i would think if you took out the middle bench and put in a floor and tied it in to the side braces you would be ok. you could even put a side locker for rods and gear and tie that in to the floor and the existing side braces to make it even stronger, and storage is always nice. for me the biggest problem with a small boat is having stuff all over the deck, so i try to keep everything stowed, makes fishing a lot easier when you're not tripping over stuff.