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I may be mistaken about the 4 screws, it may have been 8. I also was not concerned about the base being plywood. Not having the inserts is what I was upset about. I called and was told "there are too many patterns from different Whalers for us to use the inserts". I installed with the screws and made sure to only hand tighten the screws.

Second use after new seat 3 of the screws are rolling around on the deck.
I considered installing my old inserts, but would have to "un-upholster" the seat to do so.
Expecting a wood screw to hold into 1/2" plywood when it really cannot penetrate through the plywood is not good design.
Quality of upholstery ect. was fine.