Removal of bench in Jon boat

C

Clint Clark

New member
I am new to this forum but glad I found it. I am turning a 14' Polar kraft Dakota into a duck boat. First one. I was wondering if any of you know could I pull out the middle bench with the foam out to create more room without hurting the boats floating capability. I see plenty of bigger boats that are open in the middle and float fine. I just do not want to screw anything up. But would love to make space and put swivel seats in.
 
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Probably can't because it is used a structural brace...I don't think the flotation aspect would be that great.
 
A hunting partner of mine has a 14ft. semi v that he didnt remove the bench completly. He used a saw and cut out the middle 14-16 inches and capped the ends leaving some foam in the ends of the bench which are now seats so he could use it as a seat and open up the boat a little more. Didnt affect how the boat floats which it shouldnt really affect any jon boat unless taking on large amounts of water. It worked ather well actually. From what i can see is that the seat is riveted in so if you remove the seat all together, you have the rivet holes to deal with. I would weld them closed if you have the means to do so. I never trusted patch on a aluminum boat.
 
I have cut out mine in a 16 ft doublewide. The length between the bracing wil determine if you need to rebrace. Mine was fit between two braces and the void was only 2 inches more than the other stringers. I opted not to brace but did install a 1/2 in ply floor. I have no flex and love the freedom it has given me. I basically have a floor plan to fit any needs. I built box seats for passengers, and have a cooler with a pad for cold storage. When we go flounder gigging or hunt it's just two seats and alot of gear. You wont regret it.
 
Leslie,
Do you happen to have pictures of yours? Was yours rivited in if so did you have to plug the holes with what? I was going to add the plywood floor also.
 
Clint my boat was riveted. I had a friend weld up the holes. It took him all of thirty minutes with his tig rig. I will post some pictures for you tommorow if that's ok. I have some pictures of both my and my freinds boat somewhere but have to locate them.

Another option to tig welding is the aluminum repair sticks that you use with map gas. I fixed my brothers boat with these and it was just like welding it. I can't remember the price but I think I paid 30 bucks for 2 lbs of them.
 
Another option to tig welding is the aluminum repair sticks that you use with map gas. I fixed my brothers boat with these and it was just like welding it. I can't remember the price but I think I paid 30 bucks for 2 lbs of them.Leslie,
Do you know where to get this type of alloy stick. Do you think Lowes or Home Depot would carry such a thing.
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this sounds a bit odd, but have you contacted polar kraft of your dealer to find out what the ramifications of center seat removal will be?
You may discover some unwanted torquing along that section where the seat was removed. just a thought!
 
I have a similar boat and I drilled out my rivets then put a 19 gallon gas tank under the seat (from Overtons). It balanced the boat much better and got the gas tank out of the way. Just a thought.
 
Another option to tig welding is the aluminum repair sticks that you use with map gas. I fixed my brothers boat with these and it was just like welding it. I can't remember the price but I think I paid 30 bucks for 2 lbs of them.Leslie,
Do you know where to get this type of alloy stick. Do you think Lowes or Home Depot would carry such a thing.
Click to expand...
I bought mine at a welding supply store.
Click to expand...
 
I have a 1440 mv jon boat and have been tossing the same idea around for years. The topic has also come up here a couple ofo times.

Basically, there are two trains of thought out there:
1. Go for it, it won't make a much of a difference to your flotation and won;t have a big impact on structural stability.
2. Be careful, cause it will effect your flotation & structural stability!

I guess it really depends on the boat & how it is designed. Most bench seats appear to add a level of structural rigidity to the hull and contain foam to achieve level floatation required by the USCG. If you remove the foam, you may no longer have level floatation if you get swamped. Also, because of the loss of the structural nature of the seat, the hull may flex more than it should, causing stress & shortening the life of the hull. Adding a floor may help add the rigidity back, not sure.
You could contact a dealer and ask them if removing the seat will cause problems but, given liability, they will probably tell you dont do it. Also, if you modify the boat, and then sell it, make sure to tell the buyer!

In the end, i've never taken mine out. Since my boy will be starting to hunt soon, my approach is to convince the wife we need a new large, safer, open boat!
 
Carl,
Yea I just got the boat to turn into a duck boat. There is enough room the way I am setting it up would be good for two hunters. I would like to be able to hunt three out of it in the case where we have a guess. It would just make movement so much easier. I have contacted the polerkraft dealer to see what they say. I expect for them to recommend against it. It sounds like it has been done before. Just guess I need to get the guts. There sounds to be it is an opinion mostly. I hoping to see Leslies pics to see how it looks.
 
I have ridden in small jons and v bottoms where the center seat has been removed. They flex like crazy everytime you hit a wave or walk around in them.If it is a heavy welded alum boat, it may be just a seat and you can take it out, if not, go to the manufacturer website and look at the floor plans available for your model and see if they have one like what you want. If it is all riveted braces and it starts flexing, you will have leaky rivets. If it is in there for a structural brace, the boat will squeeze together when it displaces water with a load. Just modifying engineered products without thorough thought on the matter leads to no one but yourself to blame.
 
Clint

The Dakota line by PolarKraft was their economy series. They were built with thinner gauge aluminum cutting cost and weight. If you have ever looked at PolarKraft ribs they are hinged in the corners with the thought that a little flexing is a good thing because too rigid leads to cracking. Seeing as how that bench gives the hull a great deal of strength and that is the economy line that uses thinner materials I'd be leary of cutting the seat out. I bet it would really really flex in waves or turns. I'll be curious what PolarKraft has to say but if it were me I don't think I'd be grabbing for the sawzall. Besides, 3 folks in a 14' jon just sounds a little cramped unless your partners are fit and travel light.
 
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I am leaning to leave it in. This is a get started duck hunting boat. If we really like we may upgrade in a few years when my boys begin to hunt. Then I will need a boat to hold 5 people then. Thanks for the advice from everyone. You make a good point about the economy series. It will seat me and my buddy good. Then if I turn and sell it I won't have someone be leary about buying it because of the seat being removed.
 
The PolarKraft dealer sent me an email and said it would not be a good idea as we thought. Would reduce support greatly and reduce the floating capability. I have decided not to do it anyway. May want to sell the boat some day. Thanks for all the input.
 
here is what my insides look likes.
148.jpg

here is what my freinds looks like
100_0241-1.jpg

 
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