Finally ready to start decking and install seat pedestals

Well, I've rebuilt my trailer and painted it...pics to follow. Then I took a good look at the boat and found that there were big blobs of silicone on nearly every bolt on the transom and on some new rivets under the stern. I scraped all the crap off and found that the bolts were all snug and the rivets were tight. I filled the boat with about 8 inches of water and the only leak was around the drain plug. I sanded the suspect bolt heads and rivets and applied a coat of JB Marine Weld. Then sanded it and repainted those spots. I'm guessing that the last owner had a leak and just plastered everything with silicone "just in case". The tube for the drain plug is slightly deformed and out of round so that may be why it is leaking a bit. I plan to try to buy a new screw in T plug and see if that helps. If that fails, I may put in a brass screw in plug to fix that problem.

Okay, while I've been doing all of this, I've planned about 20 different ways to deck and set up everything in this boat. Since I take my grandsons fishing about half the time, I've decided to keep most of the floors low and keep the middle bench seat.

I have a couple of questions that I'd like some help with.

1. My Lowe has big ribs that make it strong but are a real tripping hazard. When I put in the floor, do you put the foam between the ribs or on top? It seems like if you put it between the ribs that it will make it hard for water to drain properly out of the boat.

2. Can I use 3/4 plywood screwed to the seats to mount my pedestals? I was planning to screw the plywood to the seats using toggle bolts and then drill a hole for the pedestal support and secure the support.

Thanks
Steve

No opinions? :lol: I decided to use SS screws and screw 3/4 carpeted plywood (sealed with spar) to the benches, then mount the seat plates to that. I'm also going to lay the 1" blue foam in top of the ribs so that the drainage and ventilation stay open under the floor. It just seems if you put it between the ribs, then you might get a blockage and keep moisture under the floor.

We'll see how that all goes.