Cut out seat or not a good idea Hmmmm?

[Christopher Quast]

As I can see you took the whole middle bench out WOW!!! I personally think thats pretty gutsy to remove that much of the structure from a boat this style do you know other guys that have done this exact deal you are doing to yours or is this all trial and error So if I wanted to I could easily remove 2/3rds of my middle bench and keep enough on the sides to fasten my side supports to and I should be just fine

[polarsusd81]

Looks like you have a pretty good job going on there so far Tulibee. Pretty similar to what I did, other than using aluminum rather than wood. I like the way it is turning out. If you are a guy that carries multiple rods in the boat. you might want to take a look at how I rigged up my rod storage in my boat. It works excellent. I plan to enclose it with a couple sheets of .040 aluminum to make storage lockers. They will get wood tops, that way they will be strong enough to stand or sit on, bringing lil ones out in the boat with me. I am going to do a little different on the front portion of my boat. I want to install another angle and some support brackets to keep a level floor on the front, just a couple inches below the front bench. That will hopefully be a little more stable being just a bit lower, and also a good spot to quick store the stowaway boxes to run accross the lake. I will add a hatch so I can store the life vests and anchor in there when going down the road.

Also, to note, on mine I left the back open to the floor, because I figured it was easier to pull the plug when needed, as well as keeping the gas tank and battery halfway stored under the rear trough. My tank is just the right height to slide under it, and I can store my buddys tackle box back there for running down the road. It is a lot of fun to work on them and really customize the boats.

Right now I am running a long shaft motor, and can't afford a shorty, so I found a mini jackplate that allows you to set the motor back a couple inches and lift it 3.5" higher than the typical transom mount. I think it will help my boat immensly as the motor has quite a bit of drag right now.

Another note, if you don't plan to build boxes for rods, I would suggest removing the tabs from the old middle bench. I left mine in because I plan to utilize them for the rod lockers as an intermediate support, and the tops will be the same height as the original seat. If you leave em and don't build lockers, you will have a shin scar for sure.

[Tullibee]

Thanks for the compliments guys. As for cutting out the whole middle bench, I don't feel like I am going to be compromising the structural integrity of the boat. A couple of reasons why are; I am going to be synching the floor down to the 2x2s with some long screws, secondly I am adding a couple of platforms going from the back bench seat to the supports left over from the middle bench. I felt as long as they are there, and I have enough plywood left over that I might as well use them in some way. On these I plan to mount my Vexilar, have a nice place to set stuff, and add some support. I was thinking of putting a rod box in like you had mentioned polarsusd and might do this in the future.

In the Back I did leave a large opening to get at the plug. I did want to add an elevated piece of plywood back there to keep my feet level when seated on the back seat. Plus this would keep the battery and gas tank off the floor. I ran into the same situation in the front. I thought of making an elevated platform but wanted a level place for feet while straddling the front bench seat.

That's where I am at now and I will keep you guys posted on the progress. Sure is a fun project!! Just keeping my fingers crossed that the ice is gone by opener.

Cory

[polarsusd81]

I can certainly see the straddling perdicament you mention. When I was out in mine on Sunday, I had a third guy in the boat and he was stationed on a bucket in the middle of the floor so when we first got to the spots we fished I noticed the difference in floor height. Typically I fish standing on the bench, fishing for bass. You will be hard pressed to see me sitting down while fishing, unless I am trolling. I like the way you did the front, did you save your template? Can I borrow it?

[Tullibee]

I actually didn't make a template. I just kinda drew curved lines with a tape measure. I could probably take some measurements for you.

[polarsusd81]

Not a big deal, just wondering. My front floor is going to be up higher, at the location of the original bow bench. Should come out just a bit under the front bench that way. Have a bit of storage for jackets and anchor that way.

[croixflats]

Wow!!! sounds like a ton of different opinions here but the whole boat and rivets things makes sense but my origanal plan was to do like Steve said as far as leaving a foot or more of the seat on each side that way you could still have something for your side supports to connect to and would still have a walkway. Or shouldnt I do this either? and if money was no object I wouldnt even be messing around with this clunker of a boat in the first place money might always be the answer but some of arent given that option. Steve if you would drop me an email @ [email protected] so we could chat more on this subject so it's less confusing Thanks for all the feedback so far keep em comin!

Clunker of a boat! I would love to have a boat like that. Granted I may have something a little more Elaberate than that, but I do wish I could have something like that I could use sitting in my yard. If anybody has an open seat in this style of boat I would love to fish with you. After that I can take you out for giving me the pleasure of your company and your boat.

sorry that i dont have the quate thing down yet.

or the spelling