Welding Tips and Tricks

This is a 24 foot flat bottomed river boat. The cabin is aft, and that is very strong. The hull forward of the cabin worries me. The bottom is 11guage, and there are ribs every 16 inches that are migged, but only on the front. This 4-5 feet in front of the cabin is a hinge point that takes a lot of pounding. I have 3/16 diamond plate to use as a floor. I was planning on putting pieces of channel along the bottom, front to back, and welding them to the ribs. Probably four total in each rib space.

Any suggestions for strengthening the hull?

That hull should be plenty strong, especially with a deck over those frames. If the flex of 11 gauge was a concern, then flotation foam sandwiched between the two layers may be a better option. It already has stiffeners built in fore to aft via those grooves in the material. If any of those grooves are bent inward, or broken, than they should be forced back to their original shape and reinforced with 11 gauge reinforcements that fit the groove without closing it off being that they also provide drainage.