Where do i start?

[Country Dave]

Yeah that's exactly my thought them pods back there are serving no purpose what so ever. It will make for a great spot on one side for a battery and rocker panel switch and Al my electrical stuff and the other side would be great for tackle oil or other stuff

I did it to mine,

I've said it before and I’ll say it again. If I flip this thing over the least of my problems are going to be not having a little foam. :LOL2:

 

[thudpucker]

So a little floatation missing just ain't no big deal unless you really have a load in the boat you want to save.

I think I’m missing something. NOPE You got it. And I did it on purpose just to see.

If I understand correctly you removed the center seat and the foam that was under it. But the boat still floated gunnels up. Then I would say that lends credence to the fact that a little bit of foam removed does not adversely affect the overall floatation of the boat.

 

[MrSimon]

Regarding the difference in weight between wood and aluminum .... first off, you don't need to use diamond plate - just plain sheet aluminum will work just fine and I think its lighter. And 1/2" wood is going to be too thin, you'll want 3/4" for it to be really sturdy.

In the end though, its not THAT much of a weight difference either way .... in my opinion aluminum is better due to durability and longevity. Plus, I just like the simplicity of cutting a sheet of aluminum and riveting it down ... no epoxy sealing and what not.

With that said, if done right, wood can be great and will last many decades.

Its preference really.

 

[lbhansford]

for your aluminum check out stock car steel. they are out your way and very reasonable. Make a list of what you want and call them and they usually will give you a better price.

 

[chevyrulz]

i used 6061 1/4" aluminum diamond plate only paid $25 per 4x4' sheet off craigslist, each peice had a bent corner from where the guy tore it out, but 5 minutes w/ a hammer & it was flat enough for my 1436's floor.

this 1/4" diamond plate is much harder to cut than wood (i don't have a plasma cutter, only a jig saw & angle grinder), but it's stronger, lighter, & will hold up much longer than wood in a salt water environment plus it keeps my floor lower than 1/2 or 3/4 plywood.

i must say, it looks far better than a plain sheet of aluminum or a piece of plywood. the whole interior will be rolled/sprayed w/ bedliner, the white caulk line is 5200. i used 3/16" pop rivets & 5200 to attach the diamond plate to the ribs, & put wood ledgers against the bench for supporting the ends of the floor then attached to them using stainless screws & more 5200.

for the front, i'm decking from mid bench to front platform using the floor area between them as storage. here's a couple pictures:

the wood ledgers cut to fit

i rolled the wood w/ bed liner before installation, wood attaches to benches, sides, & floor using 5200 on all surfaces + wood to metal coated screws into the bench face


the floor has 1 coat of bedliner on it on it, going to get 2 more before it's finished

haven't gotten the front deck framing goin yet because i'm waiting on the aluminum angle which I ordered Sunday from onlinemetals.com

amazing prices there!

i ordered better material for 1/3 the cost versus Lowe's or Home Depot, google for discount code & got 20% off

 

[sbritt23]

So I have figured out with s little help from country Dave how I'm going to do this mod. Instead of doing a bunch of hole punching on this new rig I'm not going to extend the deck since its already 4 foot I'm going to keep it simple stupid I'm going to cut a access up front and out s access hatch for my trolling motor battery. And in them back pods. I'm going to cut some lids out and put some piano hinges on the pods. On one side I'll have storage for my battery and the other will be for life jackets and other misc storage. I will be putting foam down inbetween the ribs and built it to the top of the ribs. And then be cutting a piece of 1/4 plywood and coating it with a textured non-skid paint

 

[chevyrulz]

i suggest 1/2" for the floor instead of 1/4" if you're going to go w/ wood flooring. if you drop an anchor or something on 1/4" plywood, it's probably going to break through

rest of the plan sounds great, you'll be happy w/ rear storage on both sides, & an extended front deck also with storage

 

[Ictalurus]

You should be fine with the 1/4" ply, I may be partial because that's what I used. I had 15/32" that was carpeted, it was replaced with 1/4" that is painted w/ non-skid. I put the blue board foam between the ribs and have no issues with strength. Saved quite a bit of weight.

 

[chevyrulz]

just saw this idea:

 

[sbritt23]

That right there is nice I'm doing something similar to that but it will be a small PVC junction box mounted on the side of my bench under my legs with my bilge pump floor lights running lights along with my tilt and trim switch

 

[thudpucker]

Boy that Otter E-box looks good.

I think I'll put switches in parallel so I can work the lights from either end of the boat.