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| I did the same thing with a 14' mirrocraft, only I removed all the seats. I used 1/2" plywood on the floor, front and rear casting decks. The brackets that the seats attach to I left in and ran a 1x4 stringer or stiffener down each side, bent in to the shape of the hull fairly easy. I then made side boxes out of 1/2" ply took the foam out of the seats cut it for fit and put the foam inside, kinda made like level floatation out of it. My gas tank I put in the front under the casting deck, access is through a hatch in the deck, also store rain gear and such in there. Rear deck has an access for trolling batts, bilge pump, and drain plug. Wiring for running lights, interior lights,{for night fishing},bow mount troller, and the gas line run through the side box.Before I put the floor in I sprayed marine grade foam on the hull proper, except for an area right down the middle used for water drainage. All plywood components should have the edges sealed with fiberglass resin mixed with hardener, then paint with a marine enamel before carpeting. This seals the plywood and basicaly waterproofs it. I used 1/2 inch pvc pipe [flexable] fpr conduit for the bow wiring, keeps it away from gas line. The troller I added later so you'll have to run 3/4 or so in order to handle the added wiring.
This boat was a1973 model and I did all the work on it when I bought it in 1981, my late partner and I used this boat on Winnie and Leech and never had a problem with it, stable as can be, even with two guys kneeling on the gunnel with a fish in the net. Outboard was a thirty five horse evinrude, max for the boat rating, handled big water just fine. I used this boat up until last year when I sold it for almost as much as I paid for it [upgraded to a ranger]. Teh floor and everything is just as solid as when I built it. One more thing use stainless steel screws to put it together and you should have no problem.
Let them all go
Muskychaser | |
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