Floor repair sugestions

[pikefisherman]

So I am replacing floor on my fishing boat a 14 foot alum. flat bottom,it had carpet I don't really want to go back to that, what other materials are out their? I was thinking the marine vinyl from Cabal's but a couple people told me it is slippery, they suggested the rhino coat surface or deck paint, I am covering 3/4 inch marine grade ply wood.
As said fishing boat, but would like it to look nice, the boat is not in bad shape.

 

[ondarvr]

The vinyl works OK, but it tends to get cut and torn over time, I haven't found it to be slippery though.

3/4" ply seems a bite heavy for a 14' boat, is that what was in there before?

 

[pikefisherman]

The other stuff was 1/2 or 3/8 I thought the 3/4 would be better, will it be to heavy? The guy at menards told me it was 30 lbs heaver than 1/2, per sheet, I can still return, what would cut and tear the vinyl?

 

[kcassells]

The other stuff was 1/2 or 3/8 I thought the 3/4 would be better, will it be to heavy? The guy at menards told me it was 30 lbs heaver than 1/2, per sheet, I can still return, what would cut and tear the vinyl?

Alot of guys use vinyl.Just everyday usage can make cuts, abrasions tears occur. Like hooks, knives etc. But like I said alot of guys use and are happy with it.

 

[Watermann]

There's a bunch of options, Nautolex vinyl, deck armor/deck over, painting with non skid added.

 

[jigngrub]

I used the vinyl in my boat, you can check it out here:
http://forums.iboats.com/forum/boat...-repair/521750-97-tracker-pro-deep-v-facelift

The marine deck vinyl isn't slippery at all, it's nothing like the vinyl flooring you put down in a kitchen or bathroom.

It also won't cut, tear, or get holes poked in it if you prepare the plywood properly by coating it with epoxy resin first. The epoxy resin hardens the surface of the plywood preventing anything sharp from gouging it or the vinyl, all of this is in my build thread.

We have also had people do the bed liner thing on the decking in their aluminum boats and it's pretty nice too, most of them use a light gray colored mix to prevent the decking from getting too hot in the sun.

 

[ondarvr]

Don't use the 3/4" it's overkill, just go back to what was there.

 

[pikefisherman]

jigngrub: It looks like you did your project four tears ago, how is it holding up any regrets?And if you don't mind will the 3/4 too thick or do you think 1/2 will be better I'm not worried about a little extra weight.
I noticed your boat has foam on the floor, mine did not come that way should I add foam?

 

[ondarvr]

I've had the vinyl in several boats, and have seen many hundreds over the years with it. It holds up OK for a while, but if something gets dropped, dragged, tipped over, etc, the vinyl will tear. I've redone boats and had it happen again, and had many friends take it out due to wear and tear and go with different options. These boats get used a great deal and we may be a little harder on them than most people though.

Once the wood gets wet from holes or from the underside, it can't dry out, the vinyl holds the water in place, so even if the wood doesn't rot it can get very heavy. It's not a bad product and many people like it, they just probably aren't as hard on it as we are.

This is with over 40 years of experience with it.


You should worry about extra weight in a small aluminum boat, never add weight that yields little to no benefit. What benefit do you expect from 3/4"?

 

[jigngrub]

jigngrub: It looks like you did your project four tears ago, how is it holding up any regrets?And if you don't mind will the 3/4 too thick or do you think 1/2 will be better I'm not worried about a little extra weight.
I noticed your boat has foam on the floor, mine did not come that way should I add foam?

No regrets whatsoever!!! I'll never have carpet in a boat again and I absolutely love the Nautolex vinyl!!! Dried fish blood and red clay mud doesn't even stain it, it just washes right off! No holes, tears, or rips in the vinyl either... and I'm tough on a boat. I build crappie structures out of concrete and bamboo that weigh between 70-90 lbs. I load them up in the boat and take them out to my favorite spots on the lake and drop them overboard, not even a nick in the vinyl.

3/4" plywood is only 25 lbs. heavier per sheet than 1/2" (plywood is 25 lbs. per 1/4" thickness per sheet). But there's a huge difference in the holding power for fasteners in 3/4" over 1/2". Fasteners for accessories will strip out of 1/2" pretty quick, even when you try to install the accessory for the first time. 3/4" gives a much better bite for fasteners to hold on to. 3/4" plywood is also your best build if you plan to install/use pedestal seats in your boat, pedestal seats need a lot of support... something that 1/2" doesn't have.

Floatation foam could save your life one day, I suggest you install as much as you can and any place you can in your boat.

 

[ondarvr]

If possible we avoid screwing anything to the floor, it will eventually leak and the wood gets wet, if we do drill into the floor we don't rely on the wood to hold a screw, long term it tends to fail. We through bolt stuff that requires being held in place securely.

 

[jigngrub]

If possible we avoid screwing anything to the floor, it will eventually leak and the wood gets wet, if we do drill into the floor we don't rely on the wood to hold a screw, long term it tends to fail. We through bolt stuff that requires being held in place securely.

That's all well and good in a perfect fiberglass boat world, but that's not how aluminum boats are built... and that's what we're talking about working on in this thread, an aluminum boat.

Aluminum boats are built with exposed deck fasteners holding down the decking so the deck can be removed to fix problems below deck without ruining the deck finish (carpet, vinyl, bed liner). Steering consoles are lagged directly to the decking to hold them in place. Navigation lights have holes drilled through the decking to run wires and exposed fasteners. Sometimes electronics are screwed directly to the wood on a bench seat (tiller models).

5/8" thick decking is a minimum on most newer aluminum boats, with 3/4" being common. The days of the 1/2" decking supported by floatation foam are about gone because it was a poor design to start with.

 

[minuteman62-64]

This stuff http://www.***************/buy/redrum...at--P012055570 has been on the floor of my 1982 boat since ........ 1982. Still in good shape, although I don't subject it to harsh/heavy duty usage.

Oops. Site protocol violation. Anyways, it's vinyl flooring, looks very similar to the stuff sold here on iboats, only I got it from Westys.

 

[ondarvr]

This is the land of aluminum jet boats, and I'm talking about aluminum, but I've had it in both glass and aluminum boats. When removing the wood floors in aluminum boats that have vinyl on them, the wood is very heavy and water logged, most use good plywood and it's not rotten, just weighs a great deal. Even the good manufacturers avoid anchoring to the wood floor, but it depends on the targeted market and price point too. Mass produced lower cost boats do tend to have screws into the floor.

Vinyl is a low cost, easy to do method in production, and it works well in many applications, but isn't the most durable product.

The best floor is aluminum diamond plate, but there are other plastic composite floors that some people like better, I haven't used them long term to see how they hold up though. These non wood floors tend to be lighter and never need replacing, the down side is the cost, but it's a one time deal and never needs to be done again. Diamond plate can be held in place with Velcro, it works very well and the floor can easily be pulled up at any time. The next one I re-do will probably be done with diamond plate and Velcro just like the last one, it held up great. My current aluminum jet boat has a honeycomb floor with 1708 covering it and extending about 4" up the side bonded to the aluminum, there are no penetrations in the floor, it makes a watertight tub all the way back to where the bilge is located, everything drains back to that point. I've had it that way for about 14 years.

 

[jigngrub]

When removing the wood floors in aluminum boats that have vinyl on them, the wood is very heavy and water logged, most use good plywood and it's not rotten, just weighs a great deal.
.

^^^^^^ that only happens to people that don't know how to take care of a boat, so they neglect it instead. Keep your boat covered and dry on the inside when not in use and you won't have those kind of problems.

Aluminum decking is expensive, I can put in 2 boats worth of decks with CCA ply, epoxy resin and vinyl and still have money leftover for the cost of one aluminum boat deck. Aluminum is also loud/noisy, hot, and weighs about the same as plywood if you use the diamond deck plate.

The scrap metal thieves would just love to know that someone fastened their aluminum plate decking down in their boat with Velcro.

I don't know what you consider a lower cost boat, but I don't consider a $26,000 Tracker Targa a lower cost boat and they have vinyl and carpet over 3/4" CCA plywood fastened with exposed fasteners and other stuff screwed/lagged to the decking. That decking in those boats also comes with a lifetime warranty.

 

[ondarvr]

As I said, the wood doesn't rot on the factory done boats, but the vinyl doesn't hold up that long, the wood just gets very heavy. Storing inside helps, but we use our boats year round in all kinds of weather, so they get wet, and some people don't have that option, with wood under vinyl it never gets to dry out. Carpet is totally out of the question, you get laughed at for having it your boat here. These are guide boats and serious fisherman.

Yes Trackers are low end boats.

People that haven't used diamond plate always go to the default conclusion that it's too loud, cold, hot and heavy, and you forgot about the glare from reflected sunlight. If you've ever installed it or fished with it you wouldn't have the same opinion. I don't fish barefoot in the winter, so it being cold doesn't create a problem, although at 25* it can get ice on it. In the summer I've never had a problem with it being too warm, but I can see it possibly could, just hasn't happened to any of us. As for loud, I'm not sure where to go with that, these are aluminum boats, they tend to be louder than glass boats, having an aluminum floor doesn't make it louder. Some DP comes with a very shiny finish, it doesn't last long though, after a short time it turns a dull gray.

Aluminum is more money, I already said that, but I don't want to every do it again, or put up with the damage we inflict on vinyl and wood. The weight is less though, sometimes a great deal, especially if you figure in the wet wood.


The crack heads will steal your kicker motor, they aren't concerned about your flooring, and would have no idea it's held in place with Velcro.

These are the types of boats we fish from, the basic hulls start at $20,000+, then add in the options, motor, trailer, etc and it can quickly get to $60,000

The base models comes with vinyl floors, an upgrade to aluminum DP is and option, but the first pricing level is over wood, it's more if you leave the wood out. When we re-do these boats we the desired way is to leave out the plywood, but more bracing is needed to do that. The original vinyl will only last a few years before it starts to go downhill, but again, these boats are used hard.

I'm not saying you aren't satisfied with how yours is holding up, what I can say is that when used hard it doesn't last nearly as long as other options.

http://www.willieboats.com/fuzion/

http://www.alumaweldboats.com/Super-Vee-Pro-25.htm

 

[jigngrub]

http://www.willieboats.com/fuzion/

http://www.alumaweldboats.com/Super-Vee-Pro-25.htm

Interesting that those boats in those 2 links all come with marine vinyl flooring... I gotta floor in my boat like a $60,000 boat does, who'da ever thunk it!

I think that anyone that can afford one of those $60,000 boats isn't going to be fooling around with trying to restore a 15-50 yr. old tinny... maybe when I win the lottery.

 

[ondarvr]

Interesting that those boats in those 2 links all come with marine vinyl flooring... I gotta floor in my boat like a $60,000 boat does, who'da ever thunk it!

I think that anyone that can afford one of those $60,000 boats isn't going to be fooling around with trying to restore a 15-50 yr. old tinny... maybe when I win the lottery.

You must not have read what I said, the upgrade is aluminum, the upgrade is NOT vinyl. The $60,000 boat has an aluminum floor. The leader price of $20,000 for the bare hull is with vinyl.

I've done this type of work for decades, I know what holds up over time, I didn't say aluminum was cheap, only that it was better long term when used hard. I think my first boat restoration was in 1966, I made one at about that time too.

.

 

[jigngrub]

You must not have read what I said, the upgrade is aluminum, the upgrade is NOT vinyl.

.

The upgrade could be aluminum floors covered with marine vinyl, G3 boats offers this option.

... and the marine vinyl must not be all that bad if they offer it in those brand new high dollar boats that you linked to.

 

[pikefisherman]

Where do I get the epoxy? Do I only coat the top and leave the bottom to dry out?