pressure treated: to use or not to use???

[nick.wright]

Hi all,<br /> As most of you know, I am trying to get into boat restoration. Can I use pressure treated ply on a floor if I do not plan on glassing over it?

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: pressure treated: to use or not to use???

nwright, read my reply to michael o, transom and floor replacement. use CDX, seal all edges, with several coats. if you store boat covered should last 3-5 years. i have cdx in 2 boats, and no problem. used Lowes american tradition non skid paint for finish coat. $20.00 a gallon.

 

[rickdb1boat]

Re: pressure treated: to use or not to use???

3-5 years????? Seems kinda short lived.....

 

[Terry Olson]

Re: pressure treated: to use or not to use???

I just replaced the original flooring in my 1982 Lund. They original panels were 1/2" plywood covered with indoor / outdoor carpet. They don't appear to have been pressure treated and they lasted more than 20 years - with the boat being stored outside for at least the last 10 years. <br /><br />I replaced them with pressure treated plywood. After cutting the panels and all holes for seat mounts etc. I painted them on all sides with deck and porch paint for extra protection. <br /><br />Not sure this is the best route, but I'm sure that at a minimum I'll get another 20 years out of the new floors.<br /><br />I don't see any reason you can't use this material whether you glass it in or not - BUT - if you're relfooring a glass boat I'd glass it into the sides anyway. Doing so will add a lot of strength to the hull and make it much more difficult for water to flow below the floor and rot your stringers.

 

[nick.wright]

Re: pressure treated: to use or not to use???

"- BUT - if you're relfooring a glass boat I'd glass it into the sides anyway. Doing so will add a lot of strength to the hull and make it much more difficult for water to flow below the floor and rot your stringers."<br /><br />Good point, but it raises another question--will the resin stick to the pressure treated wood? I also have a 18' Larson with the floor partially removed. Looks like the only thing that held the floor to the stringers was a little Liquid Nails (or similar). What attaches the floor to the side of the boat? Any body have any pics of their project? I'm trying to learn as much as I can here before getting into a baot

 

[Eggkr8]

Re: pressure treated: to use or not to use???

I just did the floors on my Glassmaster in the fall and used 1/2" pressure treated. First, let the plywood remain somewhere dry for about 6 weeks as it comes from the store VERY moist. I then made a paste with microballoons and resin. This is what I used to seal the gaps in the side. Since my strngers were good, I 'buttered' the tops of my stringers with the same paste before dropping the plywood on them. I sealed the bottom and sides of the plywood with resin and used woven roving on top, cut it about 8" wider than it needed to be to make sure it adhered to the sides. I still need to go back and rough up the sides and then put down 12" wide strips of woven roving at the floor to side bond for bullet proofing<br /><br />This procedure is my modification of the one from 'Runabout Renovations' I can not recommend enough that you pick up this book.

 

[BillP]

Re: pressure treated: to use or not to use???

My pontoon boat floor is 3/4" pt ply and only has a carpet glued on top. The underside is exposed to the water splashing up on it. It's a 1996 and the pt is still like new.<br /><br />nwright: The American Ply Association did a test on polyester resin sticking to pt ply. They found no difference in peel strength between pt and standard ply. BUT, the wood has to be dry.<br /><br />A cut and paste of mine from a previous post about PT:<br /><br />ACQ is the "new" pt process and more corrosive than CCA. They spec to use stainless or galvanized fasteners with it. ACQ has replaced CCA ONLY for residential use and not for commercial use.<br /><br />CCA is the earlier pt process and is still used in commercial applications and available everywhere.<br /><br />Don't be paranoid about using pt. I did a 17' boat stringers, floor and transom in CCA pt approx 4-5 yrs ago. I air dried the wood first and used epoxy to put it together. The boat has been in constant use on choppy coastle waters and gets beat hard, even in the open waters of the Florida Keys. Nothing has budged, cracked, delaminated, checked or shown signs of problems. It still looks like the first day it was launched and I will never have to replace the wood again.