New member with a alumacraft Tex20

Hello I'm a new member and have been absorbing all kinds of info from this site. I have a Alumacraft Tex20 that I got late last summer I am going to redo the decks on it. They were not done very well by the previous owner. Here are some pic of it as it is now. I started taking it apart last night. The front deck was framed with 2x4 cut down to 2 3/4" screwed to the factory aluminum front deck that was under the wood one with deck screws (rusted) with 3/4" plywood screwed (rusted) on top. I would like to open up the factory deck to utilize the space for storage. Would there be foam inside that? Can't tell from the outside. I will take pics of what I have done when I get a chance, it was dark when I quit last night.

It's a very good bet that there's foam there.

My 2009 alumacraft 15/48 allweld full of foam under front deck except at the verry front. Also full underback deck. Is more storage worth a sunk boat?

bptjr said:

My 2009 alumacraft 15/48 allweld full of foam under front deck except at the verry front. Also full underback deck. Is more storage worth a sunk boat?

Click to expand...

Don't want a "skunked boat" that's why I asked before I cut into it. There is foam under the front deck so I've decided not to cut into it. I am going to find storage else where.
I'm wanting to add a rod locker along one side or the other but haven't gotten that far yet.
The bench where the seats are mounted is rotted pretty bad so that will be replaced. What is a good height for the seats? I'm thinking 12" -15" off floor. They are to high now, my knees are in my armpits when I drive.
I have 2 batteries where would the best location for them? They are currently one under driver seat and one in storage compartment up front.

Well here she is stripped down. Found some interesting things. Whoever did the last build used 2"x4" framing 3/8", 1/2", and 3/4" plywood without any kind of sealant, coated, galvanized, self-drilling, and drywall screws. They took out all but a 10" square of foam out of the bench seat. I'm going to reuse the front deck and floor plywood it's still in good shape I'll just seal before I reinstall. I'm going to fill the space between the ribs with foam to replace what was removed from bench seat. I'm trying to decide how I am going to do the live wells. It had 2 10 gallon totes plumbed together installed in the rear bench seat as you can see from pictures. I think I would like to have a larger capacity these don't seem big enough.
Would priming and painting work for sealing the wood or should I use spar varnish?

You've done a lot of work, any updates? Could you post a pic of the layout that you're thinking about?

Sorry no updates. With Christmas, a 12 day hunting trip to Alabama and these lovely Ohio winters plus an outdoor garage havent done anything but think and plan. I can try to post my design if I can figure out how.