Grumman 14' Aluminum Boat Seat Removal

[Chris52796]

Hello, I was thinking of taking out part of one bench seat (taking out the middle so you can walk through and have 2 small seperate seats on both sides) and need someone else's opinion about it. Not sure it will affect the structure of the boat and make it unsafe. Will take more pictures if requested

 

[gm280]

Well Chris52796, I actually did that very thing with a similar hulled boat. I have 12' "V" bottom FeatherCraft boat. And I even put a level floor in as well and swivel seats from and rear. It worked out pretty nicely but I will say it all depends on the hull structure and how thick the aluminum material is. If you remove that center bench and it seem too flimsy in the center area, you could add in some side rod boxes to strengthen it up. JMHO

 

[SeaDooSam]

I would think you could be ok doing that for the middle one but definitely not for all of them. Since you are leaving the other two I would think it should be fine. How rigid does the aluminum feel to start? Is it very rigid? A little loose/flimsy?

 

[64osby]

Hello, I was thinking of taking out part of one bench seat (taking out the middle so you can walk through and have 2 small seperate seats on both sides)

Find a way to tie or brace the end of the seat portion still remaining to the ribs, or the hull and you should be fine.

 

[Chris52796]

The seat is just sheet metal show i cant even imagine thats gonna damage the structure of it, i was just gonna cut it and use a piece of sheet metal to seal the cut ends and have a support beam under it so it can handle weight

 

[64osby]

If you pull it and don't provide an alternative bracing of some kind the hull sides will flex. Eventually the angle aluminum on the rail will crack and the boat will flex even more. One of the hulls I fixed up had cracked rails because the rivets that connected the seat to the hull were really loose.

That sheet metal keeps the side of the hull from flexing in and out. Worse case would be you encounter a rouge wave or a series of huge wake waves and the hull will fold in half.

It is your boat and you can do anything you want. Just wanted to let you know what the purpose of the sheet metal seat is.

 

[Weldorthemagnificent]

I'm considering doing the same thing to my boat. If you're going to put a flat floor in, I say go for it and tie the seat sections into the floor to keep everything stiff.

 

[jbcurt00]

A deck (floor) isnt a replacement for the bench seat's structure. The deck will be inches above the hull bottom. A bench seat is inches from the top of the gunwale.

Need to rethink that plan