The Superior Comfort of 4S Boat Suspensions

Boat operators and charter companies: Invest in the Comfort and Safety of your Fleet

Sea excursion companies and motorboat renting companies are well aware of the importance of their customers’ comfort and safety while on board.

Seat quality and back and spine protection are the key to optimum customer satisfaction, and therefore to profitable, long-term business.
An equally important factor for the company: the comfort of its captains and sailing employees. Seat suspensions protect their health in the long term, limiting leaves and work disruption, making employees more reliable for the working season and future years.

To support leisure boating professionals and help them develop their quality of service, we present the RIB03S jockey seat with suspension from 4S – Scandinavian Seat Suspension Systems, a brand founded by historic players of the boating industry. This Swedish label, a guarantee of seriousness and reliability, has developed a complete, cutting-edge range of shock mitigation solutions and jockey seats for boats. Meticulously designed with quality materials and proven technologies, these products offer unrivalled value for money. 4S is thus working to democratize the relief of physical pain through navigation, their slogan: “There are so many sensitive backs and necks in the world.”

Let’s take a closer and detailed look at the RIB03S complete kit: Jockey seat + suspension.

1. Shock mitigation and Improved Safety

Advanced Shock Absorber Technology:

Inspired by the best seat suspension brands in boating, such as Ullman, Shoxs, Shark or Shockwave, the 4S RIB03S jockey seat uses advanced suspension to reduce the vertical acceleration generated by powerboating (G-forces), minimizing the impact on passengers’ spines and improving their safety on board. It is suitable for boats with top speeds of up to 50 knots.

Standards compliance:

This “seat + shock absorber” kit has been designed in accordance with the guidelines and recommendations of ABYC standard H-31 “Seat structure” for type AO, available on The American Boat & Yacht Council website – https://abycinc.org/. Boating professionals are thus guaranteed that their work units will be certified for use with passengers (NUC for France).

2. Customer satisfaction and reputation

Comfort and Customer Experience:

4S systems have been used for over 6 years by military boats, commandos RIB and coastal patrol boats worldwide. Thanks to these references, prestigious leisure boat brands such as XO and Axopar have adopted these seat suspensions.

In the Mediterranean, thanks to Nauticspares, renowned operators and brands also put their trust in 4S suspensions.
This is the case of Black Tenders, in the Bay of Cannes, which recently fully equipped a unit with 12 passenger seats and 1 captain’s seat. An additional unit has been fitted with a captain’ seat to protect the helmsman and reduce the fatigue he accumulates during long days at sea and throughout the working season. You can therefore find these seats on these “taxiboats” during passenger transfers at the F1 Monaco Grand Prix, Cannes Film Festival and Olympic Games in this year 2024.

Quality materials:

• The suspension structure and jockey seat frames are made from 6060T6 and 5032H32 aluminum, 6mm and 8mm thick respectively. These aluminum grades are renowned for their marine quality and resistance to corrosion. In addition, all surfaces of these parts are powdered-coated, to resist UV and the wide variety of climatic conditions to which boats are exposed: cold/hot + dry/wet.
• Machined aluminum parts are colorlessly anodized to 30µm.
• The seating elements are padded with soft marine memory foam and covered with high-quality marine vinyl, ensuring maximum comfort and superior durability.
  The seat cover is textured for excellent grip.
• Components such as adjusting wheels, levers, slides, pins, screws, nuts and fasteners are made of AISI/SUS 316/316L stainless steel. Plastic parts are made of POM (polyoxymethylene) or Polyamide 6.6 reinforced with 30% glass fibre.

3. Easy installation and maintenance

Quick and easy installation:

• The RIB03S comes in 1 box containing 3 separate parts: the seat with backrest, the suspension frame and the shock absorber.
• The Swedes have thought of everything: the assembly and adjustment key is attached to the suspension. Made of 316L stainless steel, it will stand the test of time like the rest of this system.
• Assembly on the boat is via (x8) countersunk holes on the lower suspension plate. We recommend using 316L stainless steel deck inserts(see video here) – or bolting it to a counterplate inside the deck if you have access to this area of your vessel.

This minimizes boat downtime during the installation phase, maximizing your fleet’s uptime.

Minimal Maintenance :

• The design quality and inherent qualities of the materials making up this RIB03S set guarantee low maintenance and long product life.
• A simple rinse with fresh water after each use will ensure the long life of your products.
  Do not use high pressure washeing, especially on shock absorbers, foam and seat fabrics.
• Silicone spray will need to be applied annually to the 8 pivot points linked to the suspension’s 4 axes of rotation.
• The seat and backrest are supplied with a protective cover to protect them from UV rays when the boat is not in use.
  

4. Return on investment

Financial benefits:

Although the initial investment is significant, sustainability and improved customer satisfaction result into a return on investment (ROI) in the short to medium term, depending on the usage and occupancy rate of your fleet.

Conclusion

The 4S RIB03S jockey seat is a strategic investment for motorboating professionals. Thanks to its advanced suspension technology, it significantly reduces impacts, improving passenger safety and comfort, and protecting the health of skippers and crew. Conforming to strictABYC standards, this seat guarantees safe, certified use. Customer satisfaction and your company’s reputation will be greatly enhanced, as testified by positive feedback from prestigious brands such as XO, Axopar, and operators like Black Tenders. High-quality materials, including aluminum, stainless steel and memory foam, ensure unsurpassed durability and comfort, while ease of installation and low maintenance keep your fleet running at peak performance without prolonged downtime. Investing in the RIB03S seat is not only a choice of quality, it’s also a financially advantageous decision in the medium term, as demonstrated by the many case studies and testimonials from satisfied customers.