Making new floors in aluminum boat , How thick is thick enough ??

besserspat

Recruit
Joined
Jun 9, 2009
Messages
1
Hi,
I have refinished an old Princecraft 14ft aluminum fishing boat recently to go with my good ol' 1954 johnson seahorse 10.

I got rid of the dented and rotten floors and bench seats, and went with new wood and aluminum brackets , as you see in the pictures the thing looks good.

But until my 1954 motor was up and running (bad clutch dog) , I went fishing up north and I used my mariner 20hp on the newly finished boat. 20hp being the maximum allowed for this boat.

I find the motor being to big for this boat but more importantly ,the boat bottom was bouncing SO much ! boom boom boom over the chops and the boat started to take water (no too much but enough) through some rivets.

I had to ride so slow , my girlfriend was with me and we were worried that the boat would literally fold itself up like a taco...

Now I have two solutions to replace the whimpy brackets I have made under the bench seats with plywood sections and for the floors I have two ideas :

Idea #1:

Using a good stiff plywood that would cover most of the stringers (4x8) and use strips of foam to fill the space in between stringers.But how thick the plywood should be?

Idea #2:

Using Western Cedar planks (5\4 x 6" x10') , that would go from the transom to the bow , I think it would look great with the wood benches and its virtually maintenance free. I would use either wood strips (1x6) to fill the gap in between the stringers or foam (1" thick) like for the plywood idea..

I carry this boat everywhere , I wanted to make it as light as possible but now I pay the price for making a boat too light but also too whimpy! This boat goes on the top of my truck , and the lighter the better. So what kind of wood planks or plywood thickness would you guys recommend ?

I have to admit I lean toward cedar planks but I want to hear from you guys who know better than me !

here is a picture of my boat.
Stuffforsale020.jpg


Cheers
Peter
 

Shizzy

Ensign
Joined
Aug 5, 2007
Messages
984
Re: Making new floors in aluminum boat , How thick is thick enough ??

if you still plan on car topping it I wouldnt add any flooring.
 

Rickairmedic

Commander
Joined
Apr 24, 2009
Messages
2,576
Re: Making new floors in aluminum boat , How thick is thick enough ??

I agree if your planning to load it on the car then no more wood if you plan on getting a small trailer then I would go 1/2"-5/8" Plywood minimum on her as well as adding some aluminum striners like you see in most of the starcraft threads as these could be riveted to your existing ribs in your boat.


Rick
 
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