transforming front bench into platform on Lund

[jwmiller33]

hey there guys... so thanks to Dan Brelje, I have a new idea that I want to do with my project Lund.

I want to go from this....

to this....

I want to make the front of my boat into the platform style with pedastal seat... Dan gave me some great ideas on how to do this, but I don't know how to make the 2x4 suppport system underneath the platform?

I know I need to use horizontal and verticle 2x4's to add support, and i know where to put each 2x4, but I was wondering how I am supposed to secure the 2x4's? I hate drilling into my boat so I do it as little as possible. the spots where the 2x4's are going to be supporting the boat are on the very bottom, so I"m not going to do any drilling there because I don't want my boat to sink! Do i screw the 2x4 supports into the top plywood platform (so it is all one big connected piece of wood)?

Someone please help! as i really really want to have this set up for my boat. I htink it would be ideal to have hte front storage compartments, as there is no storage areas on my boat now.

BTW, I am going to remove the middle 1/2 bench seats so there is more room in the middle of hte boat, just like Dan did with his.

[bustin lips]

I friction fit mine and used some PL400 on the end that is in the very front. Then screwed the plywood to the frame members. I did this in 2002 and I have not had any issues yet (knock on wood)

[jwmiller33]

how did you friction fit it? just basically cut it so a close size and then sand it down to fit the contour of hte boat? how close do you have to get to getting the countour of the bottom boat down?

[jwmiller33]

would using PL400 on all of hte 2x4's be effective? if i used the adhesive on the end of the 2x4 that was touching the bottom of the boat? and then screwed the top end of the 2x4's into top sheet of plywood?

[LightningBG]

Friction fit means its jammed in between two things.

[jwmiller33]

i just have no idea how i would even start at cutting those 2x4's... i feel like it would involve a TON of sanding to get it down to the correct length and to fit the contour or the boat.. wouldnt it?

[Dan Brelje]

Hey JW, when securing the 2x4's i never drilled into the side of the boat. The verticle ones were attached to the nose bench piece and the wall of the front bench seat. The The horizontal support was just fitted to the contour of the boat. It should be better described in the email.

[fishlakeman]

jwmiller,

I did mine where I kept that very front seat in its slot, then cut 4x4's to lay on top and cover much of the area, used a level to find what height made it even with the 1st bench seat then. I then wanted a vertical support about halfway in between the front and bench. to make that I used a glued together a 2x12 and 2x10 to make a big 2x22 board (use treated, as it will sometimes be sitting in water under your boat). I used a wire to find the bottom contour of the boat, then used a cardboard cut out to refine the pattern even more, cutting and fitting multiple times. Drew the cardboard pattern on the 2x22, threw it on the bandsaw, cut her up, and she fit like a glove. I glued and screwed the vertical support to the main plywood floor, and didn't attach it to the boat in any way. Very solid platform. I've done it this way on multiple 12 and 14 footers, but I have yet to try it on a 16.

[fishlakeman]

another tip. to save on cost and weight, I've used 3/4 plywood and put 2 coats of a good latex based exterior paint on them. Stayed away from the treated lumber. For my carpeting, I used a quality indoor/outdoor from Home Depot, and used both carpet adhesive and the staple gun around the edges when wrapping around. I think between that adhesive and 2 coats of paint, there's a pretty good moisture barrier that will hold up for a long time. Have never had a problem with it anyway. Plus it will save you some decent buck.

[jwmiller33]

Dan, so did you just have 2 vertical supports on each side? for a total of 4?

[jwmiller33]

jwmiller,

I did mine where I kept that very front seat in its slot, then cut 4x4's to lay on top and cover much of the area, used a level to find what height made it even with the 1st bench seat then. I then wanted a vertical support about halfway in between the front and bench. to make that I used a glued together a 2x12 and 2x10 to make a big 2x22 board (use treated, as it will sometimes be sitting in water under your boat). I used a wire to find the bottom contour of the boat, then used a cardboard cut out to refine the pattern even more, cutting and fitting multiple times. Drew the cardboard pattern on the 2x22, threw it on the bandsaw, cut her up, and she fit like a glove. I glued and screwed the vertical support to the main plywood floor, and didn't attach it to the boat in any way. Very solid platform. I've done it this way on multiple 12 and 14 footers, but I have yet to try it on a 16.

i love your idea for the middle support with the 2x22! that seems like a great idea and a very strong support too. now if i only i had a bandsaw!

for that 2x22 vertical support you put in, did it run the long way of the boat? or perpendicular to the long way of the boat?

[jwmiller33]

fishlakeman--do you by chance have any pics to send me of how you did this?

[fishlakeman]

Yea, if you think about it, it evenly distributes the pressure throughout the boat's interior, so there's no pressure points. I made it so it's perpendicular to the boat legnthwise. Just measured the legnth of the gap between the bench and front support, devided by 2, and measured for my cross beam there.

I don't have any pics of the process or anything. Only before and after's with finished products.

[Pat K]

If you use treated wood make sure it is safe to use with aluminum. Most of the treated lumber available at local lumber yards and the big boxes is very corrosive to aluminum. Avoid ACQ, AC2 or AC anything in it's name.

[skyhawk]

I did the same thing to my lund. Same model as yours. I esed cedar 2X2 for the frame. I put in a spacer at the very front seat to make it level with the next seat. I framed an opening for a hatch. I bolted it to the 2 seats (stainless steel !!) and then glued and screwed it. Stainless throughout. If you don't use marine plywood $$$ I would recommend laminating 2 pieces of plywood together (stronger that way and I would use a plywood called baltic birch. It has many more plies and no voids in the layers.

I also thought about removing the middle seats but it looked to me like lund is using them for support otherwise all you have for strength there is the gunnel. Besides I needed a place for 1 of my batteries and the other comes in handy to store my junk.

[irvingdog]

Cut your deck plank, but keep in mind you will be wrapping it in carpet. Carpet is very forgiving stuff in terms of providing a fairly clean looking edge to an otherwise less than perfect cut. Choose good material for shimming. Remember drainage and rot.