Replacing floor boards

[Riorider]

Has anyone used the plastic home deck boarding for the flooring in a boat? I have a Thompson Cutlass 170 that needs a new floor and am inclined to use these deck boards! No more rot, non skid surface, no need for floor covering, sounds to good to true!

 

[redneck joe]

welcome aboard.


Yes it is too good to be true. Thompson is a fiberglass boat and will have wood stringers. If the floor is bad so is everything below it. Lipstick won't help

 

[Riorider]

I know I planed on doing some stringer replacement too!

 

[Chris1956]

Your floor covering needs to be waterproof to protect the foam and stringers. I know of no way to make those plastic deck boards waterproof.

In addition, I have timberteck composite decking on my outdoor deck. It is not non-slip, although it appears to be non-slip. The rubber feet of my extension ladder slid across it easily, just as I put my weight on the ladder. Ripped the siding, bent the gutter and nearly broke my neck. The decking was clean and dry.....

 

[redneck joe]

I know I planed on doing some stringer replacement too!

Sweet! Have you read up on the restoration forum? If not grab a beer of 12 and pull up a chair.



Chris, agree on the no slip but disagree on waterproof floor in a boat. Water, like love, always finds a way.

 

[Scott Danforth]

the floor, stringers, bulkhead and transom on your boat are wood encased in fiberglass. if you replace the wood and do a better job than the factory, it will outlast your grandchildren

fiberglass will not stick to HDPE which is what the composite decking is. also, the wood is structural (the bones of your boat) and the composite decking is.......well re-purposed recycled milk jugs

as Joe pointed out, not going to work. Start reading the threads in the restoration forum.

 

[62cruiserinc]

Generally, the composite deck boards are much heavier. The deck boards will be about an inch thick, where normally you wouldn't use wood that thick for a boat floor.

A dry pressure-treated pine 5/4 x 6x 12 foot board weighs about 13 pounds, while the same size Trex composite board weighs 27 pounds. So composite decking weighs about twice as much as wood.

Steve