I no longer have the boat, but would actually do the t-top a bit different. It did NOT get in the way, and I primarily fly fish, so it would be fine for just about anyone. At noon on a sunny day, I wouldn't want to be without it. The top was on there when I bought it and I would change the design of it a bit if redoing it. I just had a top made for a 20' that is more to my liking.
Not sure about draft, but it drafted about 1.5" too deep for self bailing! Hence my suggestion that you raise the floor. It is NOT a shallow water boat if you are trying to do any sort of flats fishing. I am in the midst of having a 1971 20' redone and we raised the floor just over 2".
I personally think the 18' is too short a hull for a bracket from an appearance standpoint. Functionality is a whole other issue though.
contact me directly if you want the whole scoop, I don't want to bore the readership. -
mark@markpix.com