I mocked this up with one of my pedestal seats on the old plastic box from the 'headknockers'. I'm thinking of perhaps building a slightly taller box from plywood, and putting a hinge on the underside front of the seat to the box. That way it could be tipped forward to access storage box. Also, the seat back folds down for use with mooring cover. I was thinking of a continuous bench across the back, but access to battery and fuel tanks will be easier this way. Thoughts?
Here's the primed sides currently. I'm severe novice with this painting business. I've primed over onto the masking tape a bit. That's going to still peel back nicely even with 2 coats of primer and similar of colour overtop?
I was torn between painting with gunnel trim on vs off. I went with trim on, as I figured I'd just scratch the paint up when putting it on. For the top-of-gunnel work, I'll need to tape off the outer trim, but will remove the inner. The inner sets in place easily, and is far less likely to scratch things up.
The JB-weld filled pits look like zits on a teenager. As I'm planning to leave bottom section bare, just Sharkhide'd, I guess I'll live with that. It'll be around the waterline anyways.
So here's my brainwave for fuel tanks storage. The previous owner had them loose in the back, but he almost never went above idle, so I'm sure that worked for him. This grey box will have a bungee that holds the bottom tank in place, and a strap overtop to hold the 3 gallon "I thought you filled the tank!" reserve.
The old headknockers. No cracks in the vinyl, and very nice cushioned seats compared to the stiff new seats I bought. However they are hideous, and NOT admiral-approved. Are they of any value? I put them up on the local FB Marketplace. Lots of useless "are they still available" responses. One guys says he's coming to look tonight.
