Wow!!
I am really glad you have all responded to this thread. I am probably not the only one restoring one of these old timers and safety is a prime consideration. You all have me wondering what I should do.
The glass I added to the hull has stiffened it. If I do remove the seat, I can add another layer(s) of glass and (and carbon if needed) in the hull cockpit area. I can also install a stern only fiberglass bulkhead with hatch. My bulkhead won't weigh more than float bags as I have proved on other boats.
The main reason I want to remove the seat is it's too narrow and short for my butt. In the seat removal, I would like to remove the cheeks most of the way up to the coaming, leaving only enough for backband attachment. I will do what ever extra reinforcement necessary to make a safe boat.

Suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Larry C.

: Reg,

: Thanks for clarifying the discussion regarding the structural aspect of the
: fiberglass hung seat.

: You are of course, already well aware of the following concepts, but for the
: sake of the discussion, I'll expand further: When I acquired the Phoenix
: Cascade it had the original walls made of white foam (ethafoam)? The foam
: walls had degraded, so I replaced them with 3" gray minicell. The
: walls are snug, and are held in place with split floatation bags.

: The 13'-2" Phoenix Cascade weighs in at 27 lbs in fiberglass/nylon; the
: 14'-9" Phoenix Isere weighs in at 29 lbs in fiberglass/nylon. These
: are very lightweight kayaks, and have considerable flex in their deck and
: hull. In addition to their deck and hull design, these specs are much of
: what makes them fun to paddle, and of course easy to transport. Minimizing
: the possibility of the boat collapsing is part of the program of owning
: and paddling these old boats.

: I'm sorry to hear that you lost friends in pinning accidents. I too lost a
: friend many years ago to a kayaking accident.

: Chris