Question about seat removal

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mcontrer82

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I have an 86 16' Lowe Big Jon and I was thinking about removing the center seat. My question is, based on the picture below showing the number of ribs, would I have to reinforce the boat or does that look like enough ribs to keep it from too much stress? thanks.
 

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Some guys will swear up and down that removing that seat will bring the manufacture's goons down on you, the boat will fold in half, and your hair will fall out.

Personally, I think that as long as you aren't pushing tons of horsepower on that boat, you'll be just fine. Riveting down a flat piece of aluminum to the floor would be a great follow up to removing the seat. It would be nicer to walk around, and it would add some rigidity.
 
unless you want a floppy boat, you will need to reinforce after removing a seat. those ribs won't make up for the missing structure.
 
I just removed the center seat from my 1448, I know id is not quite the same as yours is 2' longer but, I should have done this a long time ago. I will be posting pictures of the job soon. I think what Simon said would work just fine, if that is, it is a little rackish.

You need to put a floor in that thing anyway. :)
 
Boats like your 1648 Big Jon are built VERY sturdy, in fact they are a bit overbuilt.

Taking that seat out (even without adding a floor, deck, etc) will obviously remove some structural rigidity, but it will in no way leave the boat "floppy".

However, if I were you, I would leave the center seat and build a deck that goes between the center seat and the front mini-deck. Your boat is PERFECT for such a mod.

This is what I did to my old boat .... exact same boat you have. It creates a huge deck and provides tons of storage underneath. I hacked mine together two days before a trip ... I wish I had time to do better, but it worked.

IMG_0181.jpg
 
I have a '77 Monark 1648 with the center seat removed, and it has never shown any loss of rigidity what so ever.
When I bought the boat the OO had un-riveted the seat and bolted it to a piece of plywood that fit between the ribs so it could be removed if needed. I removed it the day I brought it home, stored it in the workshop for a few years and finally threw it away. I run a 25HP Evinrude and it will scoot along at 21 MPH on smooth water fully loaded, with no twist, wobble, sway, chatter or any thing else.
 

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