Floor Plan

[cknadroj]

I am thinking of putting an aluminum diamond tread plate floor in my 14’ 1961 aluminum runabout. It did not have a floor originally, but a previous captain put a fairly nice wood/carpet floor in. We liked having the floor.

The boat has been completely stripped and the paint has been blasted off every square inch - 303 pounds in its stocking feet.

A brushed 5’ by 10’ by 1/8” sheet of aluminum diamond tread plate weighs about 70 lbs and costs about $225, plus I’ll have to fabricate some ‘stringers’ so the floor will be flat. I'd install it in about 2-3 sections.

The boat goes like stink with a 40 HP Johnson, so weight will not be a problem.

What do you think?

 

[sdunt]

Re: Floor Plan

That sounds like a cool looking idea.. any possible issues with reflections and glare off of that? Also if anyone is bare foot how hot will the aluminum get?

You can buy allot of 1/2 inch plywood and carpet, etc for $225

 

[Kevin70]

Re: Floor Plan

I rested my arm on the diamond plate on the back of my truck today...................I think somebody really needs to talk you out of this. Or bring some corn meal and a little oil.d8)

 

[tmcalavy]

Re: Floor Plan

Yeah, what they said. You WILL cook yourself and your mates, unless you coat the plate with some kind of non-skid coating. Even at that, it gets really hot sometimes. If you're really stuck on this idea, you could install the plate and custom fit a piece of carpet with snaps on the edges...run with the carpet in full sun, run without on cloudy/overcast gray days.

 

[rottenray6402]

Re: Floor Plan

I think it sounds like a great idea except for the heat. I like tmcalavy's idea of a snap out carpet. You would have the best of both worlds.

 

[cknadroj]

Re: Floor Plan

I agree - snap out carpet is a good plan - would not cost much and could be made to look really nice.

I'll let you know how it goes.

Thanks for the input.

 

[studlymandingo]

Re: Floor Plan

The blisters will look interesting on the bottoms of your feet; plus the reflection should help even out your tan.

That stuff does get really hot! It is also VERY reflective. I do think it would look cool though, maybe if you painted it with a heavy coat of paint (after proper aluminum priming) it would cut down on both the glare and the roasting effect.

 

[JasonJ]

Re: Floor Plan

It sounds like a good idea. It is a great way to build a rot free boat. Definately recommend painting it with a light grey non-skid paint. Besides the heat and glare, I have slipped and busted my butt on wet diamond plate enough times to know it would suck to slip and bash your head in out in the middle of a lake all by your self. 40 hp on a 14 foot tin boat. Yeah, I would imaging it moves....