[bigge8882]

I have a 16ft flat botom I want to mount the seat on the floor in the rear of the boat but the bench seat is in the way. i currently have a seat mounted in the front of the boat and on in the rear on the bench. I want to know if it will be possible to remove the rear bench without damging the structural integrity of the boat so I can mount the seat to the floor?
please help

[Bond-o]

Ayuh,.....

Usually in a boat that size,....
The bench seats are an intergral part of the hull Structure......
As well as usually being stuffed full of floatation foam.....

[5150abf]

I am with Bondo, that seat is part of the hull, if you pull it you create a weak spot.
They make swivel mounting plates that would let you mount what ever seat you wanted right to the bench.

[tashasdaddy]

someone came up with the example. the gunnells turn to aluminum foil with out the seats.

[CATransplant]

I'll bet I know your problem. The rear seat is too far back in the boat, making it uncomfortable to operate your outboard and making the boat back heavy. Am I right?

Couple of ideas. In most cases those foam-filled aluminum seats are riveted to the hull, and have a brace, also attached to the hull.

It is possible to drill the rivets out, move the seat forward (even 6" makes a big difference, then fasten the seat to the hull, but using stainless machine screws and cap nuts, sealed with 3M 4200. You'll also have to seal the empty holes, but that's pretty easy to do. I do it with stainless steel machine screws and cap nuts, again, sealing them, but with 3M 5200.

I have also seen people build a wooden box attached to the front of the rear seat and fitted to the floor of the boat, with the seat attached to this box. In fact, that's what I've done with my 12 v-hull aluminum boat. It moved the seat forward about six inches and lets me run the outboard, facing the bow, with my hand over the seat...no problem.

You can also move your fuel tank and battery (if any) up in the boat, helping with weight distribution.