Re: Newbie Floor Replacement
I put a new floor in my '74 Lund last year. Keep in mind, this boat did not have a floor to start with, so I had to custom design my own stringers and floor. No big deal there, but here is what I used. 7/16" plywood (not teated or marine grade, which I will explain)for the flooring and general construction quality 2x3s for the stringers. I used 2x3s to save a little on the added weight. I precut everything then coated it all with a thick coat of Bondo resin. This is the same stuff you use to harden and seal fiberglass when doing auto body work. It comes in 2 parts, a resin base and a hardener. This is why I did not feel the need to use the high quality marine grade plywood. The only differance between standard construction grade plywood and marine grade is that the marine grade has far less voids. Some feel that this will reduce the chance of the wood becoming saturated with exposure to water. I can assure you that if you coat and seal the wood well you will not have to worry about this. Treated wood is never a good idea unless you want to wait 6 months after you buy it for it to dry out. Even then is still not going to resist water saturation as well as plain plywood that is correctly sealed. After the coating dried, (about 48 hours) I screwed everything down and I covered the new floor with outdoor carpeting. I choose this over marine carpet based on the cost because my boat is always garaged when I am not using it and I only go out on small freshwater lakes. I used an all weather outdoor glue to attach the carpet, and made sure that every screw hole was complety sealed over. I expect this to last at least 10 years, at which point I will probably want to change my floor plan anyway.
