What extra knee bracing are you putting on the transom to support the bracket? If only using factory knee brace, highly suggest looking at adding extra.
SHSU
Our 1984 SS16 has a distance of 7.5" from bottom of gunnel to top of front seat. So remove a ~3/4 for the board to get to top of aluminum support. Hope that helps.
SHSU
I am with @Moserkr, paint the side and not carpet. I did the Nautolex on the sides, while it looks good but has been a pain in keeping areas glued together. Next rebuild will just be paint.
SHSU
I like your idea for increasing the console height. That is one thing I wish I had done differently. The original height is way to short for my 6' 2" frame.
SHSU