decking my boat

[DEISWERTH]

I want to redo the front deck on my boat. Currently it is about 12" below the top of the boat. Want to bring it up so it is about 2" from the top. It will give me more storage area below. Stability is not an issue. My question, what kind of material would you use? Alumium would be the lightest, but most expensive. Wood would be heavier, but cheaper. How thick of plywood should I use? Should I coat it with something? The doors I think would be easier to deal with if wood, but could figure something out with the alumium. Thanks for any ideas, going to be my winter project.

Doug

[bass or bass ?]

If you go with wood, use 3/4" exterior grade plywood, both sides good, and treat it this way. Mix up fiberglass resin and dilute it to a watery consistancy with acetone. Paint this on all surfaces 3 times. Then 1 coat full strength fiberglass resin with glass mat, and a final coat of resin. The diluted resin will soak into the wood where the acetone evaporates, leaving the wood impregnated with resin, waterproofing it. After final coat, rough it up with orbital sander, apply carpet adhesive and carpet. Use a roller to roll out bubbles. I used a heavy wood bakers rolling pin!!

[FuzzyGrub]

Be careful.  It is easy to add too much weight.  5/8 ext plywood (5 ply) is fine.   Especially if you are going to encapsulate in fiberglass.  

http://www.canadalake.org/Starcraftii.html

[ArcticCat500]

go easy, your about to push that boat to the limits, I did a small deck in my boat and it became overloaded and sat low in the water, I used all wood construction.   If I was doing it over I'd use the aluminum. I wont knock glassing over the ply's but you wont need it.  

Do the job right and spend a little extra, use marine grade ply's, I've read several places pressure's are a no no on aluminm. Find the alum braces, rivits and small screws, stay away from solid wood and bulk screws and nails,  waaaay to heavy.  Keep us posted.

[done]

Personally I would always go aluminum. I did it with my jon a while back, came out great, had awesome strength. If you are going to add that weight with the fiberglass on the deck, I would doubly recommend the lighter aluminum frame.

[DEISWERTH]

I would really prefer aluminum, mostly because of the weight. Any ideas for the hatches? I guess my question is how do I deal with the piano hinge? Do I just surface mount them on top of the carpet? With thick carpet that would seem hard to me and not look very professional. Thanks

[FuzzyGrub]

You can buy pre-made hatches.  I wanted one big enough to store the gas tank up front, which didn't provide many pre-made options.

The piano hinge is on top, but there is support around the complete perimiter of the hatch.  Most of the this support and deck support was done with aluminum angle pieces.  

No carpet in my fishing boats.  Makes it too hard to clean and holds water and dampness.   I used a good primer/sealer for all wood surfaces, followed by two coats of poly floor paint.  The top surface received a third coat with anti-slip additive.   Also, it easy to do a touch-up paint in the spring commisioning.

[bass or bass ?]

On my boat, I was replacing wood with wood. Old deck was 1/2 inch, new is 3/4 inch. I added better bracing and fiberglassing, which original did not have. I only noticed a 5 mph difference in performance , which I can live with. Also, I have always boated barefoot, or with only a pair of socks in cold weather, so good quality carpet is a must for me.

[FuzzyGrub]

Also, I have always boated barefoot, or with only a pair of socks in cold weather, so good quality carpet is a must for me.

Wish some of that AZ weather was up here now.   If I went barefoot, murphy would make sure I found that hook that fell out of the pack on the last trip.    

[done]

On my boat, I was replacing wood with wood. Old deck was 1/2 inch, new is 3/4 inch. I added better bracing and fiberglassing, which original did not have. I only noticed a 5 mph difference in performance , which I can live with. Also, I have always boated barefoot, or with only a pair of socks in cold weather, so good quality carpet is a must for me.

Good point on the 3/4". I tried 1/2" on my first deck, even with a ton of support it still would sink a bit when I stepped on it (@195 lbs). 3/4" did not move.

[stew6371]

I used 3/4" plywood and a combination of 2x2s and 2x4s for the bracing. I weigh 330 lbs and it is very solid. The added weigh didnt make the boat sit too low in the water. DO NOT use pressure treated plywood and you dont need marine grade either. I personally wouldnt coat the wood with fiberglass,jmo. I used plain plywood and coated it with thompsons water seal. I can post some pics if you would like.

[bass or bass ?]

I used 3/4" plywood and a combination of 2x2s and 2x4s for the bracing. I weigh 330 lbs and it is very solid. The added weigh didnt make the boat sit too low in the water. DO NOT use pressure treated plywood and you dont need marine grade either. I personally wouldnt coat the wood with fiberglass,jmo. I used plain plywood and coated it with thompsons water seal. I can post some pics if you would like.

The glue used in regular plywood will not stand up to the repeated wet environment of boating.Outdoor both sides good grade is the same adhesive as marine grade. DO NOT use Thompsons. It is made only for such applications as patio deck, porch swings, etc., and must be retreated regularly. If you carpet over it you can't retreat with it. Thompson's will not protect wood in a marine environment for long and you will just be repeating the project again in the not too distant future.

[nick76]

People often confuse the difference between fiberglassing and using Thompson's waterseal.  Fiberglassing will provide a barrier overtop of the plywood that will essentially seal it from the outside.  Unless the resin is broken in some fashion you will never get water to penetrate that barrier.  Thompson's on the other hand is a water repellent (i.e. a water resistant).  It will form a film over the plywood that will eventually breakdown after repeated exposure and need to be treated.  You really are looking at the difference between being water proof vs being water resistant.  If you are planning on having the boat for a while and only want to do this job once then do it right with the fiberglass and resin, if you are only keeping it a short time and you don't care what happens to it after you have sold it then by all means go the cheap route.  Remember this the next time you buy a used boat, did the guy do it right or did he go cheap?

FYI......it is recommended that the plywood be dried before you place any fiberglass resin on it.  If you have been to a lumber yard lately where there is much turnover in product you will notice that most of the treated lumber is very wet.  Give it time to dry and you will get a better outcome with the resin.

[bass or bass ?]

Right on Nick76!!

Here's a description of the work I did on my boat last winter.

I've been where you are .  I bought a boat that looked really nice and was told was in excelent condition. Before ever getting it in the water I spent $2000 to have the motor completely overhauled. The motor is a 1967 Evinrude Starflite 80. Runs like a champ now . After a few fishing trips on the lakes around here I noticed an ever worsening crunching sound under foot in 2 areas of the deck. The boat is a 1977 Glastron Sportster, 16'. I pulled up the carpet in those areas expecting to replace a little plywood and be done with it. WRONG. The plywood was so rotten I could just rip out chunks with my hands. My mechanic told me to replace the deck and stringers. Never tackled a job anything like this before, but at this point I was commited. I cut out the fiberglass all around the inside perimeter with pnuematic cutting tool and removed all plywood. I left the old stringers in place (1 down the keel, 1 on either side 1/2 way between keel and side of hull) as they weren't totally rotted out. The original stringers were pine, and plywood deck was 1/2" plywood. I bought red oak to make new stringers and 3/4" marine grade plywood for new deck. After cutting and shaping stringers to fit in place I treated all the new wood to waterproof it before installation. Mixed fiberglass resin, then diluted it 50% with acetone to allow it to penetrate into the new wood, and treated the old stringers as well .I applied 4 coats to completely seal and coat wood. Pulled out all the old open cell foam from the hull (it was all waterlogged and weighed a ton ), bought twice as much new foam, closed cell to prevent waterlogging. Installed the foam, and bolted new stringers to old ones, sandwiching the old ones with new on either side, Useing stainless steel bolts. Screwed down new decking with brass screws. Applied new fiberglass cloth and resin to seal down new deck and form it to the hull. Bought new high quality outdoor carpeting and glued it to the new deck, using a roller to get it smooth and even. Then installed new high end pedestal seats fron

m Cabela's to replace the original back to back lounge seats. Since then I have also added a new bimini top, Minkota Edge 50# thrust trolling motor, marine band radio, Serius satellite radio, Eagle 320c depth/fish finder, compass, submersible fishing lights, dual batteries on a 1/both/off switch, fishing rod storage tubes for 8 rods, motorcycle headlights for night time operation, interior cabin lights on both sides of boat, and a solar battery charger to keep batteries full charged at all times. I did all the work myself (except the motor overhaul ) over a period of about 5 months last winter. I love the end result . I get constant compliments on the boat , it looks brand new , and runs like it too. It was a lot of work, but for me it was well worth it. Don't hesitate to ask me for any advise or help you would need should you decide to rebuild your "good bones" boat.       Happy fishing.

Allen

~N.A.F.C.~B.A.S.S.~BoatU.S.~N.R.A.~A.M.A.~

[nick76]

Sounds like you had some fun restoring the old girl.  Nothing says mine like when you restore it how you want to. 

[tand]

If I could do it over again I would use Nida-Core

http://www.nidacore.com/spanish/nidaprod_honeyinfo_rigid.htm

It is readily availible here in florida, not sure about where you are. It can also be had for just a bit more than wood!!

I had a friend redo his flats boat with it and it came out much lighter and WILL NOT ROT! EVER!!

Good luck with whatever you choose, and keep the post updated with pics and your story!

Bad news!! After doing some research, it will cost you a pretty penny to add this to your boat! Its not nearly that expensive to get it down here. Maybe you can find it locally!?

http://boatbuildercentral.com/products.php?cat=30

http://www.fgci.com/

go to catalog->coring->Honeycomb->pick density and thickness