New project questions

[Bass_boy7]

hello everyone I am new to the boat modifying scene, I have fallen in love with boats. I am looking to put in a floor in my 14' Mirrocraft it is a deep and wide edition if that helps. I want to put in a floor and a deck of some form to stand on when fishing, I was wondering if I were to cut out my seats if it will ruin the structural integrity of my boat and make it tipsy or what not. And since the foam is under the seats if it is missing will anything happen to my boat besides sinking if it flips? As well how would I go about mounting the floor in the boat and what wood should I use, marine grade($$$) or just a good sealed plywood of some form?? any help would be great.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: New project questions

welcome to iboats. do not take the seats out. they are structural. post some pictures, we'll get you thru it.

you can up load to a free service like photobucket.com then you choose the pictures you want( clik the little box at the bottom left of the picture) scrool to the bottom of the page, clik generate html, it will take you to the next page, scroll down to thumb nails clik on that and copy, then insert it into your post.

also if you are planing on posting pictures, you can use the Blue post reply or the go advanced, manage attachments, there you can upload , directly from your computer. besure you pictures have been resized to fit the format. 640x480 max.

 

[Bass_boy7]

Re: New project questions

The reason I say I would like the seats out is because they take up alot of floor room i.e. stepping over them etc to get around my boat, I was thinking maybe just the middle seat then if it's possible bc no walking room is a huge pain for me and my cousin who fish avidly together in this boat. As for pictures my boat, it is in storage right now but picture a 14' boat with three bench seats its bone stock on the interior of the boat the best I can describe it for now. Once I figure out my game plan I will take it out of storage and begin working/taking pictures. so please guide me along the way guys!!!!

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: New project questions

something like this?

 

[tmcalavy]

Re: New project questions

I'm guessing your Mirrocraft is aluminum? Need more info and pix as already stated. That said, in most aluminum and fiberglass boats the seats are built in to provide structural integrity for the hull. If you take them out you have to figure a way to do so without compromising that integrity. I had a 1954 14 foot V-hull with three bench seats in it. The owner before me had added removable wooden floor/deck panels that provided a flat deck. Once you were anchored out you could stand and cast or fold out a portable camp chair and sit and fish. The floor panels were made of tongue and groove deck lumber. Each panel consisted of wooden support stringers that ran lengthwise (perpendicular to the bench seats). The boards that made each deck panel were screwed to the stringers and ran parallel with the bench seats, cut to fit the width of the inside of the boat. Have since sold that boat, but I really loved that arrangement cause I could remove the deck panels anytime and clean out the bottom of the boat. They also made it a lot easier to stand and move around in the boat out on the water. Some folks add a raised plywood deck to simple fishing boats and that's okay as long as you don't raise the center of gravity too much. So, you need to do some research on the forums here, see what others have done, and then try what seems to fit your situation and budget. Tashasdaddy has a lot of experience refitting/improving boats, so you can benefit from his and others experience here on the iboats forums.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: New project questions

Jonb14 is in the same situation
http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=232770

 

[Bass_boy7]

Re: New project questions

yea my boat is very similar to teh one you posted above damn i wish i had a picture of it lol, I am going to have to get you guys one soon, btw my boat is wider

 

[Bass_boy7]

Re: New project questions

after looking around on the net i found an identical boat to mine almost to T this is what my boat looks like:

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: New project questions

you go cutting the seats out of that boat and it is ruined.

 

[Bass_boy7]

Re: New project questions

ok what do I do then guys I need help I really hate stepping over my seats to get around the boat, I need all the help I can get, thanks so much,

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: New project questions

you can brace the boat just behind the middle seat so that if does not spread.
then cut a walkthru, out of the middle seat. then reinforce the remaining sections on each side. i will work on a drawing.

 

[Bass_boy7]

Re: New project questions

that could be an option I guess, nvr thought of a walk through, how about flooring how would that go with that boat?

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: New project questions

on mine i took some cardboard made a template for each area of the boat. 1/2 ext ply then attached some 1x2 to the bottom to fit the contour of the hull. just laid the in. that way you can remove them to clean the boat, and get the gold watch you dropped that went down the crack. the best fishing lure always end up under there.

 

[Bass_boy7]

Re: New project questions

haha yea i guess thats true you always tend to drop the one you love haha, I will have to look into this for sure, let me know about that bracing as well

 

[bassboy1]

Re: New project questions

Bass_boy7, I have sent you a PM.

 

[bassboy1]

Re: New project questions

I didn't read all the posts thoroughly, so it may have been mention, but have you thought about a casting deck in the bow? A boat of that dimension should be able to hold one just fine. And, you would use the seats as much of your structure, so they would actually help, and not hurt. The way I have seen done most, is deck from the front bench, to the middle one, leave the area between the middle and the stern one open, and deck from the stern one to the transom. Put an adjustable seat pole on the transom. Down to bench/deck height to operate tiller, and up to fish. Just a thought to ponder.

 

[Bass_boy7]

Re: New project questions

yea that is another idea which has crossed my mind, I wouldn't mind just removing the middle seat, putting a floor in the boat have a casting deck front and rear middle left open to walk etc, is there anyway it can be done by remvoing the middle seat only or will it still ruin the structure of the boat??

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: New project questions

What BB1 is saying and it could be done, deck over the middle seat all the way to bow. deck over back seat to transom, with a hatch to get to gas can and drain plug. leave the space between the middle and back seat.

 

[flashback]

Re: New project questions

You might be able to move the middle seat forward a foot, and gain a little more room in the space between, but I belive BB1 expressed the best way to do what you want..If you take the seats out, the hull has no support..I guess you could add some ribs running fore and aft on the inside of the hull but that would take some serious fabbing...good luck...

 

[Bass_boy7]

Re: New project questions

so basically the 3 seats have to stay bc removing the middle seat will still cause problems even thought the front and rear would still be in?. So I basically have to create deck going through the whole boat is my best bet as we stand right now leave the space between the middle seat and rear open for foot room, unless I go and weld in supports along the ribs, thats really too bad I am kinda mad about that haha but i guess it is what I have to do unless I really want to go in depth on this project and begin welding in support beams etc. I am trying to picture this in my head, does anyone have an pictures I can use as a refrence point?