Help with boat flooring?

[Jhabuda88]

So i got rid of my carpet and piece of plywood on the boat floor deck. My question is is it alright if i get a regular piece of plywood and cover it up with somekind of sealer or do i need marine grade plywood for the floor of my boat. And also does anyone have good suggestions on what i should put as a floor instead of carpet that is relatively cheap? Something that is non slippery. Something like the stuff they use in truck beds as a liner?

 

[jigngrub]

Re: Help with boat flooring?

What kind of boat do you have? Aluminum or fiberglass... or something else?

Posting pics of your boat helps us help you the best when we can see what you have to work with.

 

[Jhabuda88]

Re: Help with boat flooring?

I have a fiberglass boat. Ill see what i can do about pics.

 

[bakerjw]

Re: Help with boat flooring?

Use exterior plywood and install it with either polyester or epoxy resin and fiberglass both sides.

Bed liner coatings are kind of frowned upon for some reason. There are many other marine specific coatings out there. Some have even considered Deck Over by Home Depot. DO some reading to see what is out there and to get an idea of cost for the square area that you are doing.

And pics. We all love pics.

 

[kfa4303]

Re: Help with boat flooring?

+1. Use quality exterior grade plywood and seal it with resin and mat. Be sure you remove every bit of old, rotten wood. However, for your own benefit, and to avoid a case of the noobs, hence forth be sure to refer to your project as a "deck" or a "sole", boats don't have "floors"

 

[Jhabuda88]

Re: Help with boat flooring?




Sorry pics arent the greatest, but thats her. In a couple of pics where the gas tank sits in the floor theres rotting around the frame of the gas tank. Thats what im trying to repair

 

[Jhabuda88]

Re: Help with boat flooring?

+1. Use quality exterior grade plywood and seal it with resin and mat. Be sure you remove every bit of old, rotten wood. However, for your own benefit, and to avoid a case of the noobs, hence forth be sure to refer to your project as a "deck" or a "sole", boats don't have "floors"

Lol ill remember that. Is there a specific type of resin that would be good? And what is mat?

 

[Watermann]

Re: Help with boat flooring?

Sure it will be an echo from others when I say be sure to inspect all of the wooden structure below deck for rotten wood. Your boat's age is usually a dead give away that the transom and stringers will be compromised by water and the wood will be rotting.

Another option to seal the decking is to use much less expensive spar urethane to seal the wood. Rather than carpet you can use marine vinyl or non skid surface coatings. With glass boats most will use resin and mat to cover the top and tie it into the sides of the hull.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Help with boat flooring?

You might want to check this out...
"Fabricating Decks, Stringers, and Transoms"

 

[Ike-110722]

Re: Help with boat flooring?

If you really want to seal the wood for as long as possible, use marine plywood. Coat it with CPES (Clear Penetrating Epoxy Sealer) especially the edges. This stuff is toxic and will kill anything that attacks the wood, including you. So you must wear a respirator and wear gloves. Do not get this on your skin or in your eyes, or breath it. But it will seal the wood. Then lay glass on the wood and seal with epoxy. One layer of a light cloth will do. After that you will have a sole in the boat that will resist almost anything. You can even put carpet over it.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Help with boat flooring?

Uhhhmmm save your money and DON'T buy the CPES. It's NOT worth the money. If you do some searching here on the forum you'll see where some very good "in the Know" people in the resin industry with a lot or yrs of experience have posted that it's basically thinned down epoxy and by thinning the epoxy it basically destroys the inherent properties of the resin making it pretty much worthless. Just use regular expoxy resin to do the job and you'll be fine. No need for Marine Ply. A good quality ext. grade, i.e. Arauco brand, will do the job nicely and once encapsulated in epoxy or polyester resin with glass, will last for decades if cared for properly.

 

[jigngrub]

Re: Help with boat flooring?



You don't really want to put a Band-aid on that cancer do you? When there's rot like that in a boat it's usually widespread under the decking.

You may want to consider removing all of your decking and checking everything for more rot and wet foam. Your boat is unsafe if you have rotten structural members below deck.

As far as sealing your deck:

The urethane that was mentioned is unsuitable for fiberglass boats, it works ok for aluminum boats but will be an inferior build for a fiberglass boat.

The CPES that was mentioned is not needed, it's very expensive and also has a hazmat charge on top of that... and do you really want to be futzing around with something that is that poisonous?

Polyester resin and CSM mat or 1708 cloth is OEM build for the greater majority of the fiberglass boats to glass over the decking and tie the deck to the hull and waterproof everything..


I notice your fuel tank is looking pretty gnarly, it will last a lot longer if you'll remove it and take it down to bare metal and repaint it.

 

[Jhabuda88]

Re: Help with boat flooring?

I will definately be fixing that fuel tank up.

 

[bigheaded5]

Re: Help with boat flooring?

If you havent done it already....I will share my experience with you. I consulted my Fiberglas friend....he recommended exterior 3/4 ply. I first fit it and cut it and did a dry fit. Then marked the TOP in pencil (dont use a sharpie, it will bleed through). then I fliped it over onto saw horses and used ONLY fiberglass resin on the BOTTOM and all edges. When it dried, I installed it in the boat, screwing it down to the stringers with SS wood screws. Then, placed thick chopped strand matting 6" wide over every seem and spread resin over it making sure it penetrated the wood.....then when it was done I layed a full piece of the same size chopped strand over the entire floor (pre cut before the seems were done) and poured resin over that starting from one end to the other spreading it with a foal roller. The chopped strand gives a nice textured floor....you can sand a little if its too much but I think youll like it for fishing.

 

[Daniel1947]

Re: Help with boat flooring?

Because I am "not" an expert, but am looking at a complete rebuild of my deck, stringers and probably the transom, which is what I will bet you end up doing if you care to do the project correctly, I am going to offer my expert advice. The amount of valuable information that is here on the forum is just unbelievable. I have read and read, I have watched videos and looked at photos and diagrams until I am blue in the face. I have a very strong automotive/mechanical background, but what I thought I knew about "boats" you could put in a thimble. For example, I had no idea there was "foam" in my boat, below deck; then I found out why there was foam. Fellow boaters such as Woodonglass, GT1000000, jigngrub, Friscoboater, Dexter83, Trooper, Oops, etc., etc., have all been where you and I are now. They have been through it all, and have and will contribute their expertise and knowledge for free. I have been involved in other "not-boating" forum sites, but there always seemed to be the implication that some did not want to supply secret information to everyone. That is not the case here at Iboats. These people are great, and if you want to do it right, start reading and following the threads. These folks remind me of family - well, at least without the drinking and fighting. The 2nd thread in the ?Boat Restoration, Building, and Hull Repair? titled ?How To?s and Other Great Information? is filled with invaluable information. Just as I think I know it all, I learn something new. Good luck.