Storage out of flat bottom bench seat?

Mine has foam too to prevent it from going to the bottom when sinking.

I'm ok with removing that.

I like your idea of leaving it open. I'd be ok with life jackets getting wet. My little tool box will stay dry and the battery is in a box. Wonder if something like flex seal could create that rubberish edge?

Yeah that is nice.

Tinboats.net has a lot of threads with people doing this exact thing.

Things to keep in mind are that the cross benches are structural in smaller jon boats. You're going to want to reinforce it with something if you're cutting into it. You can use aluminum angle and pop rivets, and it will come out nice if you take your time. Cheap(ish) and you can cut it with wood saws. I would frame the hole with angle and then mount hinges to that.

Removing the foam can be messy but again there will be pics showing you what people have encountered and how they dealt with it. Remember that the foam is in there for a reason and removing it will make your boat less buoyant if shite should hit the fan, and technically you could get a ticket from the coast guard but they aren't really in the habit of boarding 14ft flats.

It's not the end of the world to cut it, but it's a really good idea to frame it with something to prevent stress on welds elsewhere. Like I said a few lengths of angle and some pop rivets will make it come out professional looking. This is the closest I could find to an example of how I would do it, frame the hole with the angle, cut it to 45s at each corner, and then pop rivet the angle all around. It will be just as sturdy as the original sheet, then you can add a plywood lid or really any kind of hatch you want.

I have a long tail so I don't think that dry foam is impacting the ride.

They had a thread a while back on this same thing. I put all my build info where I built a storage on the front. I didn't want to take that much foam out of the back for the reason of structural support and sound. It added some weight to the front which helped with porpoiseing with the 40 I got. I will try and find that thread

This is the post I was talking about earlier and you can see my front deck and storage I made.

LINK

Hatch Lids Site I think you'll find what your looking for here.

ETA: Pic

I hear ya. At least put a door on it. First time you reached in there during the summer your hand would get lit up by wasp. Know well from experience.