aluminum boat bench seats

[Xfactor92081]

Last year I purchased what the ID number on the transom calls a Grumman boat. It's a 14' long late 80's boat (either 88 or 89 I cannot remember off the top of my head) and has a very small v which leads me to believe it is a car topper. The side says Bandit in vinyl, but I can not find any info on a boat called Bandit made by Grumman. The previous own removed the back 2 bench seats that are riveted to the hull. I am looking for the best way to incorporate a bench seat and bring back the structural integrity of the boat. Would angled aluminum brackets riveted to the original location of the bench seat topped with wood be enough or should I build a aluminum ladder frame to go across the width of the boat topped with a plywood or like thickness wood. I'm assuming I would have to add some sort of braces underneath so to not bow under the weight of a person. I'd like to hear some opinions. Thanks in advance guys.

 

[Doug N.]

Re: aluminum boat bench seats

Have a look at the jon boat plans at unclejohns.com. The plans you can view don't have dimensions, but so what for your purposes. The seat detail shows how to stiffen the plywood seats. The vertical piece would not have to go all the way to the bottom of the boat. You could angle bracket the top and the vertical piece. I would coat the wood with epoxy resin prior to painting. I have built the pirogue, jon boat and land sailer from that site and they all turned out pretty good. The source I use for epoxy is raka.com.

Best of luck. Enjoy the holiday and thank a vet.
Doug

 

[Jeep Man]

Re: aluminum boat bench seats

Aluminum brackets mounted vertically for attaching a front and rear plate for each seat with a plywood top would give you strength and support. Better still would be to make a box out of it with a hinged top for needed storage.

 

[musicexperience]

Re: aluminum boat bench seats

One thing you might consider is that many john boats have foam in/under the seats so that the boat can never fully sink if it is capsized or if you forget to install the drain plug (not that any of us have ever forgotten to do that ).

 

[Xfactor92081]

Re: aluminum boat bench seats

I am aware of the foam under the seats. Would any type of foam do? I have went ahead with the aluminum brackets used 1x8 pine on the sides and most likely am going to use 5/4 for the top for a little added support of passenger. I gave the sides there second coat of 105 epoxy resin this morning. During test fitting, I checked the rigidity of the boat with just the sides in and it was a night and day difference. Thanks for all the replies guys.