Was able to get some more planning and some more mods done on the boat since the last post. I started building the port-side box near the stern by using some of the sheet metal I took out earlier. The piece already had the angle cut to fit to the stern, so all I needed to do was cut it to height such that it fit on the floor instead of directly on the hull. I did some "backyard tinsmithing" and made some 90° angles and riveting tabs as well. Nothing is attached yet and I will need more sheet metal to finish it up.
Got started on the front of the boat as well. The original plan was to have a front deck with the fuel tank and battery underneath. My concern was that this would make the front deck too high, because it needed to be 2-3" higher than the front bench. After much thought and using cardboard mockups of the battery and tank, I decided to put the battery and fuel tank way up front on a larger platform where the bow seat was originally. This requires some structure to build a platform large enough to hold the battery and tank, and will use the front 2' of the boat, but puts it in an area that gets little use anyway. When fishing last summer we put the anchor on the bow seat, or else under it. The front passenger fished from the front bench and would put a tackle box on the bow seat. I could get an Anchor Mate or other anchor management system and keep the anchor outside of the hull and free up the entire bow. This would also keep the boat cleaner! With a flat floor in front of the front fishing position a tacklebox can be kept right on the floor. Problem solved!
Putting the fuel tank and battery in the bow allows the front deck to be made much lower than the front bench. I measured it out and looked at it many times and decided the front deck will be about 3" higher than the main floor, about 7" lower than the original front bench height. That should really keep the CG low! So, after some cutting of the front bench and adding in some aluminum angle the front deck is starting to take shape. Still need to add some feet to the front corner so it will be supported on the hull, but so far i have not had to drill a hole through the hull. The opening in the front deck i think could be used to store life vests and other small things and the area under the battery and fuel tank can be filled with flotation foam.
I did a little experimenting with solid rivets on the back angle support inside the original bench. I bought a small bucking bar and started driving in rivets with a small hammer. I did it in this location since it will be visible from inside the boat and i was trying to keep all the rivets looking the same. Purely for aesthetic reasons, but it wasn't too difficult and they seem stronger than pop rivets. The rest of the rivets are the pop rivet kind since i could not easily get to both sides of the rivets.
