will I drown?

[DeaDrift]

I have a standard size aluminum row boat at my cabin by the lake and I was wondering if I would be able to pul a plywood floor in it so i could stand up and fish...Will it work or capsize? Thanks guys.

[Shortleader]

I would say it depends on the shape of the boat. I have a 12 foot aluminum boat and it is very unstable. A flat botton Jon boat is pretty stabe.

Wear a life jacket!

[Diane]

It depends on your size, boat size, depth of the V hull, how low you can mount the plywood. You could always try putting a piece in as low as possible into the hull, PUTTING YOUR LIFEJACKET ON, and taking it out about twenty feet offshore and cast for a while. In any case, even if you make it all work, you should have a lifejacket on if you're out there past where you can safely swim back to shore (while towing a swamped rowboat and possibly in very cold water).

Safety nag? Yup. But yeah, you could probably mount something down low into the V that you can stand on.

Take pictures and show us what you got.

[white43]

Why would you want to? You would be increasing your profile by a large measure and putting yourself into possible danger by doing so. I've fished for the last 16 years from a cedar strip canoe and have become fairly efficient at casting while sitting. Just my penny's worth. JGW

[Jim Hatch]

Hey DD,

Standard sized rowboat doesn't tell me much.*G* But with swimming
weather upon us, why not drop a piece of plywood in place and check
it out in the shallows. Should be pretty easy to determine.*G* Warm
regards, Jim

[Avalon]

Dear DeaDrift,

Cut a piece of plywood to fit between the bench seats. Taper the edges of the plywood so it fits the shape of the hull's sides. Screw sections of 2 X 4 on it to span the open area underneath. Make sure it fits between the ribs on the boat's floor. Bevel the edges on the 2 X 4's so that it is as flush as possible with the sides and bottom of the boat where they make contact.

My buddy did this with his flounder fishing boat and it was stable enough for both of us to stand and cast. He could even stand up and run the outboard in 3 foot seas all day long. It took him about 15 years and two outboards before he beat all the rivets out of that old Mirrocraft.

Best Wishes,
Avalon

[dudley]

I fish standing in my canoe.
I've lost my balance but never gone for a swim.
When there is too much wind, the water is too rough, or youre too fatiged to be standing, you'll know it.

[Gigmaster]

I guess I am confused. Why can't you stand up in it now?

My oldest son has an 16' aluminum V-Hull row-boat (dinghy), and we stand up in it all the time. I even taught him how to dive (skin and SCUBA) from it. Why do you need a high-maintenance plywood floor?

Is yours a dinghy (standard V-Hull row-boat), or something else, like a canoe? I've even stood up in canoes with no trouble. The only thing I haven't been able to stand up in has been an Inflatable (sans floor-boards).

I must be missing something.