how to remove bench seats

How do i remove the seats if they are riveted into the boat

Drill or grind the rivets out and then patch holes. Or cut out and then grind down the edges if you don't want all the holes

Drill the rivet heads off, then punch the rest of the rivet out of the hole. Remove the seat and install new rivets in the holes. If you're cheap like me, you can grind the ends of the rivet that are inside the boat off, then pull the seat off whats left of the shank of the rivet. Once you get the seat removed, you can rebuck the rivet. I did that with a winchmate on my boat and the rivets sealed back just fine.

For a stronger/safer boat, leave the benches in and build/modify on top of them.

Removing bench seats weakens your boat and removes floatation foam that keeps your boat from sinking to the bottom if it fills with water.

Do you drill from the out side in or from the inside out

it's easier to drill through the head of the rivet because it already gives you a pilot hole to start with.

but, if it's riveted through the outside of your hull, I would suggest just sawing right behind the rivets. If your boat's not leaking where it goes through the hull, no need to mess with it any more and just build around it and work it into the design of the mod.

One of the best mods I've seen for this is this one (I know there are others, but this one is the only one I could remember without searching) - https://tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=1676

i like that when he cut out the bench did he leave some of the bottom because my bench is also riveted to the bottom of the hull