Cutting aluminum

[user 29]

I was curious about cutting the aluminum on my G3 1756 SC

1. In the center is the plastic plate for the trolling motor outlet. It’s got about a baseball sized hole access under the deck. I was thinking about cutting the hole to rectangle off the circle for easier access.
Is it wise to do that?

2. I was also thinking about cutting a hole on the starboard (see pic) to slide the rod butts (he said butts!) under the bow for more security for the rods and additional room on the deck.
That’s a 23” space between starboard gunnel and trolling motor plug plate.
Is that wise?

Thanks

 

[MrGiggles]

Nothing wrong with trimming out that access hole, just leave enough meat to hold the panel on.

Instead of cutting a giant hole for the rods, I would instead grab a good hole saw and make a line of holes, then put some rubber edge trim on the inside to keep the aluminum from scuffing up your rods. Would look a lot nicer, and not compromise the structure of your deck plate, which can have quite a bit of stress with the trolling motor pulling on it.

 

[gogittum]

Also, if you cut holes with straight lines, make sure you radius the corners for stress relief by drilling them. Sharp corners will tend to crack.