Sounds good.I cut all of the transom support structure out in order to get the old transom out. I will be making some new structure and having it welded up once I get the transom back in.
The inside surface of the transom has some pitting. Not too bad in my opinion. Looks like water got in around some of the fasteners and ate at the surface. No pitting around the perimeter and where it attaches to the hull so I am thinking it would be structurally sound. I am thinking about coating the entire inside surface of the transom G-Flex epoxy, then sand down flush to fill all of the pitting and corroded spots. Then paint before installing the transom back in. This should help keep any future corrosion to a minimum. Plus I plan to seal all of my through transom fasteners pretty well so I hopefully wont be trapping any water in there in the future.
I have been thinking a lot about the splash tray and looking at more pictures. I am planning on just installing my rear deck and use it as is for a little while and eventually build a splash well that side on top of my rear deck and extends up a bit higher than the transom to add a little extra protection against a wave from the rear. I was originally thinking I would have the bile area in the back completely open and accessible for the plug and bilge and inspection but my buddy talked some sense into me. He said most new boats have the plug installed from the outside and have minimal to no access to the bilge. So keeping my rear deck all one big sheet with a splash well on top and small access panel to inspect / maintain my bilge pump is probably the ideal set up and close to what you would find on a new aluminum boat.
Got a bunch or wire wheel clean up done this weekend along with riveting some more support structure in. Cut the top caps for the skinny side pieces out of 3/4 MDO. Finally got my 316 SS staples so I should be starting wrapping my floorboards in my flooring vinyl this week. The big milestone I am trying to hit is getting the rest of the riveting and fab work done (with exception of the transom work) and getting all on the painted surfaces sanded down and prepped for paint. Once I have all that down I can pull it out of the shop and give it one last pressure wash and scrub down before pulling in back into the shop and start with re-assembly. Foam, Floors, Transom, Console, Etc. Should start looking more like a finished boat. If all get well it should be ready to test in the water by early May. Not a lot to share with pictures. Will probably post up some progress pics later this week.
What kind of power are you going to hang on her?
Sounds good.
If you coat the inside of the transom with G-Flex, I would not sand most of it off before putting on the transom. It will never be seen, so why not leave the protection on?
There are some interesting fold-down bench options. I don't have time right now to show examples, but I'm considering adding a rear deck to my center console, using the design from Sea Hunt, I believe.
In my 16 Sport that I pictured above, the deck is carpeted, so it's really comfortable to sit or lay on without adding any seats or sockets. Initially, I was going to do something there, but I'm glad I didn't.
What kind of flooring are you going to have over your decks? Paint, Carpet, Vinyl or SeaDeck?
If it was me, I wouldn't be too concerned about how "form fitting" that foam is. I would cut it into pieces and fill the voids as best I could. As long as the foam is contained and doesn't migrate over time, you'll be fine.
About the amount of flotation: I'd add enough foam to displace the max weight listed on the identiplate. You can go further if you want; no big deal as long as you're not sacrificing usable space for excess foam.
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