Installation of the core would have to wait however as I had to set my sights on lowering the hump that the front seats were mounted to. Because I had plans to lower the steering wheel, the hump would also have to be lowered to maintain a proper angle for holding the wheel while driving the boat. I like to maintain a lower seating position in the cockpit of high performance boats with just my head and neck being above the dashboard. The hump was constructed with 5/8" plywood and like the core was also fiberglassed and resined for strength and to repel seepage of water. The hump being fused into the core is important in the construction of the boat. Being this boat does not have a subfloor, it was the humps job to add strength to the floor over a greater area, much like putting a plate on the transom when applying larger engines. The hump sat approximately 8" high off the floor and is 1’ long x 3’ wide, the width going from passenger to driver seats. It is constructed as a plywood box with a plywood lid on top finished with a fiberglass and resin. The lid being 5/8" thick, I measured from the top of the lid down to that exact measurement using a carpenters square and proceeded to draw a thick line around the circumference of the hump using a sharpie marker. Being the hump was hollow inside I used a Milwaukee sawzall with a super-tough bi metal blade at 6tpi, and cut around the hump following the line I had drawn. It was like opening up a can with a can opener. When the cutting was complete the top of the hump came off easily revealing that inside the hump was not actually hollow, but filled with foam. After that I used the belt sander to smooth the area that I had just cut. With the top of the hump smooth I could draw my next line. My plan was to cut the hump down to what I thought as sufficient to my personal comfort then reattach the lid. Once fiberglassed back in it would be hard to notice anything was ever done, especially when the new carpet was installed. I measured down 3" thinking that it would be enough, and cut around the hump once again. I left the lid off for now because I would have to wait until I received the new seats for a positive check on seat height.

I was at a point now where I couldn’t go on with the recore any further without the two front seats. They were needed to get a positive check on seat height and my plan was to recore and complete the hump in one shot. I turned to Overtons for what would be my interior. I knew that I wanted the interior to be white and I found in their catalog a set that included two bucket seats and a rear bench. I also ordered two Wise adjustable sliders to mount the seats to so both driver and passenger could adjust to their liking. In a short time my order was at my front door and now completion of the recore could be done.

I put the lid of the hump in place and laid the sliders and the seats on top as it would be if it was finished. After a short time sitting in the seats I realized that I would have to cut another inch off the hump as I would still sit too high. After I cut the inch off, I put everything back in  place and sat down. Seat height was now perfect, I would not take a beating from the wind and I would now feel like I was a part of the boat and not on top of it with the feeling of falling out.