I also put battery powered LED lights under the seats, light the boat up nicely without blinding you. It's also easy to tie knots at night since all you have to do is hold the lure below your knees. They rotate with the seats so whichever direction you are facing you have light.
Total cost...
How it sits now, put some accessories on it. Rod holder, Fish Finder, new trolling motor, battery and box. Took a dash mounted battery meter and cut a hole in the top of the battery box, siliconed around it and mounted. Works well, out of the way and keeps me from staying out too long...
Little update 7 months after putting it in the water,
Hasn't leaked one drop of water in it and has stayed in the boat house floating the whole time, I didn't have the drain plug so I put a plumbing fixture in the bottom with a 1" plug and coated it all with the same water proof paint as the...
Leans a little to the right, perfect - the battery will go on the left. I was amazed that I felt comfortable standing on the front deck. Much more stable than I thought it would be.
One thing has been bothering me, the red oil based below the waterline since it will be in the boathouse all the time. Decided to sand it down, put all new stainless hardware in and paint it with the waterproofer. Have an older battery and hopefully will get it in the water tomorrow for...
Since I wasn't sure about the year of my boat I called Alumacraft and the operator put me through to Russ Swenson Alumacraft Vice President. Very cool conversation, he called me back and looked up the number on my transom support for me. Turns out this is a 1956 model F, I was not expecting it...