Monarch 1464 help!

I got a Monarch 1464 that I started working on this week. Super excited about this build b/c I've been on Tinboats looking and learning for a while now. Gonna build this similar to Express Monarch build with a bunch of other ideas I got on here. 4-5 ft front deck and 4 ft rear deck.

Here's the problem, middle bench seat was a live well and I cut it out. There is a drain plug in the middle of the boat now. Obviously I have to seal it uop somehow b/c deck floor will be on top of it. Should I just weld a plate over it on bottom of boat or what? Not really sure what to do???

When you removed the middle bench, you removed a structural member of your boat and weakened it [-X [-X [-X

You should consider reinstalling the bench and livewell and mod around it.

jigngrub said:

When you removed the middle bench, you removed a structural member of your boat and weakened it [-X [-X [-X

You should consider reinstalling the bench and livewell and mod around it.

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I disagree. Skiffs come from the factory with no benches and are structurally sound. The way the benches are made in an aluminum boat I do not believe that the bench adds much in the way of strength compared to the ribs.

gotmuddy said:

I disagree. Skiffs come from the factory with no benches and are structurally sound. The way the benches are made in an aluminum boat I do not believe that the bench adds much in the way of strength compared to the ribs.

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You don't really know what you're talking about.

Skiffs and bench boats are designed differently, take the middle bench out of a bench boat and the sides will flex... there's little or no flex on the sides of a skiff because skiffs have wider gunwales and more reinforcing on the sides. The small round tube gunwales on a tinny don't offer near enough strength to support the sides of a boat.

I see where people are complaining all the time about a tinny they bought where the previous owner removed the middle bench and now the boat has cracked ribs, a cracked hull, and/or bad rivets all over.

Do people remove middle benches? Sure they do.

Do those people have problems with their boat right away? No, it takes a while for the stresses to weaken the other structural members to failure.

Will removing the middle bench shorten the life of a boat? You betcha.

There are way to strengthen the boat back up, like installing a deck from the fore or aft to where the bench was... but why remove the bench for that? just leave it there and incorporate into the deck plan.

I am putting decks on the boat and am sure this will fix any structural support issues. Think I'm going to weld drain plug up from the inside. My buddy said he will do it for me.