Foam requirements and bench seat mod..NEWBIE dont hurt me!

First post, many days of lurking. I feel like a bottom feeding catfish.

I bought my first small boat after having owned several I/O and v-drive ski boats.

It appears to be a 1436 Lowe aluminum Jon boat. My two youngest have great plans. I am currently rehabbing a redneck DIY trailer. Taking off rollers and installing bunks and a better bow mount holder.

the boat is pretty standard. DIY camo paint, two benches and seems to be in pretty good shape. I am searching for a trolling motor to go with the 1972 25hp Johnson that appears to run. I have yet to take it into the water.

Basic plans include flooring with foam underneath. A small deck up front with storage underneath.

The benches have me stumped. I know they have flotation foam as a safety precaution. Some of my mods may entail removing much of the foam. My basic question comes down to this.......

??In a 1436 boat with a 25hp outboard will the underseat foam actually keep me from scuttling the boat to the bottom or is it only a precaution with a non-motorized version? If the addition of the motor means I will go to the bottom with or without the foam then I will take out the foam and modify the benches.

It covers the weight capacity of the boat. It's not worth the gamble. Whatever you take out add back somewhere else.


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First :WELCOME: JMHO the more foam the better - keep as much as you can and add as much as you can when adding your mods.