Decking question on my new (to me) boat

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dkuster

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Hi Everyone,

I'm the proud new owner of my first (used) boat. No more fishing from the shore for me! :mrgreen:

It's a 1988, 14' 5", deep-V "Grumman 14 fisherman" with a 65" beam. The graphics on the side say "GFS", which I assume means "Grumman fisherman series", or something like that.

I've never seen a 14-footer with such a large capacity. The sticker says 6 people, with a total limit (people + gear) of 1,085 lbs.

Anyway, I've been staring at this boat for about a week mulling over how to modify it. Right now it's bare, with just three bench-style seats.

My first thought was to:

1) Make a casting deck up front (from the top of the front bench to the bow)
2) Remove the middle seat
3) Make a flat floor between rear bench and the front bench

But there are a couple of problems with this. First, I'm scared of the thought of trying to drill out the hull rivets to remove the bench. I can probably get around this by cutting through the bench brackets from the inside.

But then there's still the problem of reduced structural integrity and loss of floatation foam. The foam is relatively easy to deal with. Trying to brace the sides to improve hull strength is a bit more work.

Recently, I thought of another way to skin this cat. I could save time, effort, and compromising the boat by simply leaving the center seat intact and:

1) Make a flat floor (low deck) between rear bench and the middle bench
2) Make a high(er) deck running across the top of the middle bench,
across the front bench, all the way to the bow

This would have the added benefit of allowing me to create below deck storage and add a livewell between the middle and front benches.

The big question is, will a boat like this be stable with a partial deck running along the top of the benches? There would still be about 8" to the gunwales. And actually, the high deck would only be about 12" higher than the low deck.

I know that to answer my own question I should take the boat to the lake and try standing on the middle bench, but this boat won't be registered until the spring. So for now, I'm just looking for some expert opinions.

Thanks!

-dan
 
Deck over the top of the middle seat, you'll be glad you did.

Considering the beam and max capacity of your boat you should't have any problems.

Which deck would be the high one?

Post some picks of your boat so we can see what you have.
 
My first boat was a 1982 14' Crestliner with a 20hp (pull start) Merc rigged like the boat in the top picture. It was very stable and fished really well. I converted the center seat into battery storage for the trolling motor.

My next boat was a 1997 Sea Nymph 146 with a 25hp (electric start) like the one in the last two pictures The raised front casting deck was very tight with a foot controlled trolling motor. The live well was in the raised casting deck.

Both of these should be very similar to the hull design of the Grumman. The first boat had a lower center of gravity and was a bit more stable than the 2nd one.

I wouldn't remove the center seat, but instead extend the front casting deck to it as you were considering. Just a couple ideas that might work for you.

Have a great build.
 

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Hey, thanks for the input everyone!

I'm glad to hear my latest ideas for this boat should work well. It will be easier to implement and also give me storage and livewell space.

I will start a thread in the boat mod forum once I get started and I'll add pics of my progress.

jigngrub: The high deck will be as high as the bench seats and will run from middle bench all the way to the bow of the boat.
The lower deck (aka floor) will only run between the rear bench and middle bench.

I haven't decided yet what to do with the space between the rear bench and the transom. I'm planning on putting the batteries and livewell towards the front of the boat to balance the weight. The only thing by the transom will be the gas tank for the mercury 9.9 hp motor that came with the boat...

-dan



jigngrub said:
Deck over the top of the middle seat, you'll be glad you did.

Considering the beam and max capacity of your boat you should't have any problems.

Which deck would be the high one?

Post some picks of your boat so we can see what you have.
 

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