Take the bench seats out without compromising the boat strength.

[CBULL]

Hi, all

I have a 16" weld aluminum boat with bench seats. I was wandering if I could take the bench seats out without compromising the boat strength or integrity? They just take up a lot of room..

Thanks in advance

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Take the bench seats out without compromising the boat strength.

if you want the sides to be like tin foil. leave them, many boats ruined, by doing it.

 

[5150abf]

Re: Take the bench seats out without compromising the boat strength.

The seats take up lot of room and keep the boat from folding in half.
If you remove them there will be nothing to keep the sides from flexxing, it would be like trying to drive a peice of cardboard across the water.

Maybe look into flooring over the seats but I wouldn't remove them.

 

[cbavier]

Re: Take the bench seats out without compromising the boat strength.

Hi, all

I have a 16" weld aluminum boat with bench seats. I was wandering if I could take the bench seats out without compromising the boat strength or integrity? They just take up a lot of room..

Thanks in advance

NO! Like TD said. They are the strength and integrity of the hull. No flooring over the seats either because it changes the point of gravity making it too high and tippy. Just try stepping across from seat to seat with the boat in the water next to shore and you will see how tippy it is. SO, NO! No! No! Bass boats work because the Hull are usually wider and Fiberglass which is Heavier and they sit lower/ deeper in the water not on the water.

 

[jtexas]

Re: Take the bench seats out without compromising the boat strength.

not to mention which, the floatation foam which will keep you afloat if you should swamp.

on the tippiness aspect.....that depends. a lot of fully decked bass boats are built on 16' jonboats (tracker, for example). Six feet wide is different from 40".

 

[CATransplant]

Re: Take the bench seats out without compromising the boat strength.

I have seen a couple of boats where the seats have been removed, but then replaced by seat boxes that go only about a third of the way across the boat and are staggered along the length of the boat to allow passage. These are fastened to the sides of the boat and to the bottom of the hull. I don't have a photo to show, but their design connects the boat's sides to the bottom, and are full of foam.

The big problem is in how to attach them to the bottom, and for that I have no answer. Probably a really good aluminum welder could do it, but it's not something I would try. I'm sure it would be far to easy to melt through to the hull. It also might be possible to glass such a thing to the aluminum bottom. I do not know.

Another thing that might work would be a long box structure down the side of the boat, maybe 12" wide, again full of foam and attached to the sides and the bottom of the hull. That would add sufficient strength. It would all depend on the structure of your boat.

One thing's certain: You must have something there to reinforce the structure, or the boat will soon be out of shape.

BTW, what sort of boat is this, a v-hull or jon boat?

 

[mtduckhunter]

Re: Take the bench seats out without compromising the boat strength.

i took the back seat out of my 14 foot jon boat. It hasnt fell apart. . . . . yet.

it has been through some perty big waves (whitecapping). it is alot more flexible!

 

[Captain Caveman]

Re: Take the bench seats out without compromising the boat strength.

My first boat was a 14' aluminum boat. Eventually I drilled a hole through the back bench and inserted a seat post. It worked pretty well and made the boat a lot more comfortable for me. It didn't solve the probably of movement within the boat, but then again I figured that a boat that small didn't need me moving around and making it tippy.

The seat worked well until a giant 22' boat cut across my bow (from the left!) and sent me flying of its wake. That broke the seat...but not her soul.

 

[JMG]

Re: Take the bench seats out without compromising the boat strength.

I will be removing the seats from my new to me 16'jon in the near future. I've done this to one other jon and it was never a problem even on the St lawrence river! If yours is a jon you'll be ok, The jons have ribs to hold the hull together and can be ordered without seats from the builder. The big question is how to mount the pedestal bases to the floor.

My 2 cents
Jamie