Making compartment out of bench?

TinBoats.net

Help Support TinBoats.net:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

CodyPomeroy

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 6, 2011
Messages
200
Reaction score
0
Well, I just put the boat away for the winter and it is time to plan my next project for the spring. I have been reading about all the mods people are doing. I don't want to do a full mod, but I am always looking for ways I can make my boat more user friendly and optimize what little space I have (12').

I have seen several people cut the top of one of the benches to add more storage. I was thinking of doing something like this. My boat has wooden benches on top of a metal box. I would be interested in seeing pics and hearing about any mods of this sort. I have added a pic of my boat so you can see what I have to work with.
 

Attachments

  • 1002111037b.jpg
    1002111037b.jpg
    228.2 KB · Views: 916
if you use the search up on the top right of the page you will see some benches modified from benches. noy to steal your thread but is that styrofoam tubing on your gunwales towards the bow on your boat? whatever it is thats sweet! think im gonna copycat ya!
 
shawnfish said:
if you use the search up on the top right of the page you will see some benches modified from benches. noy to steal your thread but is that styrofoam tubing on your gunwales towards the bow on your boat? whatever it is thats sweet! think im gonna copycat ya!
Thanks, I will search that. Those are foam pipe insulators that I picked up at a local farm store. I read about them on bassresource.com. I like the because I can lay my rods down when unhooking a fish or rigging and they don't get scratched up. I don't have them glued down or anything, I just take them off and strap the next to the oars when I am done for the day.
 
thats exactly what i think they would be good for, im kinda weird about my rods getting dinged. and they would be great for keeping the gunwales protected while at the dock.....where bouts in iowa are you?
 
I wish I had taken some pictures of the old 14 foot Duracraft I used to have, because that's exactly what I did with my center bench seat. I actually cut it loose from the sides of the boat, gutted the foam out of it, and welded an end plate on either end, as well as a plate across the bottom. Then, I cut a 12x24" hole in the center of the top, and used a piece of diamondplate for the lid.

Then, in the bottom of the "storage locker", I used some sections I cut out of plastic milk crates, to keep my gear from being in contact with the bottom, in the event of rain or water getting in there. It worked great. I was able to store my life jackets, hip waders, landing net, cast net, tackle box, and a few other items in this compartment.

Also, I never re-attached it to the hull of the boat, so I was able to position it anywhere in the boat (except toward the front, where the distance between the gunwales got closer) as well as being able to remove it completely, to maximize room on the deck for doing things such as commercial shellfish harvesting, (one time, a friend of mine and I were both harvesting from this boat, and we had 22 bushels on board, at 60 lbs/bushel) or cast netting menhaden (I had over 800 pounds of menhaden on the deck of that boat one time)

And with the floor design of that boat being like the floor of my aluma-jet, that was a very easy boat to keep clean. I still kick myself for getting rid of it. :x

Then, I went a step further, and gutted a small compartment out of the front seat of that boat, with a hatch cover, and made that my anchor well. Again, it worked great. And for the amount of foam I removed from those 2 seats, I offset that by having the 1 1/2" extruded styrofoam panels between all the ribs, along the bottom, and the sides.
 
shawnfish said:
thats exactly what i think they would be good for, im kinda weird about my rods getting dinged. and they would be great for keeping the gunwales protected while at the dock.....where bouts in iowa are you?
Near Cedar Rapids
 
I have seen a lot of drop in compartments, but I want to use the wood seat as the lid. IAny suggestions as to what type of hinge to use? Also, would I have to carpet it? or can I leave the wood as is?
 
Probably best to use an aluminum or stainless steel 'piano hinge' for the lid.

Check McMaster-Carr, pretty sure they have them in any size or type of material for your application.


Just as a side note: The hatch covers on my old 14 Duracraft, and on my Aluma Jet, don't use hinges. Instead, on the underside of the hatch covers, there are 3 sides with aluminum angle for the exact size of the cutout, and the front edge has a piece of aluminum channel, so basically, you slide forward and then drop the hatch cover to secure it in place.

The front piece of channel locks around the front edge of the cutout, which prevents it from blowing off and launching into the air (even at 70 MPH on the highway) and the angles on the other 3 sides are against the other edges of the cutout, which prevent it from sliding rearward (unless lifted) and also prevent it from sliding sideways. No, that design isn't waterproof, but one thing's for sure, they have no hinges to ever start corroding and seize up! Simple, but effective.
 
PSG-1 said:
Probably best to use an aluminum or stainless steel 'piano hinge' for the lid.

Check McMaster-Carr, pretty sure they have them in any size or type of material for your application.


Just as a side note: The hatch covers on my old 14 Duracraft, and on my Aluma Jet, don't use hinges. Instead, on the underside of the hatch covers, there are 3 sides with aluminum angle for the exact size of the cutout, and the front edge has a piece of aluminum channel, so basically, you slide forward and then drop the hatch cover to secure it in place.

The front piece of channel locks around the front edge of the cutout, which prevents it from blowing off and launching into the air (even at 70 MPH on the highway) and the angles on the other 3 sides are against the other edges of the cutout, which prevent it from sliding rearward (unless lifted) and also prevent it from sliding sideways. No, that design isn't waterproof, but one thing's for sure, they have no hinges to ever start corroding and seize up! Simple, but effective.
You wouldn't happen to have any pics would you?
 
Here ya go:
100_0260.JPG

to open the hatch, lift the rear:
100_0261.JPG

100_0267.JPG

You can see the angle pieces at the 4 edges like I described:
100_0262.JPG

Here's a closeup of the channel at the front edge:
100_0263.JPG

This hatch allows access to the fuel tank, where it can be removed if necessary. Also, the small space in front of the tank is perfect for an extra dry box, and on top of the tank, I can store my landing net attachment that fits my Sure-Hold aluminum pole:
100_0264.JPG


Again, this one shows the front channel, and how it locks at the front edge:
100_0265.JPG

100_0266.JPG
 
PSG-1 said:
Here ya go:
View attachment 7

to open the hatch, lift the rear:
View attachment 6



You can see the angle pieces at the 4 edges like I described:
View attachment 5

Here's a closeup of the channel at the front edge:
View attachment 4

This hatch allows access to the fuel tank, where it can be removed if necessary. Also, the small space in front of the tank is perfect for an extra dry box, and on top of the tank, I can store my landing net attachment that fits my Sure-Hold aluminum pole:
View attachment 3


Again, this one shows the front channel, and how it locks at the front edge:
View attachment 2

View attachment 1
Thank you for the pics. The tops of my benches are wood, do you think that design would work on wood?
 
I think so, as long as you can find a suitable way to attach the pieces of angle underneath the wood, such as some thick SS wood screws, and some epoxy placed in the screw holes, as well as a bead of it under the angle itself for good adhesion.
 

Latest posts

Top