87 grumman outlaw sx project?

[Chevyman82181]

Hey guys. Last year I bought this boat. Its a 17' bass boat. Its my very first boat so I am brand new to all this. I was taking on some water. So I started to pull the decks. I found where I hook the winch from the trailer to the bow of the boat was loose. There was a piece of wood under the bracket that was falling apart. I pulled all the old foam and the hull seems good. I don't have any loose rivets. Do I need / have to put in new foam? What is a good product for this? Can I just turn this open space to storage? I do want to extend the front deck to the console. I just got a 24 volt trolling motor last year. The batteries are in the front of the boat. Should i move them all to the rear? Is there any type of balancing of weight I need to do? Is there any tips on building storage containers that would be helpful to me? Any other types of tips? thanks guys!

 

[lckstckn2smknbrls]

Yes you want foam it should keep your boat from sinking to the bottom if you take on water.
The pink or blue closed cell foam insulating panels are a great replacement. The bow eye should be high enough above the water line that not much water should be getting in there. Have you put any water in the boat to see where it's leaking?