Boat Floor Question

[hct4all]

Good evening.

Time to replace my floor again. I am looking for another material other than wood. Used marine ply last time. It lasted about 10 years.

Boat is a 1989 Sea Nymph Fishing Machine. I am looking to save some weight as well if possible.

Looked at Starboard. Not all that strong and it moves a lot during temp swings. I looked at carbon core but it was not strong enough to support the seats without a lot of strengthening. Kinda settling on aluminum sheet under carpet unless there is something better. I heard about a sign material that would work but can’t find any info.

What thickness aluminum should I get? .120”?

Anything better?

Thank you

Rick

 

[lckstckn2smknbrls]

Did you seal the wood? Epoxy resin, Old timer formula?

 

[hct4all]

I did not. I used Marine ply... They said it was sealed.

Thank you

 

[lckstckn2smknbrls]

Marine ply is just better quality construction no voids but will rot the same as any other.

 

[jethro]

As said above, and as I learned myself last year, marine ply is nothing more than good plywood that has less voids within the structure. It's not treated with anything to resist the weather.

If you use good quality exterior grade plywood and completely seal it- both sides and all edges- it should last 30 years easily.

 

[DaleH]

If you use good quality exterior grade plywood and completely seal it- both sides and all edges- it should last 30 years easily.

Agree 110%!

I hit the edges no less than 3-times, and always when temps are falling. As when wood heats up it expels air, so it would otherwise have less epoxy or sealer penetration than when applied whilst temps are cooling. So always save your epoxy, finish or sealing work for the afternoon. This also prevent that dreaded 'orange peel' finish on fine woods too.

I will also warm the wood with a heat gun before the 1st coat and while it cools, apply that 1st thinned coat, as the cooling wood sucks the thinned epoxy in. Then apply the 2nd coat after the 1st one kicks (tacky). Repeat ...

 

[bplayer405]

Good info guys. I've been debating on flooring material for a jon I recently picked up. Thick enough aluminum is just so expensive. I've had good luck with plywood unsealed. I do plan on using sealer this go round because this may be the last boat I buy.

Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk

 

[LDUBS]

The way I look at it considering cost, weight, strength, ease of installation & ease of removal, it is hard to beat exterior ply. When it comes time to redo the carpet is is pretty easy to pull up the ply floors and use them as templates to cut new ones if needed. Put the carpet or whatever covering you are going to use on the ply before screwing it down. That way you can easily remove & reinstall floor sections as needed without doing any damage.

 

[surfman]

Hard to beat plywood, strong and fairly light weight, don't go overboard and use 3/4 way too much, 1/2" is more than enough. You can get away with cheaper exterior plywood too if you seal it good as mentioned above. Get the edges real good, that is where it starts to split and separate if it isn't sealed well. Obviously aluminum is better but pretty costly and if you don't back it up with something like foam it needs to be thick which is not that light and even more costly.

 

[idruthrbfishin]

Everyone seems to be trying to figure out why your plywood didn't last.....I'll answer your original question. Use nothing thinner than 1/8th inch aluminum if you are not going to put anything under it. It is kinda heavy, but anything thinner will bend over time. Now.....if you were to cut and fit foam underneath it to support it and keep it from bowing every time you step on it, you can use 1/16th. I used the cheap foam insulation board available at Home Depot. Worked great, in there since 2004, no sign of any issues.

 

[DaleH]

Use marine vinyl over the epoxy-treated pyl floor and you'll never worry about it again ... sold my old boat at 21-years old and the vinyl (after pressure washing) looked dayum good!

 

[eeshaw]

I'd go with the pink foam you can get at the home improvement stores and go over it with some thin aluminum. That's what I've done in my jon and it works well, it saves a lot of weight also.

 

[hct4all]

Thank you!

 

[hosstyle]

what is the old timer formula?

 

[lckstckn2smknbrls]

what is the old timer formula?

It's one part Spar varnish or Spar urethane, one part Boiled linseed oil and two parts Mineral spirts.
You can mix up as much as you need.