boat mod ideas/help

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bdub2

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I recently purchased a 1436 flat bottom, not sure the make or model its fairly old. Im wanting to convert the boat into a duck boat and fish when i have time but mostly for ducks. What I would like to do is take out the middle seat and make a gun box/storage along one side so that i can use it as a bench when tucked into the grass to hunt. I have read that some times taking the middle seat out will pretty much comprimise the structure of the boat. Is that true and does the gun box/bench/storage just seem like a bad idea with a 36" bottom.

Any ideas or critisms are welcome

Thanks
 

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Removing seats can compromise the structural integrity and you also have to take into account that it will remove flotation from the boat also because the seats usually have foam in them. That being said, many of us have done it anyway. You can always add foam to other places and the boat can also be reinforced as you do your mods so that it is still as strong or stronger than when you started. You are only removing one seat so I do not think it will compromise the structural integrity much.

When I removed half my middle bench in my 14' V-hull I reinforced with custom bracing. I never even noticed a difference in structural integrity when running my 9.9 and 15hp on the boat. But when I threw a 30hp on it and was doing 30mph in 1-2 foot waves I really was happy that I reinforced. The stress on my boat was increased exponentially! It looks like you have a 9.5 hp turtleback Johny on there so you shouldn't have any problems with what I explained.

Now are you building the new bench seat length wise in the boat? Did I understand that correct?
 
Yea im wanting to put the bench length wise from back bench to front bench and it will be lower than the top edge of the hull, at least thats the idea might be a little harder than im willing to work with. And I was going to put some foam in that bench to make up for taking out the middle bench.
 
It can be done and would make a nice little storage for your guns. Stability when sitting on one side of the boat is the only thing that may be an issue. I have this image of you firing off you 12 gauge while sitting on the bench and ejecting yourself right out the side of the boat..... :lol:
 
you can make a gun box on the side, but as Johnny said, stability will be affected, so better make that box narrow enough so nobody mistakes it for a bench. if you need more storage space, put compartments on both sides, which you can make sturdy enough to compensate for removing the middle bench.
 
you will be cramped inside the boat if you put compartments on either side and the boat is not wide enough for you to have a bench on one side without rolling way over on its side. a 36" wide boat is really very small for hunting, the boat will be moving all over the place as you swing your shotgun around. not to mention how unsafe it would be if you ever brought along another hunter.

i would just put a swivel seat in the middle of the center bench if you are dead set on keeping the boat and using it to hunt.
 
Thanks for the input guys. After talking to some people and reading your posts I think Im going to leave it as is and make the middle seat a small storage space. Im still going to use the boat for hunting tho. Its the main reason i bought it.
 
I hunt 2 guys and a dog out if an old 1436. My boat has 2 benches so there is more open floor. I would go ahead and remove the bench. The way we hunt is to sit sideways on the benches then stand up to shoot. The way the blind is made your always standing in the center of the boat. I made a couple of storage devices to keep things off the floor. One is a cargo net from the trunk of a car attached to a wood frame Velcroed to the side of the boat the other is made from 2 nylon straps hung from the blind to secure the gun cases while underway. I also have a small deck up front which houses the fuel tank and makes getting the dog back in the boat easier.
 
My wood duck swattin' boat is a 1232, and I've never had trouble with stability with minimal gear and sitting to shoot FWIW.
 
You should be fine duck hunting from your boat. My son and I have hunted for years from our 14' canoe. Also, I've removed the side storage boxes from my boat and reinforced it with angle iron (aluminum) tying from the tunnel to the ribs on the bottom. Its way stiffer now than it was with the boxes.
 

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