A few notes here... I decided to fillet the floor in, which provided a "truss" effect from a boat strength perspective. In the earlier, pre-floor pics, you'll see the bilge full of stringers. The floor (1/2" meranti ply) is glued and screwed directly onto the middle keel piece and the stringers. Then the floor is fillet'd along the edges.
The boat has a true bilge where the water ends up after rainstorms and wet passengers getting in and out of the boat - the 4 legged kind as well as the 2 legged.
I installed (3) deck plates in the floor for bilge access to remove dirt and debris. The deck plates are the "pop up" type, as opposed to the screw-in... the screw type invites dirt, etc. and is hard to turn. I carry a tiny crow bar to help pop the deck plates out and I stomp on them to put them back in. I remove the plates after every launch to allow the bilge to dry out.
Several boat builders add foam in their bilges. I think this is a mistake from three perspectives. It looks good on paper, i.e. more floatation = greater safety in a spill, however I believe it adds a huge disadvantage in running in bad weather as the water is at a higher center of gravity (above the floatation). Second, the boat would tend to turtle in the event of a capsize and instead of sitting in a wet boat and waiting for a rescue, one could find himself sitting in the water. Finally, moisture will migrate to the wood between the floatation and the lack of air will promote rot... and get heavy, etc...
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