Boat Strength?

[ThePazza101]

Hi guys I have been given a 14' aluminium boat that i am now (after 2 years of sitting in yard) finally beginning to do up. The hull is very sound and has no structural damage despite being a 30 year old ex-hire boat.

Anyway, I was hoping to completely remove the centre seat and leaving the remaining two for support so i can install a centre console on a floor. However I am not sure whether this is safe as the seat might also be a large factor for strength.
Is this safe? I will be adding welding Aluminium Support beams in the design of the floor but i am unsure whether this will replace the strength lost.

Any advice is gratly appreciated as I am only a beginner and this is my first project.
Thanks In Advance,
Jayce
P.S All work will be done by proffessional welders as i am inexperienced in this area.

[rasorinc]

A picture looking down at the inside of the hull would be great. You can do it......however, might need to drill and bolt a couple of small pieces. does it have a floor? or is the bottom the floor?

[Gilbert]

Without seeing the boat, I would suspect that your suspicion about the seat you want to remove being a major part of the strength equation is correct. And as rasorinc says, I am sure it can be done. However, most boats of this size and type of are really not good candidates for a console if you are thinking of standing up while running it. I believe it would be a better idea to put a 'seated only' control station on one of the present seats.

[ThePazza101]

Thanks for the replies here is a photo.
Please don't mind the oxidation on the hull as this is the first thing i have to remove. Any ideas on removing oxidation? I will be painting the boat with a two-pack and the clear coat. The bottom of the boat is just aluminium at the moment and does not have a floor.
Thanks,
Jayce.

[Submarine Tom]

I wouldn't remove a thing. Build within what you have.

-Tom

[SheetWise]

Unsinkable. Where have I heard that before?

[dustycrockett]

It's hard to get perspective from those photo's...what's the beam and height of this boat? Growing up I fished all over the state of Louisiana in 14' flatbottom jonboats with a 36" beam, and one thing you learn is, don't stand up, and don't move around any more than you have to. But if its 4 1/2 feet wide or so, it'll be pretty stable.

The seats are (or were originally) filled with enough floatation foam to keep it afloat when completely swamped. Keep this in mind when you start adding weight.

agree with not removing the middle seat. A small console just forward of the aft bulkhead/seat would be just about right. On the starboard side. mount a comfy chair to the existing seat.

[tunnels]

Originally Posted by SheetWise

Unsinkable. Where have I heard that before?

You are 110% right !! there is no such thing as unsinkable so dont get sucked in on that one !!

[Submarine Tom]

Sure there is, it's called "positive floatation" and if done properly, it works,

The Titanic was not done properly nor did it have positive floatation.

-Tom

[SheetWise]

Originally Posted by Submarine Tom

Sure there is, it's called "positive floatation" and if done properly, it works,

The Titanic was not done properly nor did it have positive floatation.

-Tom

I agree -- it can be done right. I've read to many stories where sailors have abandoned their vessel only to have the vessel found and the sailors lost.

If you've got a design that was done right, don't mess with it!

[dustycrockett]

Originally Posted by dustycrockett

...
The seats are (or were originally) filled with enough floatation foam to keep it afloat when completely swamped. Keep this in mind when you start adding weight.
...

If by "unsinkable" you mean "won't sink if swamped when loaded within the specified capacity, unless the foam becomes saturated", then it's probably unsinkable.