Removing middle rear bench? 79' 14ft aluminum Lund

Wondering if this is possible and wont effect floatation on my 14ft aluminum Lund? Would like more room to walk around and put down a nice carpet covered flooring piece along the bottom where the bench sits. Would like to also put a floor going on top of the front two benches along with an elevated seat. Can this work? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

Jon

Re: Removing middle rear bench? 79' 14ft aluminum Lund

the bench seats are structural. the hold the gunnels, you are jeopardizing the safety of the boat.

Re: Removing middle rear bench? 79' 14ft aluminum Lund

Absolutely, I agree. If you take the bench seats out the sides will flop like tin foil.

Tracker did something with their 14' Laker that might work for you. Do a search for the Tracker Guide V14 Laker and look at what they did with the middle seat on that model.

On the other hand they had to add a bunch of extra floatation to counteract the change.

JOhn ><>

Re: Removing middle rear bench? 79' 14ft aluminum Lund

sides will flop like tin foil. that's the best description, i've heard.

Re: Removing middle rear bench? 79' 14ft aluminum Lund

The only flotation the seats add is if the boat sinks.Some folks mistakenly think the flotation foam in the boat affects everyday operation/flotation.Not so.
I temporarily removed just the seat braces from my 18ft Crestliner utility it became all wobbly.Imagine what the whole seat would do.
There is a site called Hydrilla gorilla that discusses deck changes but great care is needed to maintain hull integrety.If it was mine I would go right over the seats but you should test first by walking around at seat level as you might while fishing also keep in mind you would be adding weight at a high point on the boat that also will affect handling and speed.

Re: Removing middle rear bench? 79' 14ft aluminum Lund

steelespike said:

The only flotation the seats add is if the boat sinks.Some folks mistakenly think the flotation foam in the boat affects everyday operation/flotation.Not so.
If it was mine I would go right over the seats but you should test first by walking around at seat level as you might while fishing also keep in mind you would be adding weight at a high point on the boat that also will affect handling and speed.

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steeespike I tend to disagree with your statement {Quote}"Some folks mistakenly think the flotation foam in the boat affects everyday operation. Not so. {Unquote} " IT DOES! It keeps the boat stable in the water while underway. Plus it make the boat stable at anchor. So it does affect everyday operation. I wouldn't do it, (take the seat out). If your that unhappy with the Boat and Seat. Sell the boat and buy a different one. Something that conforms to what you like and will meet your need.

steelespike you also said {Quote} " If it was mine I would go right over the seats but you should test first by walking around at seat level as you might while fishing also keep in mind you would be adding weight at a high point on the boat {Unquote} That would make this boat so tippy it would be unsafe at any time. if you doubt sometime in shallow water with the boat still tied up to shore stand on one seat and step to the other seat. You almost can't keep your balance. It puts the weight of gravity too high and is an unsafe practice. It is asking to get dumped overboard.

If his boat has Four seats he may get away with removing one rear one for a while but eventually either the boat is going to warp or rivets are going to start popping from the added stress on the hull. Just my 2 cents .

Re: Removing middle rear bench? 79' 14ft aluminum Lund

cbavier said:

IT DOES! It keeps the boat stable in the water while underway. Plus it make the boat stable at anchor. So it does affect everyday operation.

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You are going to have to explain that one.

Foam trapped under the seat of a 14' aluminum boat will have zero impact on the everyday use of the boat.

A boat hull floats due to the shape. It displaces water and uses the surface tension of the water to be boyant. The stability of the hull is only dependent on the shape of the hull and how it interacts with the water.

The foam under the seat has no impact on how the boat performs.

The foam is only there to keep the boat afloat if there happens to be a hull breach, swamping, capsizing or other catastrophic incident.

Re: Removing middle rear bench? 79' 14ft aluminum Lund

He didn't ask about removing the foam. He ask about removing the seat which is riveted to both sides of the hull that keeps it ridged and from flexing just like a bulkhead. The Seat contains the Foam which is part of the Flotation. Removing the flotation won't destabilize the boat unless he sinks or flips it, but removing the seat may. Then no foam could be a serious mistake in an accident.

Re: Removing middle rear bench? 79' 14ft aluminum Lund

Yep. But, I think you misread or took more than intended from what Steelespike said. He was picking up on what Stuff4Toys said regarding adding more flotation foam to the boat.

On these smaller Lunds the area under the seats is the only place to put flotation foam. Steelespike was only talking about the fact that foam does not effect the boats performance. He then also went on to say that the seat does add significant structure to the boat.

Re: Removing middle rear bench? 79' 14ft aluminum Lund

Thanks RR.
cbavier,The instability of moving around at seat level is exactly why I suggested he test it first. I certainly didn't intend for him to move seat to seat.The likely hood of the 14 being stable is slim though a big 14 might be ok. The only affect foam has on handling/stability is the few pounds lbs of weight it might add at bottom level.There have been a number of posts by folks asking about foam flotation in every day operation.As RR said
the way a boat acts/handles is determined by the hull shape.

Re: Removing middle rear bench? 79' 14ft aluminum Lund

steelespike said:

Thanks RR.
cbavier,The instability of moving around at seat level is exactly why I suggested he test it first. I certainly didn't intend for him to move seat to seat.The likely hood of the 14 being stable is slim though a big 14 might be ok. The only affect foam has on handling/stability is the few pounds lbs of weight it might add at bottom level.There have been a number of posts by folks asking about foam flotation in every day operation.As RR said
the way a boat acts/handles is determined by the hull shape.

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I don't think the foam flotation would add enough weight to make any difference. The original post in this forum was asking about removing a seat.
{Quote}: Removing middle rear bench? 79' 14ft aluminum Lund"{Unquote}
I was thinking this afternoon if the boat had four bench seats. He might get away with it
removing the third seat back from the bow. That would still leave him with three seats. But if the boat only has three seats I don''t think it would be a wise decision.

Re: Removing middle rear bench? 79' 14ft aluminum Lund

Yes, the boat has 4 seats. The little little one up front, and then 3 to the back. Thanks for all of the info guys!

Re: Removing middle rear bench? 79' 14ft aluminum Lund

JosMN said:

Yes, the boat has 4 seats. The little little one up front, and then 3 to the back. Thanks for all of the info guys!

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Jos if you do remove that seat you should fill the rivets holes. You could maybe use some of those holes to mount accessories. Like a Fishfinder, Cupholder or whatever.

Re: Removing middle rear bench? 79' 14ft aluminum Lund

Removing the 3rd seat would be a bad idea... trust me. I have 16' edson where a previous owner changed the 3rd bench seat. They hollowed out a portion of if and added a hinge to a portion of the seat top to allow for some storage. Sounds harmless (?). Not. Cutting the seat top (to make a lid) removes the box-like strength between the bulkheads and the seat top. This allows the bulkheads to flex, which allows the bottom of the boat to flex.

A spring project of mine is to re-engineer that seat back into a proper bulkhead. Will involve reinforcing the bulkheads and adding a plywood bottom that is firmly attached to the bulkheads inside the storage compartment.

Removing that seat completely would be mucho worse than what was done to my boat. Might be fine for a while, but with some wave pounding, I'm sure the rivets would start loosening up, and the bottom flexing.

That's my $.02.