Re: Sealing new floor
Hi sandsahark. Welcome to iboats. I would not recommend using the bed liner for a variety of reasons. First of all you want/need your floor to be as waterproof as possible, which means you either need to cover it with quality, wax-free polyester resin (not the stuff from Lowe's/HD) and fiberglass, or you could simply coat it with epoxy, then paint for UV protection. Most folks here like the epoxy because it's faster, does not involve fiberglass and has very low off gassing and any left over epoxy can be used for all kinds of different stuff. However, it is a bit more expensive. Furthermore, you'll soon find that bed liner make a rather poor flooring choice as it tends to trap every grain of dirt and sand that enters the boat. Lots of guys here have tried it only to rue the day, or rip it out entirely and replace it with a smoother flooring surface. After all, you'd like to be able to spray out the boat and have all dirt and debris wash out the drains, rather than get trapped in all of the nooks and crannies of the bed liner. Using the liner will also make any future repairs that much more difficult and complex. They do make paints that can provide a textured surface that may work better for what you're looking for rather than bed liner. Good luck. Keep us posted.
