of the story…not by a long shot. Shockwave have just recently introduced the S5-SS Stainless Steel seat bases made from electropolished 316 Stainless Steel tubing. Electropolishing lends an incredible shine and even more corrosion resistance.

The result is a seat base designed to last a lifetime. The four link design is capable of smoothing the roughest of sea conditions with the Fox Rhythm air-sprung shock absorbers provide four inches of vertical cushioning, and one and a half inches of forward travel to offset the front-on impact of every wave.
For northern regions, fresh water and cabin applications Shockwave also offers the S5-AL model, which is cast aluminum, but with an anodized treatment prior to powder coating. They also have the economy S5-LW 3- Link arm that also includes anodizing before powder coating. Both models utilize an air sprung shock to soften wave action.

One thing we have to remember is that no matter how expertly designed any watercraft might be, there will always be waves in our path and the hull will always be subjected to the energy of those waves. Some hulls ride smoother than others, the smoothest we have enjoyed so far have been equipped with Shockwave seating.

Don’t take my word…talk to one of their pro staff team and experience it yourself.