Weldbilt 1548 Project

I want to put a floor in my 80 gage Weldbilt 1548. I love the boat and want to put a floor in with either carpet or marine vinyl. The ribs are 16" apart from center to center. It will go from the back bench seat, down the center of the two gun boxes and then go across the entire boat in the front where the boat begins to slope.
What do you guys think I should use for flooring?...aluminum around my neck of the woods is expensive....it only comes in 12ft sheets and its 550 bucks. I thought about using a sheet of 80 gage and just bolt it in...

By 80 gage, do you mean .08" ?

A lot of people use 1/2 exterior plywood -- sealed prior to carpet or vinyl. There are some recent discussions about not fastening the floor down unless there is flotation foam under it. Not something I've done so I'm not your best source. Take a look at the Modifications section for a lot of good info.

Cheers!

Larry

I am planning on removing my 3/4" ply floor this winter and replacing with 10mm Coroplast to save around 150lb in my 14 foot jet jon. If I need to mount anything I will just stick a small plyvood plate to screw it to. Over the floor I will probably try foam tiles for barefoot comfort.

Pretty thin material can be used if you fill the void between the ribs with foam. Most foam is pretty stiff overall it just needs something on top to help distribute the weight a little. I would think 1/2" plywood would work as long as the foam is flush with the tops of the ribs.

I currently have foam between my ribs topped with a 3/8" or so horse stall mat from Tractor Supply. It works great but gets got as blazes in the summer sun and is not very tolerable of gas or anything getting on it. I would also like to use aluminum but not sure it is worth the cost. I'll prob try 1/2" plywood myself topped with some cheap indoor/outdoor carpet from Lowes and go from there.