Stiffening a boat to make it more stable

[jartzh]

Does stiffening up a jon boat but adding a floor make it any more stable? Of course if you had a plywood floor then you are talking about more weight. Does weight carry into the equation of stability? I was thinking of just adding a low pedistal seat 6" rise (for my leg/knee pain) but its so flexible now I know I need to keep the seats low. There will be no standing except on the floors. Its a 14ft old Jon flatbottom , I dont know the width yet as its at my brother in law and he is measuring it for me.

 

[who pooted?]

I used to have a removable casting deck made out of 3/4 treated plywood that weighed about 80lbs or so, but I don't think it made it any more stable. With the deck out it didn't really sit any higher in the water, so I guess I'm saying no it didn't make mine any more stable.
The only thing that helped in having a deck was not having to step over the ribs which can be a trip hazard.
At 14' and 36" the boat is going to move back and forth no matter what you do due to the narrow width of the boat. When i had my old deck I stood on it using a casting butt seat and did fine. I plan on doing the same with my alum deck I'm currently working on. Check out my thread on my build.

 

[ben2go]

If you can eliminate the flex and twist,it will FEEL more stable.Decks can make a boat unstable when you stand on them.Check out my thread for more info on decking. https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=9074