Adding a solid floor - wood/vinyl vs aluminum

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caver101

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North GA mtns
I have a 1648V weldbuilt. Its a solid boat and I love it....well, all but the floor. I bought it used for a song, but I knew the floor would have to be replaced at some point. Its a thick bent piece of fiberglass/plastic composite stuff. Its brittle in the cold, I broke a corner a few weeks ago duck hunting in single digit temps. And it warps in the summer heat.

I thought about using wood and carpet, but during the winter the boat is in the mud duck hunting every weekend and gets pretty trashed. Don't think carpet would be the answer. I don't like getting hooks caught in loops of carpet either. What is every one's experience with the heavy marine vinyl products over treated plywood?

I want to keep it light as possible so the 25hp motor will still push it around.

What is the minimum thickness of treated plywood I could get away with?

What gauge aluminum would be suitable to use? I assume riveting it down would be fine?

Here is what it looked like while I was rewiring and working on the motor when I first got it. The gun box and drive console is easily removed.
ca2cab8b.jpg
 
Not sure about the aluminum side of it, but with proper bracing you can get away with 1/2" ply, while others use 3/4" with less bracing.

I don't know if you've read this or not, but you don't want to use treated wood on an aluminum boat. It will corrode. But a good outdoor ply with Thompson's does the trick for most.
 
Been a loooooong time since being on this site, but if you can afford it, go with aluminum then roll the boat with Durabak or Grizzly Grip coating, will last forever. Duck hunting/carpet/wood doesn't go together very well.
 
I think the hull is something like 0.080" (+/-) thick??

If the cost is not outrageous aluminum is what I really want. Would I need to match the hull thickness for the floor?

What about the sub structure under the floor? The boat is a semi V and has a slight dip in the center that would need to be built up so the floor would be flat. I assume rivets would be fine? Would it need to be welded to the hull around the perimeter of the floor?


Wood is my backup plan and not really what I want.
 
Just rivet the aluminum sheets to the ribs of the boat, I would use the lightest aluminum that would allow some flex so it forms to the slight dip in the hull, if you do need to build it up use 1/8" 1x1 aluminum angle, and yes use rivets if you can. If you think you need bracing running between the ribs on the floor then use square aluminum tubing. OR install the pink foam you can get at Home Depot between the ribs before you put down the floor, that will help keep it from giving in. There are a lot of options there, I personally would not weld it in.
 

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