Posts: 32954
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | 1) The liner in your boat is fiberglass, and is structural FRP/composite only where it's needed. It's not intended to be 'modified' with a bunch of screws and fasteners to hold a wood/aluminum side tank frame in the boat, and the floor may not hold screws well due to the composite materials used in building that boat. The sidetanks should be drilled and bolted through if you intend to secure the new structure to the inside of the boat (if you go with the long tank extensions), because you will fracture the gel and laminate with screws flexing as the added sidetanks vibrate and worse in rough water; the boat liner flexes some, believe me. That will happen bolting the new tanks in as well, but far less in fewer places. Make sure the tanks fit the interior exactly so there's no constant strain between the two surfaces.
2) You are adding weight, and a considerable amount if you use treated plywood and frame wood which has very little flotation value. Add 1 pound density water resistant/proof foam to compensate or make sure your max load is adjusted down to compensate, as the total load allowed will be effected by the modifications and could cause the boat to roll over if swamped.
3) The modifications will not last as long as the boat if you use treated lumber. Someone down the road is going to have to repair or remove the modifications, and have a damaged interior to deal with. I'd recommend using the front deck extension idea, and as few bolts as you can to acquire a solid platform. Be careful of your fuel cells and lines in the process. Bolt, do not screw, the deck framework together using stainless hardware. Use stainless wood screws to fasten the plywood spans to the frame. It isn't a bad idea to pre-drill all the holes.
Treated wood doesn't like carpet glue much. Use the best contact cement you can find and get both surfaces wet completely with the glue. Messy. Do that before putting the deck in the boat. Don't use other carpet glues, most won't hold well to treated lumber.
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