Rebuilt my floors using Advantech!

[Howard]

Why not boat floors if weight is not a factor and you plan on using wood?

I plan on using aluminum for my floor. A wood product just is not good enough for me. But if it fits in ones budget and one if happy with it then use away. Much better then OSB or plywood since its water resistent.

 

[Troutman3000]

Just got off the phone with an Advantech engineer. Discussed using the product for boat decking and transom applications. He stated:

"We have received the question before. Advantech wasn't designed for applications where it would get wet on a regular basis and we discouraged it's use in such applications."

That's good enough for me. Takes too much work to install stuff to have to pull it out and do it again. Going to have to pass on this one.

That does it for me too. So what are you going to do Dave? I have a 99 tracker and all the wood is solid but the carpet is starting to wear. I guess they used marine plywood and it has held up fine for the most part. There are some areas that have some small issues but it has lasted ten years so far. Opinions?

 

[MassFisherman]

Check this out.

Based on this regular untreated plywood is the better than Advantech....

 

[DaveInGA]

That does it for me too. So what are you going to do Dave? I have a 99 tracker and all the wood is solid but the carpet is starting to wear. I guess they used marine plywood and it has held up fine for the most part. There are some areas that have some small issues but it has lasted ten years so far. Opinions?

Troutman,

Well, for the transom, I'm waffling between going all aluminum, all fiberglass, mahogany or exterior plywood. I'd prefer a non-wood solution, but the fiberglass has already proved too expensive and I suspect the aluminum will as well. That leaves me with mahogany at $100.00 for the transom or less than $50.00 for two sheets of plywood.

With decks and floors to consider as well and unexpected dental expenses about to pop up, I may be forced to go with exterior plywood. I don't see any major advantage to marine grade plywood if you're willing to coat with spar varnish and seal the edges of the exterior grade with silicone. (This was suggested to me for the transom by Athens Marine, it's what they normally do when they replace a transom.)

So mostly because of costs and because boats, like life, are a set of compromises, the exterior grade plywood is likely to get the nod.

Here's a thought though on your boat: I've seen mentioned in some of the fiberglass forums where guys have used fiberglass resin compounds to repair and "harden" marine plywood that was starting to soften and break down. I'm not sure how effective it is, but it might be worth it for you to look into. Basically sounded like they were saturating the weak wood with a "hardener" and then fiber glassing over it. Looked like it might be a good alternative to replacing the wood.

It's a shame some company doesn't come up with a "plastic/fiberglass cut-able board" for transom replacement purposes. Should sell well. Anybody looking for a business opportunity?

 

[Troutman3000]

Dave - Thanks for the suggestions but I am sure that the carpet is on there pretty good and I guess there is no way to apply the hardener without removing the carpet. If I have to go to all that trouble I might as well just redo everything. I'll probably just throw some plywood in there as well with some sealer and silicon around the edges. I wanted to make a few modifications for storage anyways so most likley this will be my winter project once it gets too cold to go fishing. It really shouldnt take long because I already have the templates.

 

[mmf]

on the link, if you click on "installation" it says plainly it is NOT intended for outdoor exposure to the elements.

 

[cumberlandriver]

Back from the dead...LOL.

I just realized that it had been a year since I rebuilt my floors.

On June 1 2010 I placed a small square (2"x2) of the Advantech in a jar and filled it with water.

After over a year being submerged it is still very solid and is not de-laminating. You can see from th pictures that there is some swelling but structurally the piece is still solid.

I pulled the piece out today and took some pictures.

I heard all the negatives last time I posted about this. I am not looking for a debate, just updating you guys on my observations.