Hey, I really appreciate the help, I'm going to look into the fiberglass thing, very clever,my boat is a V-hull and my buddy that owned it before me took out the front seat so I need to have some Heliarc welding done for new brackets for my deck, this project is really burning my brain,lol, I don't want to get the angle wrong due to bow weight and when you go up there you slide into the water and run yourself over with the trolling motor,lol, glad to hear that you were in the same situation as me when you were building (customizing) your boat, i'll see you on the water when I get done, hopefully with a new deck. I'll be the one in the water hanging on to the front of my boat.......Warren