Lightweight Floor - Anybody tried aluminum sign blanks?

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Windman7

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I'm trying to mod my boat and still keep it light. I was thinking about using aluminum/clorplast sign blanks. Something like Alumacor, Max Metal, or Alumalite. They claim to be way stronger than flat aluminum. I was thinking it would make a great deck at a light weight with carpet on top. Anybody ever tried it? Any problems?
 
Seems I read something about alumicor having problems delaminating but haven't heard anything about the others. I think I also read in a mod where they used old aluminum highway signs for decking. Note: They specified these were old signs that had been replaced and not ones that someone had stolen.
 
I stopped by the local Township Building and asked about old road signs .... the township engineer took me to a scrap pile and told me to help myself. I came away with a TON of old signs .... more than enough to do floors and decks in a boat.

The signs are fairly thin, but with good bracing underneath will do just fine. Obviously it will take some cutting and welding/riveting to get it all to fit nicely .... but free is always good.

photo.JPG
 
MrSimon said:
I stopped by the local Township Building and asked about old road signs .... the township engineer took me to a scrap pile and told me to help myself. I came away with a TON of old signs .... more than enough to do floors and decks in a boat.

The signs are fairly thin, but with good bracing underneath will do just fine. Obviously it will take some cutting and welding/riveting to get it all to fit nicely .... but free is always good.

photo.JPG

Cool! And no bullet holes in them! 8)
 
Loweman said:
Cool! And no bullet holes in them! 8)
LMAO I was looking at the pic he posted and saying to myself (these signs don't look right for some reason but I just can't put my finger on what it is). A sign with no bullet holes around here is a rare animal indeed. :lol:
 
JMichael said:
Loweman said:
Cool! And no bullet holes in them! 8)
LMAO I was looking at the pic he posted and saying to myself (these signs don't look right for some reason but I just can't put my finger on what it is). A sign with no bullet holes around here is a rare animal indeed. :lol:

Don't you need the billet holes for better drainage :LOL2:
 
I have a fiberglass/honeycomb airline floor boards for sale if your interested. Very light and strong.
 
Free aluminum, who could ask for more? What centers for the bracing? I'm guessing they have to be reasonably thick or the wind would damage them. They would have to be designed for at least 90 mph wind.
 
I noticed that he didn't have any "deer crossing" signs, apparently they were shot up. LOL
 
Last week I went by to see if my highway dept had any but they said they use them when they have to back fill washouts on the road side. :(
 
I used them for mine as well but I picked them up from the school I teach at. 1/16" thick they do good if you have ample bracing or foam under them
 
Are they strong enough for decking? How close do supports have to be to use for decking?
 
If you fill the space between ribs with foam = to the surface of the ribs you can get by with some pretty thin aluminum. My ribs are 22" on center and I used .052 aluminum on my floor and it's solid. The foam does a lot better than most think it will at supporting a load without compressing. You can see what I did with mine in my build if interested.
 
Bass n flats said:
Windman7 said:
Are they strong enough for decking? How close do supports have to be to use for decking?

My supports on the front deck are 6-8" apart

I agree with this. A single layer of road sign decking will need bracing of about 8". You could get by with 12" but you will have a little bit of flexing ... which you might be OK with.
 
Seams everyone is referring to single layer aluminum signs. I'm thinking about the sign products that have a layer of aluminum on each face and a corplast interior. They are suppose to be stronger than a single layer sign. Any thoughts?
 

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