Has anyone here succesfully removed the middle bench on an aluminium boat? I've read alot about it here http://pagebiz.com/bds/aluminum/repair.html
These guys seem to be split on the idea. Thier two main concerns are that it'll weaken the sides and that you'll remove the floatation contained within the bench. My center bench cotains my livewell so there's not alot of floatation there anyway. Floatation is there only for when the boat gets swamped and I could probably replace it in other areas of the boat.

The other reason is that it'll weaken the sides. Has anyone here done this and turned thier boat into a noodle? I have my casting deck up front which would have to be modified as it is supported by the bench right now. Whatever I use to support the new deck would also aid in strengthening the sides. Sound like a plan?

This is the model I have
http://www.lowe.com/fishboats/jon-boats/L1448.html

This my boat all decked out. What I want to do is remove that bench and make the deck a little smaller so I can have more room for a big cooler. I also want to make it so the deck is completely open underneath. I don't like having to lift up hatches to get my stuff.
http://www.calfishing.com/dc/user_files/883.jpg

Phil,
You found a good site at the aluminum boat repair site that you listed. I used them a lot when I was working on mine, more for repairing rivits, etc. I didn't take out my seats but I know that the Hydrilla Gorilla site does it all the time. I think you may need to add some extra bracing. I never bought their book so I don't know the details.
A caution on the Aluminum Boat Repair board, Spike on there is very knowledgable but very conservative and is always cautioning people from adding decks or modifying thier boats. I've assured him mine is stable with the decks but he doesn't seem to beleive that it can be done. You mostly need to be aware of the weight limits on your boat.
Ken

Here's the site for Hydrilla Gorilla:
http://www.myjonboat.com/

Maybe some of the pictures can give you some ideas.

Well, I decided to just go for it and cut the bench out today.

I walked around Home Depot for several hours last night just looking at things and getting ideas. Finally, I walked out of there with everything I needed for the bracing, the new deck and to recarpet the boat again. I got up early this morning and worked until I finished it about an hour ago. I was able to add a ton of room and also cut the weight of my last deck way down. I can lift the trailer tongue by hand again. I worked so fast that I didn't take any cool step by step pics like Ken. I did copy alot of his ideas for building the deck though. Here's some photos of the finished product. It's pretty plain and simple. I don't like bells and whistles. They just get in the way :)

Should be enough room for my dog to get some shade under the deck :)
It feels as sturdy as ever without the bench. Still need to find a way to cover up the jagged edges of it though.
http://www.calfishing.com/dc/user_files/3764-Picture_175.jpg

Do you think a cooler will fit? That's an 8ft swimbait rod.
http://www.calfishing.com/dc/user_files/3765-Picture_176.jpg

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Phil,
Looks good. Do you spend most of your time up on the front deck?
Is that enough room for you to move around? I put some closed cell foam (styrafoam) insulation under my floor decking that makes it very sturdy and quiet when walking around on it.
Next we need a picture of your dog taking a nap up under the front deck!
Ken

Well, did removal of the bench seem to weaken the boats sides? Ive been contemplating doing what you did to my boat for years and the only concern I have is compromising the structural integrity of the boat. Could care less about floatation, way I see it, if I flip my boat or am stupid enough to put myself in huge waves, then I deserve to lose my boat.

Also, which tool did you use to do the cutting? Maybe you could show a photo. Im thinking just using a giant grinder to sand down the rough edges of the cut flush with the sides. Then Im gonna get the boat repainted, and add some sort of "grit" to the paint on the inside for non-slip tracktion.

Heres a tip for ya. I noticed you did not jigsa4 your decking to fit around your ribs, thus you have exposed holes leading to underneath your deck. I solved this problem by getting black pipe insulation. Just cut it to length and push it in the cracks. Your baits and hooks and weights will never end up under the decking again. When the stuff wears out go buy some more, it cost like 2 bucks for 3 feet!

Urban,

Sorry for the late reply. Too much going on lately.

So far the boat seems to be as solid as ever. Almost all of my trips lately have been in the bay here where it's 5 mph. I've only ran it full bore in the lakes a few times since doing it. My only complaint so far is that there is so much surface area on the bottom of the boat that it seems to create a little more noise when running over rough water. Could be my imagination. I'm planning on getting some sheets of foam and putting them under the bottom deck. I hope this will help muffle the sound and also give me back the flotation I removed.

I used a grinder with a cutting wheel to cut the bench out. Just a small grinder with the standard 4-1/2" wheel will zip through anything pretty quick. The big 9" grinders are prone to getting away from you and that could be a bad thing in a thin aluminim boat! I still have the ugly rough edges exposed on the side. I'm not positive about what i'll do to cover that up yet.

Thanks for the tip with the insulation. My last deck was built the same way and I never really had problems with stuff falling through. I just did it the same way again because truthfully, I didn't even think about it until you mentioned it.

I want to put up some more photos as soon as I get everything in order again. Taking it out in the bay 1-3 times a week was alot of fun, but a little hard on the boat. Live bait and bloody halibut tend to get messy sometimes :)