screw spacing on new deck

tfret · Mar 14, 2012

I'm close to being ready to screw down my new deck and I'm wondering what spacing I should have between the screws. The originals were so far gone its kinda hard to tell from them. I was thinking about somewhere between 12" and 16". How does that sound?

oops! · Mar 14, 2012

Re: screw spacing on new deck

8-12 is what i use.

F14CRAZY · Mar 14, 2012

Re: screw spacing on new deck

I went with 6''

tfret · Mar 15, 2012

Re: screw spacing on new deck

I guess the deck is actually part of the structural integrity of the boat giving it stiffness to resist torsional bending etc. That may require more screws than say the deck on your home or the sub floor in your house. I wonder what is standard amoung boat builders?

jigngrub · Mar 15, 2012

Re: screw spacing on new deck

I also put mine on 8" centers.

A few too many won't hurt a thing, not enough will make for a flimsy installation.

Woodonglass · Mar 15, 2012

Re: screw spacing on new deck

It also depends on whether or not you intend to adhere the deck to the top of the stringers. A little PL or PB can go a Long way on firming up the deck structure.

tfret · Mar 15, 2012

Re: screw spacing on new deck

Woodonglass, sorry for the rookie questions, but what is PL and PB? I assume PB is peanut butter and so you're talking about "glueing" the deck to the stringers in addition to screws. That makes sense and would definately make things "tighter".

retiredfornow · Mar 15, 2012

Re: screw spacing on new deck

PL construction adhesive.

jones01m · Mar 15, 2012

Re: screw spacing on new deck

I am using epoxy PB with the fewest screws possible to hold the deck shape while the epoxy cures.

JDA1975 · Mar 15, 2012

Re: screw spacing on new deck

i would do 8 inch on the edges and 12 inch in the field...if you PL as well you would be golden!

oops! · Mar 15, 2012

Re: screw spacing on new deck

pb is short for peanut butter....and that is short for thickened resin.

there are many different types of thickened resin...

there are polyester thickened resins. and there are epoxy thickened resins.

the thickening agent can be many things....like glass micro bubbles (sanding and fairing)
milled fibers....(a powdered fiberglass)
short strand. (any where form 1/4 inch to 3/inch long)

for epoxy... a wood flour is generally used.

each filler is used for a different purpose.

some is used for fairing....
some for filling empty gaps. (like you will use on your deck to hull joints)
and some are structural fillers....used to fill huge spaces in hull damage.

the type of filler ingredients is determined by the usage.

Cadwelder · Mar 15, 2012

Re: screw spacing on new deck

F14CRAZY said:
I went with 6''

I too always use 6 inch centers. I really don't think there is a "standard". Boats I've restored are all different, from staples to screws and some have a given spacing while others just seem to go where ever Joe with the screw gun thinks "Hmmm I'll put one here"

CW

jigngrub · Mar 15, 2012

Re: screw spacing on new deck

Woodonglass said:
It also depends on whether or not you intend to adhere the deck to the top of the stringers. A little PL or PB can go a Long way on firming up the deck structure.

jones01m said:
I am using epoxy PB with the fewest screws possible to hold the deck shape while the epoxy cures.

JDA1975 said:
i would do 8 inch on the edges and 12 inch in the field...if you PL as well you would be golden!

This thread is starting to give me the creeps now

Just the thought of not being able to lift your decking for periodic maintenance and inspection will give me nightmares for a month!

JDA1975 · Mar 15, 2012

Re: screw spacing on new deck

with the way my cap is, once its back on you cant lift the decking anyhow! plus who wants to have to retab everything again! (i know us silly fiberglass guys!)

sutor623 · Mar 15, 2012

Re: screw spacing on new deck

jigngrub said:
This thread is starting to give me the creeps now Just the thought of not being able to lift your decking for periodic maintenance and inspection will give me nightmares for a month!

Hahaha. Jig I swear man you live for the hull restoration part of the forum.

Yacht Dr. · Mar 16, 2012

Re: screw spacing on new deck

tfret said:
I guess the deck is actually part of the structural integrity of the boat giving it stiffness to resist torsional bending etc. That may require more screws than say the deck on your home or the sub floor in your house. I wonder what is standard amoung boat builders?

There is no 'standard' among builds for decks. Some are free floaters..some are solid glassed in..some are formed deck systems that are bonded to the stringers Via Proset or Plexus of some type.

Please explain what you mean by 'torsional bending'. Do you mean like when the prop is turning it wants to twist your boat like twisting water out of a washcloth ?

These are some reasons why you should at least give us the Make/Model/year build of your boat. Pics are good too .. but sometimes not needed to answer Some questions about a rebuild.

YD.

tfret · Mar 16, 2012

Re: screw spacing on new deck

Thanks for all the help guys. Sorry for not posting this in my restore thread where all my boat info is. Unfortunately, no one in my area sells PL 375 according to the Loctite web site. Is there a suitable alternative for this?

Yacht Dr. · Mar 16, 2012

Re: screw spacing on new deck

tfret said:
Sorry for not posting this in my restore thread where all my boat info is.

Link for that thread ?

YD.

rickryder · Mar 16, 2012

Re: screw spacing on new deck

http://www.loctiteproducts.com/p/12...remium-Polyurethane-Construction-Adhesive.htm

tfret · Mar 16, 2012

Re: screw spacing on new deck

I was mistaken. Our area Lowe's has it! Pretty cheap too.

screw spacing on new deck

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