New floor

MrMondo

Recruit
Joined
Apr 3, 2012
Messages
3
Hi. I am new to this site, looks very cool. I have a 1974 Starcraft aluminum 16 footer. The old floor was getting rotten so time for something new. Here is what I am thinking of doing and would like some input. Using an outdoor grade plywood or maybe marine grade then coating it with a primer of some sort. Was thinking of spraying the bottom side with a rubber undercoating then use an epoxy bed liner coating for the top side. I have seen black and gray and not sure which should go with, the black may absorb more heat while the gray might reflect it. I am thinking this would seal the plywood pretty good. What do you think? My other question is attaching it to the boat. The way it was done before looked like drywall screws through the floor and into the braces along the hull of the boat. There was bracing between the floor and the hull in parts of it too which was aluminum and will reuse. I am thinking something better than the drywall screws but not sure which way to go. Will probably need two or three sheets to make it work out. There was 3/4 inch foam insulation sheets cut up to fit on the hull floor. Not sure why or if I need to replace it or do something else. Any ideas? Well thanks in advacne for any advice.
 

oops!

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Oct 18, 2007
Messages
12,932
Re: New floor

hi....welcome to iboats !

a good exterior grade ply is all you need...

as far as the rest of the questions......ill let the tinny guys jump in here....but forget the drywall screws.

the starcraft guys here are top notch.....and there are lots of them....

just look down the restoration forum main page......you will see lots of tinny re decking jobs !
 

MrMondo

Recruit
Joined
Apr 3, 2012
Messages
3
Re: New floor

Ok the marine grade plywood is pretty espensive so a good exterior grade is fine with me. What do you think about what I want to do with the primer sealer, undercoating on the bottom side and the bed liner stuff on the top side?
 

jigngrub

Fleet Admiral
Joined
Mar 19, 2011
Messages
8,155
Re: New floor

The ACX (X stands for exterior grade) Aruco is what a lot of folks on here use for decking.

For a sealer it's hard to beat 3 or 4 coats of epoxy resin, it's very tough and long lived. You don't really need to coat the underside of your decking because it rarely if ever gets wet... unless your boat sinks.

Some people use and like the truck bed liner but I'm not a fan of it.

Use stainless steel self tapping screws or aluminum blind (pop) rivets to fasten down your decking.

The sheet foam under your deck is to keep your boat from sinking in case of a hull breach, swamping, or an accident. You want as much of this stuff under your deck as will fit.

Post some pictures of your boat so we can see what you have to work with.
 
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