building seats in 14ft fiberglas? plywood?

[matt9923]

I have a 1970 14foor fiberglass. It has been painted idk what color mix of white Grey brown i don't really know. Anyway i want to put a bench in in the back, I am thinking of something like a fold open seat that will have the battery and gas tank under/behind it so it will be out of site as well as storage and make it look nice. I am thinking of using 4x4s or 2x4s and ply wood. What can i put on the plywood to persevere it? Also what can i use for foam? cheap seat. Im thinking of having a back rest (rip a 2x4 on an angle and put a piece of plywood on it). and have the seat flip open towards to front of the boat. Big enough to get the battery and gas can out. Any suggestions? Can i just use wood stain like for a deck?
Thanks

 

[Evinrude Boater]

Re: building seats in 14ft fiberglas? plywood?

Matt,
You should post this in the boat restoration forum for best results. Maybe our moderator will move it for you.
2x4s and plywood will be fine, 4x4s sound too big. Remember, whatever you build is going to make your boat sit lower in the water so the lighter the better. It's a good idea to have the front face sit up off the floor to let water run underneath to the bilge. You might use a jig saw and cut out two openings about an inch high leaving some material on both sides and the middle where your supports will be. Planning is always a good thing. There's nothing more frustrating than building it and then finding out you can't fit the gas tank in there. I would recommend tipping the seat towards the back of the boat so that you don't have to lean over the open seat when lifting out the battery and gas tank. If you plan it right it will lay on the back rest and you won't need to have a strut or chains to hold it open. Wood stain or tinted water repellant should work well to keep the wood in good condition. If you keep it dry and out of the sun it will last forever.
I put bucket seats in my boat. I used pressure treated 2x6 on edge for bases and 1/2" plywood covered in marine vinyl for trim. The seats have to flip forward in this case.

 

[matt9923]

Re: building seats in 14ft fiberglas? plywood?

Nice seats. I didn't think of lifting up the front. good idea. Also its going to be very low in the water especially with 2 or 3 people sitting on it but when it gets to a plain it will be fine. I also have alot of storage space up front. I don't know what to put on for foam tho? plywood will be a little to hard. Maby just some cushion from wal mart.