Question about removing bench seats in Alumacraft V14

Ok, I have an 1994 Alumacraft V14 deep V fishing boat and I would like to remove two of the three bech seat (middle seat and rear seat) My boat is used on small inland lakes however they can get rough at times.

Is this safe to do? (I see a lot of mods done like this just not sure about my particular model boat)

Will this weaken the sidewalks of the boat?

Will I have to add some sort of sidewall support to the new floor I intend to add to the boat?

All responses will be appreciated. Also, this is my first mod and I'm not sure if I picked the right boat but I got a fair price when I bought it.

Thanks in advance

It'd be hard to offer advice on something like this without some pics of the inside of the boat. My Grumman came from the factory with nothing but rear bench and a platform at the bow but it had sufficient bracing to compensate.

Your bench seats are structural and contain the valuable and much needed floatation foam that will keep your boat afloat in case of a hull breach or being swamped.

The thin gunwales on a bench boat won't support the sides without benches, open deck boats have the wide gunwales and extra support for the sides.

Instead of removing your benches you may want to consider decking over top of the instead. This will give you storage space below and a clear deck above.