Hate my boat, anyone have some ideas?
Bought this boat from another DIY boat guy. I had planned on gutting the boat down and redoing it, but am thinking of just selling it to get something that's still a virgin. This boat is a 1987 16 foot River Trail. It feels like a tank, which is why I liked it. It's powered by a 2006 40Hp Suzuki with less than 300 hours. Runs 30mph at 5200rpm. My biggest issue with the boat is that it drafts way more than my old G3. Like, I feel if I'm not in 2 foot or more, I'm just churning mud. Also, it leans a good bit when I'm sitting side console. To help that, I relocated the gas tank under the front deck. I'm typically out alone, but when I'm out with another grown ass man, the float pods are a bit under water. This just feels really low to me.
The boat is a bit of an awkward layout. The front deck was added by previous owner, but it's not level with the forward bench. So, can't quite extend the deck over it. Bench is welded in, so don't really want to cut it out (yet).
I considered putting a small center console a bit farther forward, then put a cooler seat in front of that. Or maybe put the console right against that forward bench, but I feel like that'd be a rough ride for me and any passenger. Anyone have any thoughts here? (Yes its dirty with a bunch of leaves in it. Don't judge)