mbweimar
Well-known member
As the title states, someone take me to school. Over the past few months I've had ample time to sit around and think about how to improve my boat while it's being repaired. I've combed through dozens of threads and YouTube videos. I've worn out Google Images as well. One idea I came up with is how I can take advantage of the rear bench area. Two scenarios come to mind. Here's the only pic I could find of my boat.
First scenario: Build a frame between the rear bench and the transom to lay a deck sturdy enough to stand and fish from. I stole this pic from google images.
To me, this seems like the more difficult of the two scenarios. Having to work around the corner bracing, fuel line, fuel/water seperator, etc seems like a lot of work. Obviously this deck will need some sort of hatch to access the bilge.
Second scenario: Build a frame onto the front of the bench to extend it forward. To me this seems like the easier of the two. Plus, it would better balance the weight of me and my girlfriend. Win-win right? The pic below best represents what I have in mind, with the exception of the wood. Obviously I would use aluminum.
Now, this framing would have to be ROCK SOLID. It will need to support two people leaning/sitting on the leaning post I found, plus the extreme vibration of riding around in less than smooth intracostal waterways. I'm thinking 1 x 1/8 square tube for the framing, but using 3/16 aluminum pop rivets sounds like the weak link. Since I've never done anything like this, I'm looking for info from the guys who have built decks. Whats the best way to assemble the framing? How are they holding up? Has anyone had one fail? Are they pretty much maintenance free, or do you ever need to go back in and replace rivets as they loosen up? All the uncertainty is making my head spin!
First scenario: Build a frame between the rear bench and the transom to lay a deck sturdy enough to stand and fish from. I stole this pic from google images.
To me, this seems like the more difficult of the two scenarios. Having to work around the corner bracing, fuel line, fuel/water seperator, etc seems like a lot of work. Obviously this deck will need some sort of hatch to access the bilge.
Second scenario: Build a frame onto the front of the bench to extend it forward. To me this seems like the easier of the two. Plus, it would better balance the weight of me and my girlfriend. Win-win right? The pic below best represents what I have in mind, with the exception of the wood. Obviously I would use aluminum.
Now, this framing would have to be ROCK SOLID. It will need to support two people leaning/sitting on the leaning post I found, plus the extreme vibration of riding around in less than smooth intracostal waterways. I'm thinking 1 x 1/8 square tube for the framing, but using 3/16 aluminum pop rivets sounds like the weak link. Since I've never done anything like this, I'm looking for info from the guys who have built decks. Whats the best way to assemble the framing? How are they holding up? Has anyone had one fail? Are they pretty much maintenance free, or do you ever need to go back in and replace rivets as they loosen up? All the uncertainty is making my head spin!
