I am changing out my old Champion seat bases to new styled ones while replacing carpet. Previous ones were a bad design but did bridge the hole in the deck with metal ( aluminum). I wonder if just using through bolts will be enough or if I should engineer a plate or something on the underside to help support where the wood is missing. Lastly, this was done over the livewell and know the exposed wood should somehow be protected since hasn't rotted YET. I am open to suggestions for support and wood sealing as I tend to over engineer sometimes but am under experienced with boats.
seat base 2.jpgseat base.jpg