Screw vs nails and plywood thickness.

[Pun]

I'm about to put the floor in my 16' Bowrider. I've got the old floor out and theres an area of about 12 feet by 3 1/2 feet that I'll be replacing in two pieces. There are two stringers that are in good shape. My questions are:<br /><br />1) Can I use bronze ringshank marine nails instead of screws to attach the floor to the stringers? If so, where's a good place to buy em?<br /><br />2) Will 1/2" Marine plywood be good or should I use 3/8". It's a pretty small floor. 1/2" is easy to find around here. The 3/8" I havent been able to find.<br /><br />Thanks in advance.<br /><br />Vince

 

[Bondo]

Re: Screw vs nails and plywood thickness.

Use Screws,..... Not Nails......<br /><br />1/2" will do the Trick,...... 3/4" would be Stiffer, 3 1/2' is a Long ways In-between,.......<br />3/8" would be like a Trampoline....................

 

[JB]

Re: Screw vs nails and plywood thickness.

I wouldn't trust nails, even ringshank bronze nails, to not loosen with the flex and vibration of a boat, Vince.<br /><br />I am with Bondo. Use SS screws.

 

[Pun]

Re: Screw vs nails and plywood thickness.

I've heard that stainless isn't as good as bronze for marine fasteners. You think SS will last?

 

[Realgun]

Re: Screw vs nails and plywood thickness.

SS screws will last and hold a lot better than the bronze nails. Us the 1/2 inch plywood and be sure to coat it with epoxy.

 

[tengals123]

Re: Screw vs nails and plywood thickness.

SS screws with 1/2" Ply and poly resin. cheers

 

[sea wolf]

Re: Screw vs nails and plywood thickness.

If u nail it down & u ever need to remove the floor you'll be cursing the fact that u didn't use screws.

 

[BillP]

Re: Screw vs nails and plywood thickness.

Based on personal experience of hacking boats apart and seeing what worked...Either fastener works fine. Screws will clamp it tighter...helpful if your wood parts don't fit perfectly and you aren't using glue. Boatnails won't clamp as tight. It may seem they can get loose but they won't. Drive a few and try to pull them to see. They are as tenacious as screws. SS dock/deck ring nails are probably the easiest and cheapest ring nails to find.<br /><br />If you are using epoxy to glue everything together any fastener works. On floor jobs that are sealed and glassed over even galvanized fasteners will last longer than you will know. I use #12 & #14 flathead electroplated screws when using epoxy. Drill and countersink...fill the hole with epoxy and drive the screw in. Then come back and fill the countersinks with epoxy before glassing. They will still look new in 50 yrs if somebody decides to cut them out and check.<br /><br />As a sidenote to fastener material. In the 1980s Boston Whaler used steel (not SS) fasteners and yellow carpenters glue to butte joint 3/4" ply for parts on their interiors. Then it was covered with a finish. I don't know what those fasteners are called but they look like a corrugated strip about 2" long with a sharp edge and driven with a hammer. Once the glue set the faster and material didn't matter. Fact not fiction and straight from a friend of mine who used to work at the sub contractor (Happel Marine)who made BW interiors. Yes, BW had their interiors made elsewhere and shipped in for assembly. My friend showed me this method when we were jointly doing a 3/4" ply project on a sailboat hull.

 

[crab bait]

Re: Screw vs nails and plywood thickness.

if your stringers aren't new.. but still good,, so you say.. they might still be alittle soft an/or water log a bit.. <br /><br />screws close to 2 in. long will get down an grab tite..<br /><br />ss steel is great.. so is hot dipped galv screws.. they make bronze screws ,, but are hard to drive.. they're soft an the <br /><br />phillips head-to-screw-tip driver strips out..<br />...........................................<br /><br />seen an episode of 'king of queens' .. where AUTHUR was goin' to invent a new screw driver called the authur head driver.. <br /><br />the tip was goin' to be in the shape of an 'A'.. so you would put the 'A'tip into the corresponding 'A' hole an turn..

 

[Paul Moir]

Re: Screw vs nails and plywood thickness.

they're soft an the phillips head-to-screw-tip driver strips out..

Are you folks still in the dark ages down there??