: Since my lower back is not strong. I felt I had to lower the floor in order
: to get a useful boat that I could paddle for a longer time.
: I took out the floor timber that was in the middle of my seating area. Then I
: lowered the floor in the two sections where I sat by fitting two sections
: of eighth inch plywood one at a time into the now two sections. I had
: first spread the bottom with a temporary rib before I chisled out the
: floor timber so that the stretched nylon skin would not contract and
: reshape the boat. That is why I had to put the floor in two separate
: sections. one to the temporary rib and then when the fiberglass was dry.I
: put in the second section. The floor was screwed to the keelson and bilge
: stingers and to a piece of wood I had butted to the chine. The plywood was
: first fitted into the area with many adjustments. Then I glassed the
: bottom and waited until the glass got sticky then I screwed it down with
: with I think it was half inch brass screws (It might have been three
: quarters)After both sections were in and dry(take out the rib after the
: first section is dry and fit the second section to the first section. One
: section of floor will hold the shape of the boat) I then fiberglassed the
: top of the floor and since I had already modified the cockpit area
: previously I could also put fiberglass up the sides for added strength.
: I could have left it like that and just slipped my feet in over nylon but I
: decided that that might be risky so I left the next two floor timbers in
: place and also put in plywood floors between them in the same manner. I
: now had four sections of floor all the way from the back of the cockpit to
: where my feet ended. The boat is a lot more stable now since the floor
: bottom is only three eighths of an inch above the nylon. there may be some
: problems with this design such as the inability to get out sand or small
: rocks if they get under the floor. They could abraid the nylon (but I
: launch from a dock). Lots of luck if you try similar modifications.
: My boat seems strong and ok on the lake where I live but I don't go out in
: waves more than about one to two feet high.
: Has anyone else tried modifications like these, Mike?

Thank you very much for the information and thanks to everyone else the responded. I spend last night dreaming or nightmaring about a similar solution but it woulds be more difficult. The first thing I am going to do is find someone to test my kayak and determine if its me or the kayak. If tis the kayak, I will experiment with the weight and the seat height. Unfortunately I made the cockpit wider them my bottom. I may put some temporary padding on the sides.

I need to find a design for a very stable kayak I can make for my wife. I will get into that in another topic.