boat seat going under the blade..maybe (help again) picture

[shadow]

Really want this to come out to open the middle up for a pedestal seat and room for more decoys come fall ,here is my problem
the seat and bottom rib are not connected so with the ribs being 30 inches apart if I cut that seat out will the rib across the floor be enough to keep the support? i plan on cutting the seat out but not messing with the rivets ill figure out something to smooth the left over seat spot ,hope that makes sense here is a couple pictures,would like to rip into it today yet if any pro's can lead me in the right direction

I love this site

 

[Waterwings]

"...if I cut that seat out will the rib across the floor be enough to keep the support?"

To add my two-cents worth, I personally wouldn't do it, but other members have removed seats in their rigs. Can't for the life of me recall who did a mod where they only removed part of the seat (from the middle) and left a few inches on each side and the lower part to have something to attach framing to. Finished product looked nice!

 

[russ010]

Can't for the life of me recall who did a mod where they only removed part of the seat (from the middle) and left a few inches on each side and the lower part to have something to attach framing to. Finished product looked nice!

https://tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=1676

There is the link to the above.

I would really be careful doing that - seats really shouldn't be cut out unless the floor is atleast 36" (in my opinion). Even then I wouldn't do it. I'd have to have atleast a 42" floor.

However, if you did cutout like the guy in the link did... I would leave atleast 6" on either side, then fab me a piece of angle iron to place between the edge of the seat where it's cut and the top of the rail. You really need to keep the boats integrity so the water pressure doesn't fold your boat in half.

 

[Waterwings]

That's the link! Thanks russ! 8)

 

[shadow]

My floor at that spot is 48 inches wide...does that change anything?

 

[russ010]

I would think it would be more stable... I took the seat out of a 48" floor once.... There are a lot of guys on here that have done what you are wanting to do, but it just scared me too much to cut it out, get out in open water just to find out I shouldnt have. I would frame the deck atleast above the ribs, then put 2" side walls down and have them cut to an angle and connected to the deck to provide the support. You can put rod holders on them, or cut holes in them and put some storage cabinets in, held in by bungee cords and small eye hooks.

Here's the storage thing I was talking about. Great for hooks, weights, jigs... anything that won't melt in the sun!

https://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10051&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&productId=100375899&N=10000003+90401+502362

 

[SlimeTime]

https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=4015&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&start=10

Why are you guys so gun-shy to remove a seat? Has anyone ever seen something happen when it was done? I'm just curious...do they "implode" :mrgreen: . Had my 14'er out with me & dad in it....nothing to even hint there was ever a seat there....and shadows boat is built alot sturdier than mine.

ST

 

[russ010]

not so much scared that it will "implode"... just the fact that I spent MY money on the boat (not my wife's) and if it screwed up because someone said I could do it would piss me off if it didn't work. ](*,)

But I still wouldn't feel safe cutting the seat out of a floor with a width less than 42"... I've got a mean hook set and I'm not going to let an unstable boat make me change my style of fishing.

 

[SlimeTime]

OK....but have YOU, or anyone else here seen a negative result from removing a seat??

ST

 

[russ010]

haha.. i just thought about it - last year a guy must have been drunk out in a water shed... i heard a big racket and looked out in the middle and he had flipped his boat. When I finally got to him (almost dead trolling motors from being out all day) he was hanging on to the transom handles. No center seat and the only thing keeping it from sinking was the back seat. I guess that might be the only drawback from taking it out.

 

[SlimeTime]

So are you claiming that removing the seat made the boat unstable? Or just the loss of some flotation foam is the drawback? But regardless....his boat didn't "fold" if I read your post correctly.

ST

 

[russ010]

Whether the seat missing made his boat flip is unknown to me. I just know he told me he removed the seat and came to test it out and he said he wished he hadn't taken it out. Now he could have been so drunk he was trying to step over a seat that wasn't there and fell, I don't know. But like I said in my first post, IN MY OPINION, I wouldn't take the seat out.

Now that I say that, I know the first thing I'll do when I get another boat is take that stinking seat out because I hate it being in the way...

By the way, I'm not getting pissy with you or anything - just stating my opinion and what I've seen and made mental notes of. I did look at your boat though - :fishing2: I would buy that in a hearbeat if it wouldn't cost me that much in gas to come and get it. People would be asking 1500 for that here in GA. Did you take it out and try it? I don't know if I made it all the way through the post to see if you and your father went out.

 

[SlimeTime]

I think you're assumption of his consumption

was correct in the cause of his mishap. No way removing a seat could have been the reason.

You guys need to stop being so apologetic for stating what you believe. I understand much of ones "tone" gets lost in cyberspace....but I've yet to see anyone here get "crappy"....but thanks for the concern. I've been divorced a number of times.....I doubt anyone here is gonna say anything to me an ex-wife hasn't already...and I survived that :mrgreen:

Yeah, dad & I took the boat out Thursday. We spent 12 hours in it & it did great! I was even suprised at how his MK 30 pound TM moved it right along. If I end-up keeping it (in the event it doesn't sell), better seats will definately be on the agenda.

ST

 

[shadow]

ok here is the plan ,first thanks for all the input ,if I was a handy man I would be ripping seat out today but I am not so my main plan was do temporary stuff until this winter when a guy who can weld/builds race cars etc can help me then WE will rip the seat out and he can weld appropriate bracing because I found that I am going to need a floor brace welded in for the pedestal seat anyway in the middle,so today I grind glue off and prepare for temporary seat spot in middle ,I was going to attempt a front deck since the one there now is really small but i think that will wait also until i get the welder :wink: ,so now its back to temporary fixes because duck seasons a comin and we need the boat huntable ,ill still have tons of questions and you guys rock =D> look for future boat painting questions... and maybe seat questions...... and wiring and..... :mrgreen:

 

[Waterwings]

Sounds like a good plan, shadow! 8)

 

[SlimeTime]

Why not just deck the floor? Then you won't need a welder (welding steel & welding aluminum are 2 entirely different things). Decking goes a long way for quieting things down in the boat too, and will give you a nice flat surface to frame-up the bulkhead to support your front casting-deck (per your other post).

ST

 

[LunkerHunter28]

Why not just deck the floor? Then you won't need a welder (welding steel & welding aluminum are 2 entirely different things). Decking goes a long way for quieting things down in the boat too, and will give you a nice flat surface to frame-up the bulkhead to support your front casting-deck (per your other post).

ST

This is exactly what I'm thinkin' of doing w/o trying to add too much weight to the rig (a lowe 10' jon). Anybody have any suggestions or advice as to why this is a bad idea? I wasn't going to go all out just enough to have a quieter floor and less hazards w/o sacrificing stability.

LH28

 

[Ranchero50]

Decking a boat less than 48" beam is a bad idea because the CG goes high and it becomes unstable. Look at the manufacuters finished boats, the 'crappie' series from every manufacturer with a 48-50" beam has a low deck to kee the center of gravity low. It's a serious deal, even putting 8" pedestal seats on a 36" beam boat makes them very unstable.

For the middle seat removal I wouldn't do it if the boat was usually loaded heavy or run in rough water.
Jamie