I sold the big wherry in that video and have just completed the same project with a Gentry Designed "Ruth". It went really well, was easy because I was replacing a drop in unit with the Angus Rowboats sliding seat rig. Replacing the fixed thwarts, your project will be more difficult! So, yes! Good Luck!
Classic rowing boats with a fixed seat often have much more freeboard than sports rowing boats. Does this have to be taken into account in the width of the outriggers and the length of the oars?
Sorry for the slow reply, I have had relatives visiting. For sure the higher freeboard impacts the geometry of the install. I think the only way to figure it out is to put the boat in the water and see how it looks. The oar blades should not go into the water below the top of the blade, just barely buried in the water. You could adjust by raising the seat. You could adjust by using longer oars, but that would require longer outriggers, and I am not sure that is practical. Raising the seat may make your boat a little unstable. With longer oars you could also reduce blade size which would reduce the need to spread the oarlocks with a longer rigger. I have seen some boats where the gunwhale was cut down. You may need to settle for rowing the boat with the oars hitting you a little higher in the chest than is desirable. Unfortunately the geometry is complicated in that there are an infinite number of permutations, and probably more than one way to get there. I think I only paid $12 or something like that for the Kindle version of the rigging guide book, and you will probably want to have that to help with your modifications. Good luck!
