I wonder why he would put the threaded connections at the bottom? Seems to me that it would make sense to roll them up closer to the joists (gunnel?).
Well, once he's got that sucker planing, he can screw the plugs out to drain the barrels. What could go wrong?
In HS a friend and I had a raft similar to that with a 10hp engine on it. It wasn't much faster than a canoe but at least we didn't have to paddle.
Yep, those are for putting around enjoying time on the water. If happen you catch a fish, that is a bonus.