Aluminum angle or wood to support raised deck

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hc803

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I'm about to undertake my front raised deck project on my 542 War Eagle this week.
I have a plan of what I'd like to do which involves a 1/2" plywood deck that sits under the seat track on the front bench seat and spans the area from the bench to the bow. Because of the way the boat is designed, the bench and bow are different heights, so I'd like the deck to simply be level across from the bench seat.
My only design holdup is this: do I use aluminum angle or wood to support the ends of the plywood at the bench and bow?
I can either rivet a 1.5" aluminum L across each (shown in red) or use pieces of 2x4 (or similar, shown in brown) on either end to do this. The deck (in grey) would simply sit into the space and would be removable. I'm just unsure as to whether the aluminum would be strong enough to support my 200 lbs on the ends. I would have appropriate bracing/footing beneath the deck to keep the wood from bending.
Has anyone used this method with favorable results? Trying to keep things simple. Thanks.
design.jpg
 
The aluminium angle (I assume 1/8 wall) will be plenty strong to hold you weight. But that is not where the failure would be. Assuming you would rivet the angle to the bench wall, & assuming the wall is .070 gauge, the wall may buckle or the rivets could pull out.

You could nullify this failure but using a doubler plate, maybe 1/8 thick X 6 inch X entire length of angle. Use plenty of rivets to attach that to the wall.

Otherwise looks like a sound plan.
 
i did my last boat with 2" angle,however,i flipped the angle the other way and used structural,not architectural angle and 5/16"rivets.never had a single one fail.my thinking was downward pressure on the angle to push against the bench from the bottom,not pulling away from it from the top.
 
Structural angle would be the 6061 alloy you can order online through suppliers like www.onlinemetals.com

Architectural is the 6063 alloy you can buy in big box home improvement stores (Lowes, Home Depot etc.) that costs a lot more, is a lot softer and isn't extruded in such a way as to add to the structural strength.
 
architectural angle works good for making your brackets.i made a couple vertical braces for mine because i added 2 large hatches in the center and so i needed to run a 1x4 c channel down the centerline.my forward deck sat on top of the benches.
 

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For the decking I am fine with using Plywood but, for the bracing, I would only use wood as a last resort. The aluminum will be fine, just make sure you attach it to the seat or whatever well. Also be sure to seal the plywood too.
 
Gads, I knew there were different types of and the uses for aluminum angle stock but never knew what they were called. Thanks.

https://www.monarchmetal.com/blog/aluminum-angle-6063-architectural-sharp-corner-or-6061-structural/
 

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