Advice on replacement floor

Hello,

I'm getting ready to replace the floor in my 21' Chieftain and have a few questions before I dive into the project.

First, what materials are recommended. I'm looking for the sweet spot of price/performance, basically I don't want to spend double on better wood that may last 10% longer and I also don't want to try to save a little and end up with a floor that will fall apart in the next few years.

I've also read about sealing the floor with fiberglass or other products. Can someone explain the different ways to do this?

Also what are the options for floor covering? I'm not considering carpet, I will consider heavy marine vinyl as it's holding up nicely in another boat I worked on, are there any other options worth looking into, some sort of a non-slip painted on product perhaps?

Thanks for any and all advice!

Erik

Re: Advice on replacement floor

The best performance you will get is with PROPERLY PREPARED materials.
The vast majority of deck replacements here are done with plywood. Usually an exterior grade, coated on ALL sides with fiberglass.
The key to getting that extra 10% is in PREPARATION.
A search of the restoration sub forum will lead you to many answers for you many questions.

Re: Advice on replacement floor

I'm not sure why you started a new thread when you already have a thread for your restoration project? This will only confuse the people who have already responded to you on your other thread and the Forum recommends you keep all of your posts in one Thread.

Most of the iBoaters use Ext. Grade ply for their decks. Marine Grade is the best but also the most expensive. You must seal the ply with either epoxy or Polyester resin. Poly is less expensive but does require using mat to keep it from cracking. I have included a drawing to show you how I recommend fabricating your deck.

(Click the Pic to Enlarge)

Re: Advice on replacement floor

This plywood decking has a lifetime guarantee and doesn't have to be wrapped in fiberglass or coated with anything, just put it down and cover it with your desired finish.

http://www.pontoonstuff.com/pontoon-boat/144-marine-plywood.asp

This marine grade vinyl has been used by a few members here and they all like it a lot.

http://www.defender.com/category.jsp?path=-1|10918|311409&id=311410&start=11&results=7&sort=products

This is a paintable non slip deck coating used by the USCG.

http://www.cabelas.com/product/Cabe...uff&Ntt=tuff&WTz_l=Header;Search-All+Products

Re: Advice on replacement floor

Hi Erik. I'm currently replacing the floor in my 1972 21' Holiday after repairing cracks in the hull. I was surprised to find the original floor in excellent condition, despite having had a wet bilge for years. Usually a perfectionist, I decided not to do anything to it, other than use up some surplus Gluvit on the underside of the floor panels on either side of the I/O. I figure that if it lasted 39 years as is, if I keep the bilge dry, it should last another 39 years (by then, I'll be 102 years old).

You'll find others replacing the 1/2" ply with 3/4" for additional stiffness. I say it's a boat. It goes up and down constantly. I have the original sidewalls that fit so tightly under the gunwales that adding a 1/4" will cascade into a much bigger problem. I am adding more pop rivets where the plywood sheets join, because I don't want to feel the joints flex under my feet and I don't want a wear point. A little spring in the floor is OK.

I'm also stuffing as much flotation as I can in many places that the Starcraft elves never did. I have used blue Dow insulation foam below deck and I'll be using a combination of foams in the "walls". I figure that foam located in dry areas will never get a chance to soak up water, so cheap white styrofoam will suffice. I expect to have enough flotation to keep the boat from sinking to the bottom, even fully flooded. I've been using a hot wire foam cutter that I built. What an improvement over sawing! I may start a thread on this.

I'm using Nautolex vinyl floor covering, similar to the original, not because I want original, but because I don't think there's a better covering. I would never use carpet or anything else that holds moisture and promotes the growth of mold, even inside a "dry" cuddy.
- Grandad

Re: Advice on replacement floor

Woodonglass said:

I'm not sure why you started a new thread when you already have a thread for your restoration project? This will only confuse the people who have already responded to you on your other thread and the Forum recommends you keep all of your posts in one Thread.

Click to expand...

D'oh! :facepalm:

Sorry about that, in the Mercruiser forum I was told to keep new questions in new threads to help with visibility ...didn't really make sense to me doing things that way, but I figured I'd play be their rules, didn't realize things worked in a more sensible way over here!

I'll keep everything in one thread from here on out.

Thanks everyone for the advice!