Re: Alluminum boat bench seat replacement on a budget
I've fixed several $20 12' aluminum jon boats with rotten seats and transoms "on a budget". They're easy to find around here and real easy to fix. I use wood from a pile of old treated lumber I got when a buddy tore out a backyard deck that was sagging and looked crummy. The deck planks are thicker than regular 1" boards and don't flex. They can span a 12' boat's beam with one layer and no flex. Used, weathered treated is good because it's already dried out and shrunk, if it's gonna warp it already has, if it's gonna split it already has, it's free, and you can paint it and the paint will stick. Tashasdaddy is right that it's not good to lay it right against the aluminum without sealing it with paint or pruning tar or gutter seal or something. There's salty chemicals in the wood that eats metal, and those chemicals are active forever. That's why people tear down old decks - the deck screws and lags have turned to corroded toothpicks. The wood looks grey and weathered. Don't be fooled - that wood will last and last. Check Craigslist etc. for someone giving away old deck lumber (you haul). These old boats are very useful. You can hang a beatup looking but good running 3-5HP motor on them and it looks right at home. Workhorses and no fuss. You just flop them upside down for the Winter and shove some bricks or something under the sides to keep it from sitting right in the dirt. It will last decades.