12ft Aluminum with Deck

[Wayneharris1958]

I recently bought a 12ft aluminum boat with a 5.5hp motor. I am looking forward to getting out there to catch some fish. But I was looking at some ideas about building a deck and live well on a 12 ft aluminum. It looked really nice and easy? Has anyone heard of this, and if so is it really as easy and putting some plywood in it? Hopefull some of you can help me out. Thanks A lot.

[maak]

I also have a 12 foot with a 5 horse, and I've done some modifications. I took the three seats out and replaced them with a sheet of plywood with a hole cut out to make two wide seats. I also built floatation bumpers to make it unsinkable and almost impossible to flip. I've been on three of the Great Lakes, the Detroit River, and LSC(the scariest because of the other boaters there). Easy? Any wood additions need to be sanded very good,primed at least twice,painted twice, and waxed to keep it clean looking. As for a livewell, you'll need to fiberglass it at least two coats, and I'd highly recommend good boat paint on glass(about $130 a gallon).
Then there's the weight factor. I stopped modifications, because I still have to get the boat in and out of my truck. A deck and livewell is going to elevate your center of gravity, which could make for an uncomfortable ride in any waves. Just something to consider.

[Wayneharris1958]

Thanks for the info Maak, I didn't think anyone was going to respond lol. But yeah, that was one of the things I thought would be a problem. I mean the boat only has like a 450lb weight limit. I didn't know how much stuff I could actually put into the boat, with out going way over the limit. The floatation bumpers sound like a good idea to help keep it from flipping over. How much did it cost you to do what you did to your boat?

[maak]

Not much. I'm a contractor, so I had leftover materials to use. For each bumper, I glued 3 pieces of 2" styrofoam and a piece of 1/4"plywood together (all pieces 9 inches by 8 foot), using outdoor carpet adhesive. Then I ran 4 long bumper bolts through to bolt it to the boat. I also covered the bumpers with black duct tape just for appearance.
The duct tape was the most expensive part. I later made an outrigger for my kayak for Winter kayaking, which I covered in 40 mil rubber roofing instead. The rubber is more expensive, but it looks better, and I had enough left over from a job anyways.2" White styrofoam is about $12-$15 for a 4'x8' sheet.
Replacing the seats with a sheet of 3/4 plywood was alot easier. I just took the seats out and slid the plywood into the same mounting brackets. Then I just cut a hole in the middle to accomodate my feet and a few other things. The added wood weighed about the same as the seats I took out.