Can I remove this seat?

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Greer

Greer

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Hi all, I've just joined as a new member and have really enjoyed viewing all the modifications everyone has made to their boats. I purchased a 2007 Alumacraft V16 at the beginning of the summer and have thoroughly enjoyed getting back into boating and fishing after a many years absence. I am starting to plan on a modification of my own this winter. My question is if I can safely remove part of the middle bench seat on my hull (marked in red)? It can be a real chore to climb over the seats, tackle, and kids getting back and forth from the front to the back. I plan to leave a small section on each side of the seat and fabricate a bracket to support the seat back onto the floor ribs as the seats don't currently extend all the way to the floor (open space beneath the bench seats). Then I want to build flat floors later.

Any opinions are appreciated.

Thanks!
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Yes it can be done. But you most remember that the seats are there for structural support. I like the fact of only removing the middle section for a walk thru. As you stated if you make some sort of mounting brackets for the remaining seat/s I think you will be fine.
 
I would not remove any of that seat. That seat is too structural and removing any of it will weaken your boat. They designed that boat that way for a reason.

instead, I'd go ahead and deck over that seat all the way to the bow and put storage compartments underneath now instead of later.
 
jigngrub said:
I would not remove any of that seat. That seat is too structural and removing any of it will weaken your boat. They designed that boat that way for a reason.

instead, I'd go ahead and deck over that seat all the way to the bow and put storage compartments underneath now instead of later.
Click to expand...


IT ALL DEPENDS ON WHAT YOUR AFTER ALSO, DECKING THE WHOLE THIND WILL LOSE STABILITY, I WOULD IMHO, PUT A SMALL DECK IN BETWEEN THE SEAT YOUR LOOKING TO RID YOUR BOAT OF, JUST WITH THE BOTTOM OF THE SEAT, MAKING IT EASIER TO GET OVET THE SEAT KEEPING IT LOWER, AND THE STRUCURAL INTEGRITY OF THE BOAT TAKES NO HIT.
 
BOB350RX said:
jigngrub said:
I would not remove any of that seat. That seat is too structural and removing any of it will weaken your boat. They designed that boat that way for a reason.

instead, I'd go ahead and deck over that seat all the way to the bow and put storage compartments underneath now instead of later.
Click to expand...


IT ALL DEPENDS ON WHAT YOUR AFTER ALSO, DECKING THE WHOLE THIND WILL LOSE STABILITY, I WOULD IMHO, PUT A SMALL DECK IN BETWEEN THE SEAT YOUR LOOKING TO RID YOUR BOAT OF, JUST WITH THE BOTTOM OF THE SEAT, MAKING IT EASIER TO GET OVET THE SEAT KEEPING IT LOWER, AND THE STRUCURAL INTEGRITY OF THE BOAT TAKES NO HIT.
Click to expand...
 

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BOB350RX said:
jigngrub said:
I would not remove any of that seat. That seat is too structural and removing any of it will weaken your boat. They designed that boat that way for a reason.

instead, I'd go ahead and deck over that seat all the way to the bow and put storage compartments underneath now instead of later.
Click to expand...


IT ALL DEPENDS ON WHAT YOUR AFTER ALSO, DECKING THE WHOLE THIND WILL LOSE STABILITY, I WOULD IMHO, PUT A SMALL DECK IN BETWEEN THE SEAT YOUR LOOKING TO RID YOUR BOAT OF, JUST WITH THE BOTTOM OF THE SEAT, MAKING IT EASIER TO GET OVET THE SEAT KEEPING IT LOWER, AND THE STRUCURAL INTEGRITY OF THE BOAT TAKES NO HIT.
Click to expand...

It's not like he's modding a 1432 or some such. His 70" bean should provide plenty of stability for the forward deck.



fool4fish1226 said:
Something like this may work for you
Click to expand...

That's a nice looking job/mod, but I can see me banging the snot out of my knees on those corners trying to get through them in a hurry.
 
Here's a post off of another site about a boat that had the middle seat removed.

just last week i purchased a 14 ft polark jon boat for a local guy off of craigslist. i could tell the bat was ruff and would be a project so i got it to keep myself busy for the winter. the last owner removed the middle jump seat which made the walls flex and rivits to leak. this boat was repainted it looks to be 3 times becaus i can see 2 shades of green and a ugly grey like color on the botom.
Click to expand...

Those that say remove it don't really know what they're talking about... but it's not their boat, so they don't really have to worry about it.
 
i have a 14' mirro craft that i removed all the benches, so i know what im talkin about, not all fishing situations required a deck to fish from, thats why it depends on what you the boat owner is looking for, i find that a high deck is uncomfortable to fish from for the type of fishing i do, not every one on fishes the same way as any other on here... that being said. the bench seats also contain the floatation foam for your boat and i wouldnt remove any of that without replacing it, if you primarily bass fish then a deck and high pedestals would probably work for you, i do alot of drift fishing and trolling where a high deck and pedestals, would act like a sail and make for a hell of a time controling my boat, i for one would rather fish the adjust the boat, all the time. when i removed all the benches from my boat it was pretty flimsy, i added a shallow deck in the rear, and a smaller one in the front, and it stiffened it up realy well. any time you make major changes to anything use some common sense and dont take it out on a bad day or go full out with it until you know everything is good, then feel free to do as you wish, and for someone to say that because its not my or someone elses boat that we just dont care is pretty reckless, in the end it is your boat youll have the last say on what you do, so good luck.....oh and i almost forgot welcome to tinboats!!!!! :D :D
 
Thanks for all the replies. I'm still on the fence about the seat removal. As I said in my first post, if I do remove it I am only going to remove the middle, giving me a clear walking path from the front to the back. I figured if I then created structural barckets of some sort to support the remaining pieces of the seat on each side back into the floor ribs I would regain alot of the structural support that was there originally..... I am planning a casting deck from the front seat forward only the heighth of the front seat, which is about a foot below the gunnel. Then a smaller deck in the bow near the heighth of the gunnel for a bow mount TM. You can see my fabrication in the picture for my current hand controlled TM. Not pretty, but it works great.

I'm going to concentrate on the deck for now and then I may put in a flat floor between the seats. I think that in itself may make it much easier to move around in the boat. I'm going to start a thread in the boat modification section soon so ya'll can watch the progress. Thanks again for all the replys, this site is a wealth of information!

Lastly, for a bow mount foot controlled TM, does the deck for the mount need to be level with the gunnel, or can it be a few inches below it?

IMG_0013.JPG
 
Greer said:
Lastly, for a bow mount foot controlled TM, does the deck for the mount need to be level with the gunnel, or can it be a few inches below it?

Click to expand...

It looks better and is a more secure installation to have the deck flush with the gunwales... but if you need to put it in a few inches below, you can "shim" the motor up with some lumber.
 
jigngrub said:
Greer said:
Lastly, for a bow mount foot controlled TM, does the deck for the mount need to be level with the gunnel, or can it be a few inches below it?

Click to expand...

It looks better and is a more secure installation to have the deck flush with the gunwales... but if you need to put it in a few inches below, you can "shim" the motor up with some lumber.
Click to expand...


+1
 

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