chrispbrown27
Well-known member
After duck season ended, I was finally able to get started on the mods. I would have liked to remove the center bench altogether, but didn't want to lose any structural strength. But I definitely wanted an easier way to move from front to back then stepping over the middle bench....bad knees and stiff waders make it hard to do early in the morning. So I opted to make a walkway through the center. I removed the bench, cut it down the center and then bent the ends down to enclose what remained of the bench. I then riveted the bent pieces into place. After much debating, I came up with a way to anchor the seats to the bottom of the boat to hold the sides in and strengthen them up for people to sit on. I used a piece of aluminum angle and aluminum flat bar, that were riveted together and then riveted to the ribs and the bench. To offset my weight while running the outboard I put my accessory battery in the left side of the bench. The wood that the seat is on can be removed when wing nuts are taken off for access to the battery. I then put in 3/4 inch varnished plywood in for the floor (which also helps to anchor the bench modification down) and carpeted it all. Next step was to run the wiring to the junction box, which I placed on the left side by the rear bench. The 10 fuse block I used has plenty of room for expansion in the future and the box itself has plenty of room too. Because of the distance between the starting battery and the accessory battery I had no choice but to mount the onboard charger in the same area or by extensions, which I might do in the future. For the fish finder, I found a RAM trolling motor stabilizer on clearance and modified it to mount my fish finder on. When I am running the outboard the fish finder is within easy reach and I can see it when on the front deck. All that is left is to figure out exactly where and how I want the livewell and to put in some interior lights for jug fishing and I will be happy with it...for now!
